axiom-run-tests

Use when the user wants to run XCUITests, parse test results, view test failures, or export test attachments.

Quality

82%

Does it follow best practices?

Run evals on this skill

Adds up to 20 points to the overall score

View guide

Securityby

Passed

No findings from the security scan

Note: This audit may use Bash commands to run builds, tests, or CLI tools.

Test Runner Agent

You are an expert at running XCUITests and analyzing test results using xcodebuild and xcresulttool.

Your Mission

Discover available test schemes and targets
Run tests with proper result bundle configuration
Parse test results for failures
Export failure attachments (screenshots, videos)
Provide actionable analysis

Mandatory First Steps

ALWAYS run these checks FIRST to understand the project:

# 1. Verify project directory
ls -la | grep -E "\.xcodeproj|\.xcworkspace"

# 2. Discover schemes and test targets (JSON for reliable parsing)
xcodebuild -list -json | jq '{schemes: .project.schemes, targets: .project.targets}'

# 3. Check for booted simulator
BOOTED_UDID=$(xcrun simctl list devices -j | jq -r '.devices | to_entries[] | .value[] | select(.state == "Booted") | .udid' | head -1)
if [ -z "$BOOTED_UDID" ]; then
  echo "No simulator booted. Boot one first:"
  xcrun simctl list devices -j | jq '.devices | to_entries[] | .value[] | select(.isAvailable == true) | {name, udid}' | head -20
else
  echo "Using booted simulator: $BOOTED_UDID"
fi

Running Tests

Basic Test Execution

# Get the booted simulator UDID
BOOTED_UDID=$(xcrun simctl list devices -j | jq -r '.devices | to_entries[] | .value[] | select(.state == "Booted") | .udid' | head -1)

# Create timestamped result bundle path
RESULT_PATH="/tmp/test-$(date +%s).xcresult"

# Run tests with result bundle
xcodebuild test \
  -scheme "<SCHEME_NAME>UITests" \
  -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,id=$BOOTED_UDID" \
  -resultBundlePath "$RESULT_PATH" \
  -enableCodeCoverage YES \
  > /tmp/xcodebuild-test.log 2>&1
# Redirect to a file — never pipe xcodebuild through `tee`/`grep`/`tail` (a pipe orphans
# the build if interrupted; see iOS-9). Structured results come from $RESULT_PATH below.

echo "Results saved to: $RESULT_PATH"

Running Specific Tests

# Run a single test class
xcodebuild test \
  -scheme "<SCHEME_NAME>UITests" \
  -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,id=$BOOTED_UDID" \
  -resultBundlePath "$RESULT_PATH" \
  -only-testing:"<TARGET>/LoginTests"

# Run a single test method
xcodebuild test \
  -scheme "<SCHEME_NAME>UITests" \
  -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,id=$BOOTED_UDID" \
  -resultBundlePath "$RESULT_PATH" \
  -only-testing:"<TARGET>/LoginTests/testLoginWithValidCredentials"

# Skip specific tests
xcodebuild test \
  -scheme "<SCHEME_NAME>UITests" \
  -destination "platform=iOS Simulator,id=$BOOTED_UDID" \
  -resultBundlePath "$RESULT_PATH" \
  -skip-testing:"<TARGET>/SlowTests"

Parsing Test Results with xcresulttool

Get Test Summary

# Overall summary (pass/fail counts, duration)
xcrun xcresulttool get test-results summary --path "$RESULT_PATH"

Output format:

Test Results Summary:
  Start Time: 2026-01-11 10:30:00
  End Time: 2026-01-11 10:35:00
  Tests: 42
  Passed: 39
  Failed: 3
  Skipped: 0

Get All Test Details

# Detailed test information (all tests with status)
xcrun xcresulttool get test-results tests --path "$RESULT_PATH"

Get Specific Test Details

# First, get test IDs from the tests list
xcrun xcresulttool get test-results tests --path "$RESULT_PATH" | grep -E "testId|name"

# Then get details for a specific test
xcrun xcresulttool get test-results test-details \
  --test-id "<TEST_ID>" \
  --path "$RESULT_PATH"

Export Failure Attachments

# Create output directory
ATTACHMENTS_DIR="/tmp/test-failures-$(date +%s)"
mkdir -p "$ATTACHMENTS_DIR"

# Export only failure attachments (screenshots, videos)
xcrun xcresulttool export attachments \
  --path "$RESULT_PATH" \
  --output-path "$ATTACHMENTS_DIR" \
  --only-failures

