/smoke-test

name: smoke-test
description: |
  Health smoke tests + auto-fix for gbrain installs (and OpenClaw services
  when present). Run after machine/container restarts or whenever something
  seems broken. Tests critical services, auto-fixes bounded local issues,
  and reports worker topology without starting daemons. Extensible via
  user-defined test scripts in ~/.gbrain/smoke-tests.d/*.sh.
triggers:
  - "smoke test"
  - "run smoke tests"
  - "container restart check"
  - "health check"
  - "did the restart break anything"
  - "did the container restart break anything"
tools:
  - exec
  - read
mutating: true

Smoke Test Skillpack

> Run `gbrain smoke-test` after any machine or container restart, or whenever > something seems broken.

Contract

This skill guarantees:

• 8 core tests verify gbrain health after restart (plus OpenClaw services when

present; skipped otherwise)

• Bounded local failures are auto-fixed before reporting; worker repair is

explicit because process topology and shell-job policy are operator choices

• User-extensible via `~/.gbrain/smoke-tests.d/*.sh` drop-in scripts
• Results logged to `/tmp/gbrain-smoke-test.log`
• Exit code = number of unfixed failures (0 = all pass)

Built-in Tests

| # | Test | Auto-Fix | |---|------|----------| | 1 | Bun runtime | Install from bun.sh | | 2 | GBrain CLI loads | Reinstall deps | | 3 | GBrain database (engine identity via `gbrain engine status --json`, then `doctor --json`'s `connection` check) | `gbrain db-repair --yes`, re-test | | 4 | GBrain worker process | — (native supervisor status + duplicate detection) | | 5 | OpenClaw Codex plugin (Zod CJS); skips if OpenClaw absent | `npm install zod@4 --force` | | 6 | OpenClaw gateway; skips if OpenClaw absent | — (may not be started yet) | | 7 | Embedding API key | — (check .env) | | 8 | Brain repo exists | — |

Usage

CLI

gbrain smoke-test

This is the invocation for all installs; it resolves the test script from the installed package.

From any startup script or login hook

gbrain smoke-test >> /tmp/bootstrap.log 2>&1

From OpenClaw bootstrap (OpenClaw deployments only)

Add to your `ensure-services.sh` or equivalent:

bash /path/to/gbrain/scripts/smoke-test.sh >> /tmp/bootstrap.log 2>&1

From an agent

exec: gbrain smoke-test

Contributor note: inside a gbrain repo checkout you can also run the script directly with `bash scripts/smoke-test.sh`.

Adding Custom Tests

Create executable scripts in `~/.gbrain/smoke-tests.d/`:

# ~/.gbrain/smoke-tests.d/check-redis.sh
#!/bin/bash
redis-cli ping | grep -q PONG

Rules:

• Exit 0 = pass, non-zero = fail
• Filename becomes the test name (e.g. `check-redis` from `check-redis.sh`)
• Keep tests fast (< 10s each)
• Tests run in alphabetical order

Adding Built-in Tests (gbrain contributors)

This section is for contributors working in the gbrain source repo. Plugin installs ship the script read-only and upgrades overwrite it; if you just want extra checks, use the `~/.gbrain/smoke-tests.d/` drop-in scripts above.

Edit `scripts/smoke-test.sh`. Follow this pattern:

# ── N. [Service Name] ──────────────────────────────────────
if [test condition]; then
  pass "[Service Name]"
else
  # Auto-fix attempt
  [fix command]
  if [re-test condition]; then
    fixed "[What was fixed]"
    pass "[Service Name] (after fix)"
  else
    fail "[Service Name] — [error detail]"
  fi
fi

Design rules:

1. **Test first** — never fix without confirming broken 2. **Re-test after fix** — verify the fix worked 3. **Timeout everything** — `timeout N` on any command that could hang 4. **Use helpers** — `pass()`, `fail()`, `fixed()`, `skip()` 5. **Idempotent fixes** — safe to run repeatedly 6. **Skip gracefully** — `skip()` when a prerequisite is missing, don't fail

Environment Variables

| Var | Default | Description | |-----|---------|-------------| | `GBRAIN_SMOKE_LOG` | `/tmp/gbrain-smoke-test.log` | Log file path | | `GBRAIN_DIR_OVERRIDE` | (auto-detect) | Force gbrain install path | | `GBRAIN_BUN_PATH` | (auto-detect) | Force Bun binary path | | `GBRAIN_DATABASE_URL` | (from .env) | Database connection URL | | `GBRAIN_SMOKE_WORKER_PID_FILE` | `/tmp/gbrain-worker.pid` | Legacy bare-worker PID path | | `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT` | `18789` | Gateway port to test | | `GBRAIN_BRAIN_PATH` | (deployment-specific) | Brain repo path. Container deployments default to `/data/brain`; set it to your brain repo path otherwise. Test 8 skips (not fails) when unset. |

Known Issues & Their Auto-Fixes

Codex Zod core.cjs Missing (discovered 2026-04-23)

(OpenClaw gateway deployments only: this concerns OpenClaw's Codex ACP plugin, not the OpenAI Codex CLI.)

• **Symptom:** `Cannot find module './core.cjs'` → all Codex ACP sessions fail
• **Cause:** Zod v4 npm package ships without `core.cjs` in some installs
• **Auto-fix:** `npm install zod@4 --force` in the codex extension's zod dir
• **Persistence:** Does NOT survive container restart (gateway reinstalls deps)
• This is why smoke tests must run on every restart

GBrain Worker Auth Failure

• **Symptom:** Worker can't connect to DB
• **Cause:** `GBRAIN_DATABASE_URL` not propagated to worker subprocess
• **Auto-fix:** Script explicitly passes both `DATABASE_URL` and `GBRAIN_DATABASE_URL`

Anti-Patterns

• ❌ Running smoke tests on every chat turn. Once per container restart (or

on user request) is plenty. The script is cheap but it's not free.

• ❌ Writing a user drop-in without `timeout N` around any command that

could hang. A single hung drop-in stalls every subsequent run.

• ❌ Auto-fixing without confirming the check is actually broken first.

The `pass → fail-detected → fix → re-test` loop is the contract; fixes that skip the re-test can report success on a still-broken state.

• ❌ Treating `skip` as `fail`. Missing prerequisites (no OpenClaw installed,

no brain repo configured) are skips, not failures. Exi