feat: enhance E2E test setup and error handling

- Updated Playwright configuration to explicitly unset ALLOWED_ROOT_DIRECTORY for unrestricted testing paths.
- Improved E2E fixture setup script to reset server settings to a known state, ensuring test isolation.
- Enhanced error handling in ContextView and WelcomeView components to reset state and provide user feedback on failures.
- Updated tests to ensure proper navigation and visibility checks during logout processes, improving reliability.

apps/ui/playwright.config.ts

@@ -53,7 +53,9 @@ export default defineConfig({
                       process.env.AUTOMAKER_API_KEY || 'test-api-key-for-e2e-tests',
                     // Hide the API key banner to reduce log noise
                     AUTOMAKER_HIDE_API_KEY: 'true',
-                    // No ALLOWED_ROOT_DIRECTORY restriction - allow all paths for testing
+                    // Explicitly unset ALLOWED_ROOT_DIRECTORY to allow all paths for testing
+                    // (prevents inheriting /projects from Docker or other environments)
+                    ALLOWED_ROOT_DIRECTORY: '',
                     // Simulate containerized environment to skip sandbox confirmation dialogs
                     IS_CONTAINERIZED: 'true',
                   },

apps/ui/scripts/setup-e2e-fixtures.mjs

@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
 /**
  * Setup script for E2E test fixtures
  * Creates the necessary test fixture directories and files before running Playwright tests
+ * Also resets the server's settings.json to a known state for test isolation
  */
 
 import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 
@@ -16,6 +18,9 @@ const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
 const WORKSPACE_ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../..');
 const FIXTURE_PATH = path.join(WORKSPACE_ROOT, 'test/fixtures/projectA');
 const SPEC_FILE_PATH = path.join(FIXTURE_PATH, '.automaker/app_spec.txt');
+const SERVER_SETTINGS_PATH = path.join(WORKSPACE_ROOT, 'apps/server/data/settings.json');
+// Create a shared test workspace directory that will be used as default for project creation
+const TEST_WORKSPACE_DIR = path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'automaker-e2e-workspace');
 
 const SPEC_CONTENT = `<app_spec>
   <name>Test Project A</name>
@@ -27,10 +32,153 @@ const SPEC_CONTENT = `<app_spec>
 </app_spec>
 `;
 
+// Clean settings.json for E2E tests - no current project so localStorage can control state
+const E2E_SETTINGS = {
+  version: 4,
+  setupComplete: true,
+  isFirstRun: false,
+  skipClaudeSetup: false,
+  theme: 'dark',
+  sidebarOpen: true,
+  chatHistoryOpen: false,
+  kanbanCardDetailLevel: 'standard',
+  maxConcurrency: 3,
+  defaultSkipTests: true,
+  enableDependencyBlocking: true,
+  skipVerificationInAutoMode: false,
+  useWorktrees: false,
+  showProfilesOnly: false,
+  defaultPlanningMode: 'skip',
+  defaultRequirePlanApproval: false,
+  defaultAIProfileId: null,
+  muteDoneSound: false,
+  phaseModels: {
+    enhancementModel: { model: 'sonnet' },
+    fileDescriptionModel: { model: 'haiku' },
+    imageDescriptionModel: { model: 'haiku' },
+    validationModel: { model: 'sonnet' },
+    specGenerationModel: { model: 'opus' },
+    featureGenerationModel: { model: 'sonnet' },
+    backlogPlanningModel: { model: 'sonnet' },
+    projectAnalysisModel: { model: 'sonnet' },
+    suggestionsModel: { model: 'sonnet' },
+  },
+  enhancementModel: 'sonnet',
+  validationModel: 'opus',
+  enabledCursorModels: ['auto', 'composer-1'],
+  cursorDefaultModel: 'auto',
+  keyboardShortcuts: {
+    board: 'K',
+    agent: 'A',
+    spec: 'D',
+    context: 'C',
+    settings: 'S',
+    profiles: 'M',
+    terminal: 'T',
+    toggleSidebar: '`',
+    addFeature: 'N',
+    addContextFile: 'N',
+    startNext: 'G',
+    newSession: 'N',
+    openProject: 'O',
+    projectPicker: 'P',
+    cyclePrevProject: 'Q',
+    cycleNextProject: 'E',
+    addProfile: 'N',
+    splitTerminalRight: 'Alt+D',
+    splitTerminalDown: 'Alt+S',
+    closeTerminal: 'Alt+W',
+    tools: 'T',
+    ideation: 'I',
+    githubIssues: 'G',
+    githubPrs: 'R',
+    newTerminalTab: 'Alt+T',
+  },
+  aiProfiles: [
+    {
+      id: 'profile-heavy-task',
+      name: 'Heavy Task',
+      description: 'Claude Opus with Ultrathink for complex architecture, migrations, or deep debugging.',
+      model: 'opus',
+      thinkingLevel: 'ultrathink',
+      provider: 'claude',
+      isBuiltIn: true,
+      icon: 'Brain',
+    },
+    {
+      id: 'profile-balanced',
+      name: 'Balanced',
+      description: 'Claude Sonnet with medium thinking for typical development tasks.',
+      model: 'sonnet',
+      thinkingLevel: 'medium',
+      provider: 'claude',
+      isBuiltIn: true,
+      icon: 'Scale',
+    },
+    {
+      id: 'profile-quick-edit',
+      name: 'Quick Edit',
+      description: 'Claude Haiku for fast, simple edits and minor fixes.',
+      model: 'haiku',
+      thinkingLevel: 'none',
+      provider: 'claude',
+      isBuiltIn: true,
+      icon: 'Zap',
+    },
+    {
+      id: 'profile-cursor-refactoring',
+      name: 'Cursor Refactoring',
+      description: 'Cursor Composer 1 for refactoring tasks.',
+      provider: 'cursor',
+      cursorModel: 'composer-1',
+      isBuiltIn: true,
+      icon: 'Sparkles',
+    },
+  ],
+  // Default test project using the fixture path - tests can override via route mocking if needed
+  projects: [
+    {
+      id: 'e2e-default-project',
+      name: 'E2E Test Project',
+      path: FIXTURE_PATH,
+      lastOpened: new Date().toISOString(),
+    },
+  ],
+  trashedProjects: [],
+  currentProjectId: 'e2e-default-project',
+  projectHistory: [],
+  projectHistoryIndex: 0,
+  lastProjectDir: TEST_WORKSPACE_DIR,
+  recentFolders: [],
+  worktreePanelCollapsed: false,
+  lastSelectedSessionByProject: {},
+  autoLoadClaudeMd: false,
+  skipSandboxWarning: true,
+  codexAutoLoadAgents: false,
+  codexSandboxMode: 'workspace-write',
+  codexApprovalPolicy: 'on-request',
+  codexEnableWebSearch: false,
+  codexEnableImages: true,
+  codexAdditionalDirs: [],
+  mcpServers: [],
+  enableSandboxMode: false,
+  mcpAutoApproveTools: true,
+  mcpUnrestrictedTools: true,
+  promptCustomization: {},
+  localStorageMigrated: true,
+};
+
 function setupFixtures() {
   console.log('Setting up E2E test fixtures...');
   console.log(`Workspace root: ${WORKSPACE_ROOT}`);
   console.log(`Fixture path: ${FIXTURE_PATH}`);
+  console.log(`Test workspace dir: ${TEST_WORKSPACE_DIR}`);
+
+  // Create test workspace directory for project creation tests
+  if (!fs.existsSync(TEST_WORKSPACE_DIR)) {
+    fs.mkdirSync(TEST_WORKSPACE_DIR, { recursive: true });
+    console.log(`Created test workspace directory: ${TEST_WORKSPACE_DIR}`);
+  }
 
   // Create fixture directory
   const specDir = path.dirname(SPEC_FILE_PATH);
@@ -43,6 +191,15 @@ function setupFixtures() {
   fs.writeFileSync(SPEC_FILE_PATH, SPEC_CONTENT);
   console.log(`Created fixture file: ${SPEC_FILE_PATH}`);
 
+  // Reset server settings.json to a clean state for E2E tests
+  const settingsDir = path.dirname(SERVER_SETTINGS_PATH);
+  if (!fs.existsSync(settingsDir)) {
+    fs.mkdirSync(settingsDir, { recursive: true });
+    console.log(`Created directory: ${settingsDir}`);
+  }
+  fs.writeFileSync(SERVER_SETTINGS_PATH, JSON.stringify(E2E_SETTINGS, null, 2));
+  console.log(`Reset server settings: ${SERVER_SETTINGS_PATH}`);
+
   console.log('E2E test fixtures setup complete!');
 }
 

apps/ui/src/components/views/context-view.tsx

@@ -496,6 +496,14 @@ export function ContextView() {
       setNewMarkdownContent('');
     } catch (error) {
       logger.error('Failed to create markdown:', error);
+      // Close dialog and reset state even on error to avoid stuck dialog
+      setIsCreateMarkdownOpen(false);
+      setNewMarkdownName('');
+      setNewMarkdownDescription('');
+      setNewMarkdownContent('');
+      toast.error('Failed to create markdown file', {
+        description: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error occurred',
+      });
     }
   };
 

apps/ui/src/components/views/welcome-view.tsx

@@ -319,6 +319,9 @@ export function WelcomeView() {
         projectPath: projectPath,
       });
       setShowInitDialog(true);
+
+      // Navigate to the board view (dialog shows as overlay)
+      navigate({ to: '/board' });
     } catch (error) {
       logger.error('Failed to create project:', error);
       toast.error('Failed to create project', {
@@ -418,6 +421,9 @@ export function WelcomeView() {
       });
       setShowInitDialog(true);
 
+      // Navigate to the board view (dialog shows as overlay)
+      navigate({ to: '/board' });
+
       // Kick off project analysis
       analyzeProject(projectPath);
     } catch (error) {
@@ -515,6 +521,9 @@ export function WelcomeView() {
       });
       setShowInitDialog(true);
 
+      // Navigate to the board view (dialog shows as overlay)
+      navigate({ to: '/board' });
+
       // Kick off project analysis
       analyzeProject(projectPath);
     } catch (error) {

apps/ui/tests/settings/settings-startup-sync-race.spec.ts

@@ -120,13 +120,21 @@ test.describe('Settings startup sync race', () => {
     };
     expect(beforeLogout.projects?.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
 
-    // Navigate to settings and click logout.
+    // Navigate to settings, then to Account section (logout button is only visible there)
     await page.goto('/settings');
+    // Wait for settings view to load, then click on Account section
+    await page.locator('button:has-text("Account")').first().click();
+    // Wait for account section to be visible before clicking logout
+    await page
+      .locator('[data-testid="logout-button"]')
+      .waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });
     await page.locator('[data-testid="logout-button"]').click();
 
     // Ensure we landed on logged-out or login (either is acceptable).
+    // Note: The page uses curly apostrophe (') so we match the heading role instead
     await page
-      .locator('text=You’ve been logged out, text=Authentication Required')
+      .getByRole('heading', { name: /logged out/i })
+      .or(page.locator('text=Authentication Required'))
       .first()
       .waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 30000 });
 

apps/ui/tests/utils/core/interactions.ts

@@ -20,11 +20,14 @@ export async function pressModifierEnter(page: Page): Promise<void> {
 
 /**
  * Click an element by its data-testid attribute
+ * Waits for the element to be visible before clicking to avoid flaky tests
  */
 export async function clickElement(page: Page, testId: string): Promise<void> {
   // Wait for splash screen to disappear first (safety net)
-  await waitForSplashScreenToDisappear(page, 2000);
-  const element = await getByTestId(page, testId);
+  await waitForSplashScreenToDisappear(page, 5000);
+  const element = page.locator(`[data-testid="${testId}"]`);
+  // Wait for element to be visible and stable before clicking
+  await element.waitFor({ state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });
   await element.click();
 }