ATC vs MTC
Every case Cairn designs is written as a human-readable Markdown file with a title, preconditions, steps, expected result, and recorded selectors. Cases come in two kinds:
Automatable — read-only checks on verified locators. The bot generates Playwright code for these.
Manual — form submits, security/XSS, visual judgment, irreversible actions. Left to humans on purpose.
ATC — Automatable Test Case
Section titled “ATC — Automatable Test Case”Read-only checks (visibility, enabled state, text) on elements with reliable, verified
locators — every locator is checked against the live page (getByRole().count()) before any code
is written. From these the bot generates POM-style @playwright/test specs with role-based
locators and test.step blocks.
MTC — Manual Test Case
Section titled “MTC — Manual Test Case”Things a bot shouldn’t drive blindly:
- full form submission with real side effects,
- security / XSS probing,
- visual & UX judgment calls,
- irreversible actions.
Cairn still writes these up methodically — then deliberately leaves them to you.
Changed your mind? Promote it
Section titled “Changed your mind? Promote it”If you review an MTC and decide it really is safe to automate, promote it — the case is converted
to an ATC in place and picked up by the next automate run:
cairn promote --run runs/<id> --cases MTC-LOGIN-001(In the TUI, press a on a case.)