Overview
/silver:test is the Silver Bullet orchestrator for test hardening — closing coverage gaps, adding regression tests, improving fixture quality, and raising confidence in existing code without feature changes. It maps to catalog entity WF-SILVER-TEST (specialized type) in the v0.48.3 APO catalog.
This workflow is lean by design: plan the gap closure, execute test additions, verify the suite. It omits post-execution ship gates because test-only work typically ships through the normal PR flow without a dedicated deploy step.
Standard composition:
For feature work where tests are part of a larger delivery, use /silver:feature. For structural code changes with full ship gates, use /silver:refactor.
AF-EXECUTE. When test hardening requires red-green-refactor cycles, execution follows TDD discipline within the execute atom — the workflow does not add a separate TDD atomic flow.
When to Use
Entry trigger signals for /silver:test, test, and test hardening:
- Coverage gaps flagged by CI or quality gates
- Missing regression tests after a production incident
- Flaky test stabilization and fixture improvements
- Test suite expansion for untested modules or edge cases
- Pre-release hardening sprint focused solely on test quality
Catalog Composition
| Atomic flow | Command | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
AF-PLAN | /silver:plan | Coverage gap analysis, test plan with prioritized cases and acceptance criteria |
AF-EXECUTE | /silver:execute | New tests, fixtures, mocks, and CI configuration changes |
AF-VERIFY | /silver:verify | Full suite pass, coverage delta evidence, flake checks |
Workflow Steps
AF-PLAN — Map coverage gaps
Identifies untested paths from coverage reports, incident postmortems, or spec acceptance criteria. Produces a prioritized test plan with explicit pass/fail targets.
AF-EXECUTE — Implement tests
Writes unit, integration, or end-to-end tests. May add fixtures, test helpers, and CI pipeline steps. Follows project test conventions and TDD where applicable.
AF-VERIFY — Confirm suite health
Runs the full test suite, confirms coverage targets met, and documents evidence. Flaky tests must be stabilized or quarantined with tracked follow-ups.
Example Invocation
Silver Bullet routes to WF-SILVER-TEST. Planning maps the retry path and edge cases. Execution adds integration tests with realistic fixtures. Verification confirms suite pass and coverage above the stated threshold.