/cover

name: cover
license: MIT
compatibility: "Claude Code 2.1.277+. Requires network access."
description: "Writes tests that do not exist yet across unit, integration and end-to-end tiers, healing failures up to 3 times. Use when code lacks tests. Not for grading existing tests (use verify) or running a suite."
argument-hint: "[scope-or-feature]"
user-invocable: true
allowed-tools: "SendMessage AskUserQuestion Bash Read Write Edit Grep Glob Agent TaskCreate TaskUpdate TaskList TaskStop ToolSearch Workflow CronCreate CronDelete Monitor PushNotification mcp__memory__search_nodes mcp__context7__resolve-library-id mcp__context7__query-docs"
skills: [testing-unit, testing-integration, testing-e2e, testing-perf, testing-llm, chain-patterns, memory, quality-gates]
effort: high
model: sonnet
hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      hooks:
        - type: command
          command: "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/bin/run-hook.mjs skill/test-framework-detector"
          once: true
metadata:
  category: workflow-automation
  mcp-server: memory, context7
  version: "1.3.0"
  author: "OrchestKit"
  complexity: "high"
  tags: "testing, coverage, unit, integration, e2e, test-generation, real-services, testcontainers"
triggers:
  keywords: [cover, "generate tests", "test suite", "test coverage", "write tests for", "add tests", "need tests"]
  examples:
    - "generate tests for the authentication service"
    - "cover the payment module with unit and integration tests"
    - "I just finished implementing checkout, now write tests"
  anti-triggers: [verify, run tests, npm test, fix, implement, review]
paths: ["src/**/*.test.{ts,tsx,js}", "**/.coveragerc", "vitest.config.*", "jest.config.*"]
invocation_hooks:
  - "command -v vitest >/dev/null 2>&1 || command -v jest >/dev/null 2>&1 || echo 'Warning: no test runner found: run npm install first'"

Cover: Test Suite Generator

Host-neutral workflow. Invoke by skill name (`cover`). Claude Code slash routing, YAML hook loaders, and `.claude/chain` live in `references/claude-code.md`.

Generate comprehensive test suites for existing code with real-service integration testing and automated failure healing.

> **Note:** If `disableSkillShellExecution` is enabled (CC 2.1.91), the precondition check for vitest/jest won't run. Verify a test runner is installed before proceeding: `npx vitest --version` or `npx jest --version`.

Quick Start

cover authentication flow
cover --model=opus payment processing
cover --tier=unit,integration user service
cover --real-services checkout pipeline

Argument Resolution

A pronoun target (`this`, `them`, `the above`) is read back from the conversation, announced in one line, and used: `Read("../../shared/rules/target-resolution.md")`, inline half.

SCOPE = "$ARGUMENTS"  # e.g., "authentication flow"

# Flag parsing
MODEL_OVERRIDE = None
TIERS = ["unit", "integration", "e2e"]  # default: all three
REAL_SERVICES = False

for token in "$ARGUMENTS".split():
    if token.startswith("--model="):
        MODEL_OVERRIDE = token.split("=", 1)[1]
        SCOPE = SCOPE.replace(token, "").strip()
    elif token.startswith("--tier="):
        TIERS = token.split("=", 1)[1].split(",")
        SCOPE = SCOPE.replace(token, "").strip()
    elif token == "--real-services":
        REAL_SERVICES = True
        SCOPE = SCOPE.replace(token, "").strip()

---

Step -0.5: Effort-Aware Coverage Scaling (CC 2.1.76, env var since 2.1.120)

Read `$CLAUDE_EFFORT` (CC 2.1.120+) first; explicit `--effort=` token wins as override. Default `high` when CC < 2.1.120 and no flag. Pattern matches assess + explore (#1540). Scale test generation depth:

| Effort Level | Tiers Generated | Agents | `maxIterations` to pass Phase 5 | |-------------|----------------|--------|-----------------| | **low** | Unit only | 1 agent | 2 (1 repair + 1 verify) | | **medium** | Unit + Integration | 2 agents | 2 (1 repair + 1 verify) | | **high** (default) | Unit + Integration + E2E | 3 agents | 3 (2 repairs + 1 verify) | | **xhigh** (CC 2.1.111+) | Unit + Integration + E2E | 3 agents | 3 (the ceiling; xhigh adds agents, not heal passes) |

Values are what you pass as `maxIterations` in Phase 5. The script clamps to `[2, 3]` (`heal-loop.js`), so anything outside that range is coerced, and the final iteration always verifies rather than repairing. There is no 4-iteration mode.

> **Override:** Explicit `--tier=` flag or user selection overrides `/effort` downscaling.

Step -1: MCP Probe + Resume Check

# Probe MCPs (parallel):
# memory is alwaysLoad in .mcp.json (CC 2.1.121+, #1541). Probe below kept as fallback for older CC:
ToolSearch(query="select:mcp__memory__search_nodes")
ToolSearch(query="select:mcp__context7__resolve-library-id")

Write(".claude/chain/capabilities.json", {
  "memory": <true if found>,
  "context7": <true if found>,
  "skill": "cover",
  "timestamp": now()
})

# Resume check:
Read(".claude/chain/state.json")
# If exists and skill == "cover": resume from current_phase
# Otherwise: initialize state

---

Step 0: Scope & Tier Selection

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[
    {
      "question": "What test tiers should I generate?",
      "header": "Test Tiers",
      "options": [
        {"label": "Full coverage (Recommended)", "description": "Unit + Integration (real services) + E2E"},
        {"label": "Unit + Integration", "description": "Skip E2E, focus on logic and service boundaries"},
        {"label": "Unit only", "description": "Fast isolated tests for business logic"},
        {"label": "E2E only", "description": "Playwright browser tests"}
      ],
      "multiSelect": false
    },
    {
      "question": "Healing strategy for failing tests?",
      "header": "Failure Handling",
      "options": [
        {"label": "Auto-heal (Recommended)", "description": "Fix failing tests up to 3 iterations"},
        {"label": "Generate only", "description": "Write tests, report failures, don't fi