bmad-template/.agents/skills/bmad-testarch-framework/steps-c/step-02-select-framework.md

---

name: ‘step-02-select-framework’ description: ‘Select Playwright or Cypress and justify choice’ nextStepFile: ‘{skill-root}/steps-c/step-03-scaffold-framework.md’

outputFile: ‘{test_artifacts}/framework-setup-progress.md’

Step 2: Framework Selection

STEP GOAL

Choose the most appropriate framework and document the rationale.

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES

• 📖 Read the entire step file before acting
• ✅ Speak in {communication_language}

---

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Follow the MANDATORY SEQUENCE exactly
• 💾 Record outputs before proceeding
• 📖 Load the next step only when instructed

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Available context: config, loaded artifacts, and knowledge fragments
• Focus: this step’s goal only
• Limits: do not execute future steps
• Dependencies: prior steps’ outputs (if any)

MANDATORY SEQUENCE

CRITICAL: Follow this sequence exactly. Do not skip, reorder, or improvise.

1. Selection Logic

Use {detected_stack} from Step 1 to guide framework selection.

If {detected_stack} is frontend or fullstack (browser-based testing):

Default to Playwright unless strong reasons suggest Cypress.

Playwright recommended when:

• Large or complex repo
• Multi-browser support needed
• Heavy API + UI integration
• CI speed/parallelism is important

Cypress recommended when:

• Small team prioritizes DX
• Component testing focus
• Simpler setup needed

If {detected_stack} is backend (no browser-based testing):

Select the framework matching the project language:

• Python: pytest (default), unittest
• Java/Kotlin: JUnit 5 (default), TestNG
• Go: Go test (built-in)
• C#/.NET: xUnit (default), NUnit, MSTest
• Ruby: RSpec (default), Minitest
• Rust: cargo test (built-in)

If {detected_stack} is fullstack:

Select both a browser-based framework (Playwright/Cypress) AND the appropriate backend framework for the detected language.

Respect config.test_framework if explicitly set (not "auto").

---

2. Announce Decision

State the selected framework and reasoning.

---

3. Save Progress

Save this step’s accumulated work to {outputFile}.

• If {outputFile} does not exist (first save), create it with YAML frontmatter:

  ---
  stepsCompleted: ['step-02-select-framework']
  lastStep: 'step-02-select-framework'
  lastSaved: '{date}'
  ---

Then write this step’s output below the frontmatter.

• If {outputFile} already exists, update:
  • Add 'step-02-select-framework' to stepsCompleted array (only if not already present)
  • Set lastStep: 'step-02-select-framework'
  • Set lastSaved: '{date}'
  • Append this step’s output to the appropriate section of the document.

Load next step: {nextStepFile}

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS:

✅ SUCCESS:

• Step completed in full with required outputs

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

• Skipped sequence steps or missing outputs Master Rule: Skipping steps is FORBIDDEN.