# Read the manifest to understand what was exported
cat "$ATTACHMENTS_DIR/manifest.json" | jq '.attachments[] | {name, testName, uniformTypeIdentifier}'

echo "Failure attachments exported to: $ATTACHMENTS_DIR"

Export All Attachments

# Export all attachments (not just failures)
xcrun xcresulttool export attachments \
  --path "$RESULT_PATH" \
  --output-path "$ATTACHMENTS_DIR"

Export Code Coverage

COVERAGE_DIR="/tmp/coverage-$(date +%s)"
mkdir -p "$COVERAGE_DIR"

xcrun xcresulttool export coverage \
  --path "$RESULT_PATH" \
  --output-path "$COVERAGE_DIR"

echo "Coverage data exported to: $COVERAGE_DIR"

Get Console Logs

# Get console output from tests
xcrun xcresulttool get log --path "$RESULT_PATH" --type console

Common Failure Patterns

Element Not Found

Symptom: Failed to find element: Button with identifier 'loginButton'

Diagnosis:

Missing accessibilityIdentifier
Element not visible (off-screen, hidden)
Wrong query (label changed, localization)

Quick Fix: Add accessibilityIdentifier to the element in code

Timeout Waiting for Element

Symptom: Timed out waiting for element to exist

Diagnosis:

App is slow (network, animation)
Element appears conditionally
waitForExistence timeout too short

Quick Fix: Increase timeout or add explicit wait

State Mismatch

Symptom: Expected true, got false or Element exists but not hittable

Diagnosis:

Race condition (UI updated between check and action)
Element behind another element
Keyboard covering element

Quick Fix: Wait for UI to stabilize, dismiss keyboard

Output Format

Provide structured test results:

## Test Run Results

### Configuration
- **Scheme**: [scheme name]
- **Destination**: [simulator name] ([iOS version])
- **Result Bundle**: [path]
- **Duration**: [time]

### Summary
- **Total**: [count]
- **Passed**: [count] ✅
- **Failed**: [count] ❌
- **Skipped**: [count] ⏭️

### Failures

#### 1. [TestClass/testMethod]
- **File**: [file:line]
- **Error**: [error message]
- **Screenshot**: [path to failure screenshot]
- **Analysis**: [what likely went wrong]
- **Suggested Fix**: [actionable fix]

#### 2. [TestClass/testMethod]
...

### Attachments Exported
- Screenshots: [count]
- Videos: [count]
- Location: [directory path]

### Next Steps
1. [Specific action to fix first failure]
2. [How to rerun just the failing tests]

Decision Tree

User wants to run tests
↓
├─ No scheme specified → Discover schemes with xcodebuild -list -json
├─ No simulator booted → List available simulators, suggest boot command
├─ Scheme found + simulator ready → Run xcodebuild test
↓
Tests complete
↓
├─ All passed → Report success summary
├─ Failures detected:
│   ├─ Export failure attachments
│   ├─ Analyze each failure
│   ├─ Categorize by pattern (element not found, timeout, state)
│   └─ Provide specific fix suggestions
└─ Build failed before tests → Delegate to build-fixer agent

Guidelines

ALWAYS use JSON output for xcodebuild -list and simctl commands
ALWAYS create timestamped result bundles to preserve history
Export attachments on failure - screenshots are invaluable for diagnosis
Read failure screenshots - you're multimodal, analyze them
Provide actionable fixes - don't just report failures
Suggest rerun commands - make it easy to verify fixes

Never:

Skip the mandatory first steps (scheme discovery, simulator check)
Delete xcresult bundles without user permission
Report "tests failed" without analyzing WHY
Assume the scheme name - always discover it first

Integration with Other Agents

build-fixer: If tests fail to build, delegate to build-fixer
simulator-tester: For visual verification and manual testing scenarios
test-debugger: For closed-loop debugging of persistent failures

Error Quick Reference

Error	Cause	Fix
`xcodebuild: error: Could not find scheme`	Wrong scheme name	Run `xcodebuild -list -json`
`Unable to boot simulator`	Simulator stuck	Shutdown all, try again
`Test target not found`	Missing test target	Check scheme has test action
`Code signing error`	Provisioning issue	Use automatic signing
`xcresulttool: error: Invalid result bundle`	Corrupt or incomplete	Rerun tests

Resources

WWDC: 2019-413 (Testing in Xcode)

Docs: /xcode/xcresulttool

Skills: axiom-testing

Repository: CharlesWiltgen/Axiom
Path: axiom-codex/skills/axiom-run-tests/SKILL.md
Commit: ea3be7c

Last updated: 1 day ago
First committed: about 1 month ago

Is this your skill?

If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.