Fixing a Patrol issue

A checklist for turning a Patrol bug report into a verified, review-ready PR. This skill is orchestration + repo-specific knowledge. For canonical rules that may change, read [CONTRIBUTING.md](../../../CONTRIBUTING.md) — do not duplicate it from memory.

Work through the phases in order. Don't skip reproduction: a fix you can't reproduce failing first is a fix you can't prove works.

1. Understand the issue

1. Read the issue (gh issue view <n> --repo leancodepl/patrol, including

comments). Extract: exact command/API, config used, versions, and the expected vs actual behaviour.

1. Don't change the Flutter/Dart SDK version to reproduce unless the issue

is specifically about a version. Reproduce on the versions the reporter used.

1. Map the bug to the right package under packages/ before touching code:

2. Reproduce locally

Prefer the repo's existing fixtures over hand-built throwaway projects:

• dev/e2e_app — a ready-made Flutter app wired for Patrol. Use it as the

target project when reproducing CLI/runtime bugs (it's the cwd in the documented VS Code / Android Studio launch configs).

• dev/cli_tests — Dart-driven CLI integration tests

(e.g. patroldeveloptest.dart). A good place to add an end-to-end repro.

Only scaffold a separate minimal project when the bug needs a layout the fixtures don't have (e.g. a pub workspace, a custom test_directory, paths containing unusual characters). Keep it minimal and delete it afterwards.

Running your local patrol_cli (the important gotcha)

Per CONTRIBUTING, two ways to run a local build:

# A) activate from the working tree as the global `patrol`
dart pub global activate --source path packages/patrol_cli
# B) run directly without activating
dart run packages/patrol_cli <command...>

⚠️ dart pub global activate --source path snapshots the code at activation time. After every change to patrol_cli, re-run it or your patrol binary still runs the old code. dart run (B) always uses current sources — prefer it while iterating.

To let a teammate test a branch without checking it out:

dart pub global activate --source git https://github.com/leancodepl/patrol.git \
  --git-ref <branch> --git-path packages/patrol_cli

3. Fix without regressions

1. Read the whole target file and its existing tests before editing — the

tests encode behaviour you must not break (e.g. testbundlertest.dart pins relative-path, absolute-path, and web-bundle output).

1. Make the smallest change that fixes the root cause. Match surrounding style.
2. Follow existing conventions in the file/package — e.g. patrol_cli resolves

relative paths against the project root, not the process CWD (see TestFinder).

1. Branch name: fix/<short-description> (created off master).

4. Verify

In order of strength:

1. Unit tests for the changed package:

cd packages/<pkg> && dart test test/<area>_test.dart — then the package's full suite. Add a test that fails before your fix and passes after; cover the edge case from the issue plus the previously-working cases.

1. dart analyze and dart format on changed files (CI enforces both).
2. Exercise the real code path when behaviour depends on the filesystem or

environment: a tiny harness that drives the actual classes (e.g. TestFinder → TestBundler) against a real LocalFileSystem, optionally with Directory.current set elsewhere, is stronger than in-memory tests for CWD/path bugs.

1. End-to-end with dev/e2e_app (or your repro) using your local CLI

(patrol build <platform> / patrol test) to confirm the user-facing symptom is gone and untouched configs still work.

5. Changelog + PR

1. Required: add an entry to the changed package's CHANGELOG.md under

## Unreleased (create that heading if missing). The number in brackets is the PR number, not the issue: - Fix ... (#<PR>). The issue is linked from the PR description instead. Since the PR number isn't known until the PR exists, add the entry first, open the PR, then amend the entry with the real PR number.

1. Commit (fix(<package>): <summary>), then open the PR against master:

gh pr create --base master. In the body, link the issue it resolves (e.g. Closes #<issue>) and summarise the change and how you verified it.

1. Note from CONTRIBUTING: the Android emulator workflows fail for outside

contributors due to permissions and must be re-run by a maintainer — don't panic if those are red.

Opening the PR is the end of this workflow. Stop here — don't wait on review.

Later (separate run): addressing review

Review is asynchronous — an automated Gemini Code Assist review lands a few minutes after the PR opens, and human reviewers later still. Don't poll or idle waiting for it inside the same run; come back when notified (or when the user asks to address comments). When you do:

• For each comment, first decide whether it's correct (check the code/flow),

then either fix it and reply pointing at the commit, or reply explaining why it doesn't apply. Don't silently apply suggestions you can't justify — the bot is sometimes wrong.

• Read comments / reply in-thread:

- gh pr view <pr> --json reviews and gh api repos/leancodepl/patrol/pulls/<pr>/comments - gh api repos/leancodepl/patrol/pulls/<pr>/comments/<comment_id>/replies -f body="..."