fix(tests): pre-seed Cache API to eliminate live group API dependency by marcoscaceres · Pull Request #5233 · speced/respec

marcoscaceres · 2026-04-29T23:19:40Z

Tests that use group: in their config were hitting the live
respec.org/w3c/groups/ API, making them fragile when groups are
renamed or removed (the autowebplatform BG removal broke the
BG-FINAL style test on all branches).

Adds a generic seedCache() helper that pre-populates the browser
Cache API with fixture data from tests/data/groups.json, so
fetchAndCache() finds cached responses and never hits the network.
Each affected test file adds a single beforeAll(seedGroupCache) call.

The helper is designed to be reusable for other respec.org endpoints
(xref, biblio) — add a fixture JSON and a seedXrefCache() export.

Zero production code changes. 295 tests across 5 affected suites pass.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR aims to make browser-based spec tests hermetic by removing their dependency on the live https://respec.org/w3c/groups/ API when group: is used in ReSpec config, by pre-seeding the Cache API with fixture responses.

Changes:

Add a reusable seedCache()/seedGroupCache() helper to pre-populate Cache API entries from tests/data/groups.json.
Wire seedGroupCache() into several W3C-focused Jasmine suites via beforeAll(...) to avoid live group lookups.
Update Karma spec config to ensure the new helper module is served to the browser test runner.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
tests/spec/w3c/style-spec.js	Seeds group cache before running style-related W3C tests that set `group:`.
tests/spec/w3c/seo-spec.js	Seeds group cache before SEO tests to prevent live group API calls.
tests/spec/w3c/headers-spec.js	Seeds group cache once for the headers suite (many cases use `group:`).
tests/spec/w3c/group-spec.js	Seeds group cache before group module tests to avoid network dependency.
tests/spec/w3c/defaults-spec.js	Seeds group cache before defaults tests that use `group:`.
tests/spec/respec-cache-helper.js	Introduces Cache API seeding utilities and a group-specific seeder backed by fixture JSON.
tests/spec/karma.conf.cjs	Serves the new helper module to Karma as an ES module.
tests/data/groups.json	Adds fixture responses for the W3C group API (success + error cases).

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Copilot · 2026-04-29T23:48:46Z

+/**
+ * Seeds the cache with W3C group API responses from tests/data/groups.json.
+ * Call from beforeAll() in any test file that uses group: in its config.
+ */
+export async function seedGroupCache() {
+  if (!groupsPromise) {
+    groupsPromise = fetch("/tests/data/groups.json").then(r => {
+      if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to load groups fixture: ${r.status}`);
+      return r.json();
+    });
+  }
+  await seedCache(await groupsPromise);
+}


The PR description suggests all tests using group: no longer depend on the live https://respec.org/w3c/groups/ API, but seedGroupCache() is only being wired into a subset of suites (the W3C ones in this PR). There are other spec files (e.g., under tests/spec/core/ and tests/spec/w3c/linter-rules/) that still set group: and will continue to hit the network when run in isolation (e.g., via --grep). Consider either adding beforeAll(seedGroupCache) to those suites too, or centralizing the seeding in shared test setup (e.g., SpecHelper/test-main) so individual suites can’t forget it.

Fixed in 551e75e — added seedGroupCache to all 5 remaining test files that use group: in their config: core/exporter-spec.js, core/include-config-spec.js, core/seo-spec.js, core/ui-spec.js, and w3c/linter-rules/required-sections-spec.js.

Copilot · 2026-04-29T23:48:46Z

+    groupsPromise = fetch("/tests/data/groups.json").then(r => {
+      if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to load groups fixture: ${r.status}`);
+      return r.json();
+    });


groupsPromise memoizes the fixture fetch permanently. If the initial fetch rejects (transient Karma/proxy issue), subsequent calls will keep reusing the rejected promise and you won’t get a retry. Consider resetting groupsPromise back to undefined/null in a .catch() (or wrapping in try/catch) so a later call can retry loading the fixture.

Suggested change

groupsPromise = fetch("/tests/data/groups.json").then(r => {

if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to load groups fixture: ${r.status}`);

return r.json();

});

groupsPromise = fetch("/tests/data/groups.json")

.then(r => {

if (!r.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to load groups fixture: ${r.status}`);

return r.json();

})

.catch(err => {

groupsPromise = undefined;

throw err;

});

Fixed in 551e75e — added .catch() that resets groupsPromise to undefined on failure, so subsequent calls can retry the fetch instead of reusing the rejected promise.

marcoscaceres · 2026-04-30T00:09:35Z

@copilot Can you confirm all your feedback has been addressed? Can you fix anything that was not addressed?

Copilot · 2026-04-30T00:10:32Z

@copilot Can you confirm all your feedback has been addressed? Can you fix anything that was not addressed?

Both review items are fully addressed in commit 551e75e:

All test files with group: now call beforeAll(seedGroupCache) — the 5 remaining files (core/exporter-spec.js, core/include-config-spec.js, core/seo-spec.js, core/ui-spec.js, w3c/linter-rules/required-sections-spec.js) were wired up alongside the original W3C spec files.
Rejected-promise retry — groupsPromise is reset to undefined inside a .catch() so a transient fetch failure won't permanently poison the memoized promise.

Nothing left to fix.

Closes #5231 Tests that use group: in their config were hitting the live respec.org/w3c/groups/ API, breaking when groups were renamed or removed (e.g., autowebplatform BG removal broke BG-FINAL style test). Add a generic cache seeding helper (respec-cache-helper.js) that pre-populates the browser Cache API with fixture data from tests/data/groups.json. The fetchAndCache() function finds the cached responses and returns them without making network requests. The helper is designed to be reusable — when xref or biblio tests need the same treatment, add a fixture JSON and a seedXrefCache() export.

typeof null === "object" in JavaScript, so the isJSON check would incorrectly treat null bodies as JSON. Add explicit null guard.

A 404 from the karma server would produce an opaque JSON parse error instead of a clear "failed to load fixture" message.

Addresses Copilot review feedback — 5 additional test files (exporter, include-config, core/seo, ui, required-sections) also use group: in their config but were missing the cache seeding. Also resets groupsPromise on fetch failure so subsequent calls can retry.

marcoscaceres requested a review from Copilot April 29, 2026 23:44

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of marcoscaceres April 29, 2026 23:45 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 29, 2026

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Copilot started work on behalf of marcoscaceres April 30, 2026 00:09 View session

Copilot finished work on behalf of marcoscaceres April 30, 2026 00:11

marcoscaceres force-pushed the fix/test-group-cache branch from 551e75e to 416cee5 Compare April 30, 2026 00:20

marcoscaceres added 4 commits April 30, 2026 23:00

fix(tests): guard typeof object check against null in seedCache

3eaf879

typeof null === "object" in JavaScript, so the isJSON check would incorrectly treat null bodies as JSON. Add explicit null guard.

fix(tests): check response.ok before parsing groups fixture JSON

b64cff5

A 404 from the karma server would produce an opaque JSON parse error instead of a clear "failed to load fixture" message.

marcoscaceres force-pushed the fix/test-group-cache branch from 416cee5 to 6b9f542 Compare April 30, 2026 13:02

fix(tests): fix sort-imports order in required-sections-spec

c1c1fe8

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fix(tests): pre-seed Cache API to eliminate live group API dependency#5233

fix(tests): pre-seed Cache API to eliminate live group API dependency#5233
marcoscaceres wants to merge 5 commits intomainfrom
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