td-feature-qa — verify it works, not just exists

Most defects here live at boundaries, and a tool that returns success can still cook to errors or a black frame. So: read both sides of every boundary together, and check errors after the network cooks, not just the create_* return flag. Run incrementally — validate each feature as it lands so an early boundary bug doesn't propagate.

Gates + suites — always run (offline, no TD needed)

• npm run typecheck · npm run build · npm test
• biome via ./node_modules/.bin/biome check . (NOT npm run lint — RTK proxy gives a false ESLint parse error)
• npm run validate:recipes · npm run test:bridge (python3 -m unittest discover -s td/tests)

Cross-boundary checks — open both sides

Boundary	Left (producer)	Right (consumer)	Compare
Tool ↔ CLI	tool's Zod inputSchema	command in src/cli/agent.ts	every param reachable from CLI; types/defaults align; name maps to the right handler
Tool ↔ registry	register… export	layer*/index.ts + tools/index.ts	actually registered + aggregated, not just written
Tool ↔ docs	live registry	generated docs/reference/tools.md	regenerates and includes the new tool
…Impl ↔ test	real return / isError shape	msw test assertions	test exercises the actual shape, not a cast-away generic
Code ↔ TD	operator types created	what this build can create	optype exists + is createable (dir(td) suffix-match over-counts; ~22 names not createable; KB lags ~14 ops)
Bridge ↔ client	td/ endpoint/payload	touchDesignerClient.ts + validators.ts envelope	response shape matches the Zod validator

Live TD validation — when the bridge is up

Policy: offline gates always; live when available. Call get_td_info first.

• Bridge up: build the feature through the agent CLI against the live bridge, capture get_preview, and check get_td_node_errors after it cooks.
• Bridge offline: run offline gates, mark live validation UNVERIFIED — pending bridge in the report. Do not fail the pipeline for a missing TD.

Live gotchas to rule out before declaring a bug:

• Silent failures: a Level TOP has no gain (it's brightness1); no cross-container wires (Select TOP).
• Paused timeline: time-dependent chains (motion / frame-diff / feedback / beat) read 0 when op('/').time.play is false — check it before concluding a reactive chain is dead.
• Staleness: a connected mcp__tdmcp__* runs the old build until restarted; editing td/ doesn't reload the running bridge (reload_bridge / restart) — suspect stale modules before "fixing" correct code.
• GLSL: needs out vec4 fragColor + a self-supplied time uniform.
• Device sources can hang TD on a macOS permission modal — validate the synthetic/file source first.

Output

A report at _workspace/04_qa_<feature|batch>.md with three explicit buckets — PASS, FAIL (file:line + concrete fix + owning agent), UNVERIFIED (what wasn't checked + why, e.g. bridge offline). Never silently skip a check; list it as UNVERIFIED.

Fix loop

• Send each defect immediately to its owner (td-builder for handler/schema/test, td-integrator for wiring/CLI/docs); boundary bugs go to both. Re-validate after each fix.
• Cap at ~2–3 rounds per feature; if still failing, report a blocker with full findings instead of looping.
• If a gate fails due to a concurrent agent's unrelated in-flight WIP, say so and validate your slice in isolation (vitest run <yourfile>).