Testing Conformance Harnesses

Use this skill to turn an explicit authority set into an implementation-agnostic harness that proves whether one or more implementations conform across cases, platforms, and versions.

Authority Set

Start by naming the sources that define correct behavior:

• Specifications, protocol documents, schemas, API contracts, or formal requirements.
• Canonical examples, golden transcripts, fixtures, or reference outputs.
• Version notes, compatibility promises, migration guides, and documented exceptions.
• Existing implementation behavior only when it is explicitly accepted as a reference oracle.

State precedence before designing tests. When sources conflict, the higher-precedence source controls and the conflict becomes a harness case or documented exclusion.

Harness Shape

Build the harness around these pieces: