Browser Verification Skill

Automatically verify UI changes in a real browser after implementation.

When This Skill Is Used

This skill is triggered during the /work workflow after the implementer completes a task that modifies UI-related files. It is NOT a standalone skill - it's integrated into the work loop.

Purpose

Catch visual and functional issues before code review by testing in a real browser. This prevents:

CSS issues that look fine in code but break in browser
JavaScript errors that only appear at runtime
Responsive/layout issues
Missing visual elements

Testability Checks

Browser verification only runs when ALL three conditions are met:

1. Browser Tools Available

Must have either:

Playwright MCP tools (mcp__plugin_playwright_*)
Chrome Extension tools (mcp__claude-in-chrome__*)

2. Server Running

Must have an HTTP server on a dev port (3000-9999) or ability to start one via package.json scripts.

3. Renderable Files Changed

Task must have modified files that affect browser output:

.html, .css, .scss, .less
.tsx, .jsx, .vue, .svelte
Template files (.hbs, .ejs, .pug)
Files in components/, views/, ui/, pages/

If any condition fails, verification is silently skipped.

Verification Process

Navigate to the development server
Screenshot the initial state
Analyze the page snapshot for expected elements
Test interactions if the task involves interactive behavior
Check console for JavaScript errors
Report pass/fail with evidence

Advisory Behavior

This is NOT a hard gate. If verification suggests issues but the user believes the implementation is correct:

User can provide a reason for skipping
Skip reason is logged in task notes
Work continues to spec review with warning flag

Configuration

Projects can customize in .pokayokay.json:

{
  "browserVerification": {
    "enabled": true,
    "portRange": [3000, 9999],
    "additionalPaths": ["src/templates/"],
    "excludePaths": ["src/email-templates/"]
  }
}

When NOT to Use

Unit/integration testing — Use testing-strategy for test architecture; this skill verifies visual output in a browser
API-only changes — Browser verification is for UI changes; backend-only tasks skip this automatically

Reference Documents

references/testability-detection.md - How to determine if verification should run
references/verification-flow.md - Step-by-step verification process
references/configuration.md - Project-level configuration options

Integration Point

yokay-implementer → browser-verify → yokay-spec-reviewer → yokay-quality-reviewer → complete

Browser verification runs AFTER implementation and BEFORE spec review.

Runtime Notes

Claude Code: dispatch yokay-browser-verifier via the Task tool with subagent_type: "pokayokay:yokay-browser-verifier".
Codex: there is no subagent dispatch. Execute the agent's role inline — read the corresponding agents/yokay-<name>.md and follow its Behavioral Defaults, Critical Rules, and Output Contract directly in the current session.

browser-verification