MCPInstall

contract-testing

Consumer-driven contract testing for microservices using Pact, schema validation, API versioning, and backward compatibility testing. Use when testing API contracts or coordinating distributed teams.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/proffesor-for-testing/agentic-qe --skill contract-testing
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads contract-testing automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Contract Testing

<default_to_action> When testing API contracts or microservices:

  1. DEFINE consumer expectations (what consumers actually need)
  2. VERIFY provider fulfills contracts (Pact verification)
  3. DETECT breaking changes before deployment (CI/CD integration)
  4. VERSION APIs semantically (breaking = major bump)
  5. MAINTAIN backward compatibility for supported versions

Quick Contract Testing Steps:

  • Consumer: Define expected request/response pairs
  • Provider: Verify against all consumer contracts
  • CI/CD: Block deploys that break contracts
  • Versioning: Document supported versions and deprecation

Critical Success Factors:

  • Consumers own the contract (they define what they need)
  • Provider must pass all consumer contracts before deploy
  • Breaking changes require coordination, not surprise </default_to_action>

Quick Reference Card

When to Use

  • Microservices communication
  • Third-party API integrations
  • Distributed team coordination
  • Preventing breaking changes

Consumer-Driven Contract Flow

Consumer → Defines Expectations → Contract
                    ↓
Provider → Verifies Contract → Pass/Fail
                    ↓
CI/CD → Blocks Breaking Changes

Breaking vs Non-Breaking Changes

Change TypeBreaking?Semver
Remove field✅ YesMajor
Rename field✅ YesMajor
Change type✅ YesMajor
Add optional field❌ NoMinor
Add new endpoint❌ NoMinor
Bug fix❌ NoPatch

Tools

ToolBest For
PactConsumer-driven contracts
OpenAPI/SwaggerAPI-first design
JSON SchemaSchema validation
GraphQLSchema-first contracts

Consumer Contract (Pact)

// Consumer defines what it needs
const { Pact } = require('@pact-foundation/pact');

describe('Order API Consumer', () => {
  const provider = new Pact({
    consumer: 'CheckoutUI',
    provider: 'OrderService'
  });

  beforeAll(() => provider.setup());
  afterAll(() => provider.finalize());

  it('creates an order', async () => {
    await provider.addInteraction({
      state: 'products exist',
      uponReceiving: 'a create order request',
      withRequest: {
        method: 'POST',
        path: '/orders',
        body: { productId: 'abc', quantity: 2 }
      },
      willRespondWith: {
        status: 201,
        body: {
          orderId: like('order-123'),  // Any string matching pattern
          total: like(19.99)           // Any number
        }
      }
    });

    const response = await orderClient.create({ productId: 'abc', quantity: 2 });
    expect(response.orderId).toBeDefined();
  });
});

Provider Verification

// Provider verifies it fulfills all consumer contracts
const { Verifier } = require('@pact-foundation/pact');

describe('Order Service Provider', () => {
  it('fulfills all consumer contracts', async () => {
    await new Verifier({
      provider: 'OrderService',
      providerBaseUrl: 'http://localhost:3000',
      pactUrls: ['./pacts/checkoutui-orderservice.json'],
      stateHandlers: {
        'products exist': async () => {
          await db.products.create({ id: 'abc', price: 9.99 });
        }
      }
    }).verifyProvider();
  });
});

Breaking Change Detection

// Agent detects breaking changes
await Task("Contract Validation", {
  currentContract: 'openapi-v2.yaml',
  previousContract: 'openapi-v1.yaml',
  detectBreaking: true,
  calculateSemver: true,
  generateMigrationGuide: true
}, "qe-api-contract-validator");

// Output:
// Breaking changes found: 2
// - Removed field: order.discount
// - Type change: order.total (number → string)
// Recommended version: 3.0.0 (major bump)

CI/CD Integration

name: Contract Tests
on: [push]

jobs:
  consumer-tests:
    steps:
      - run: npm run test:contract
      - name: Publish Pacts
        run: npx pact-broker publish ./pacts --broker-base-url $PACT_BROKER

  provider-verification:
    needs: consumer-tests
    steps:
      - name: Verify Provider
        run: npm run verify:contracts
      - name: Can I Deploy?
        run: npx pact-broker can-i-deploy --pacticipant OrderService --version $VERSION

Agent Coordination Hints

Memory Namespace

aqe/contract-testing/
├── contracts/*           - Current contracts
├── breaking-changes/*    - Detected breaking changes
├── versioning/*          - Version compatibility matrix
└── verification-results/* - Provider verification history

Fleet Coordination

const contractFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({
  strategy: 'contract-testing',
  agents: [
    'qe-api-contract-validator',  // Validation, breaking detection
    'qe-test-generator',          // Generate contract tests
    'qe-security-scanner'         // API security
  ],
  topology: 'sequential'
});

Agent CLI & Advanced Patterns

For v3 agent-specific commands (aqe contract ...), GraphQL contracts, event contracts, and Pact Broker integration, see references/agent-commands.md.

Related Skills

  • api-testing-patterns - API testing strategies
  • shift-left-testing - Early contract validation
  • cicd-pipeline-qe-orchestrator - Pipeline integration

Remember

Consumers own the contract. They define what they need; providers must fulfill it. Breaking changes require major version bumps and coordination. CI/CD blocks deploys that break contracts. Use Pact for consumer-driven, OpenAPI for API-first.

With Agents: Agents validate contracts, detect breaking changes with semver recommendations, and generate migration guides. Use agents to maintain contract compliance at scale.

Gotchas

  • Pact broker URL must be configured before running — agent will generate tests that silently skip verification without it
  • Consumer tests pass locally but fail in CI when provider states aren't set up — always verify both sides
  • Adding a required field to a response is a BREAKING change even though provider tests pass — consumer didn't expect it
  • Agent may generate contracts from API docs instead of actual consumer usage — contracts must reflect real consumer needs
  • GraphQL contract testing requires schema stitching awareness — fragments may reference types from other services

FAQ

What does the contract-testing skill do?

Consumer-driven contract testing for microservices using Pact, schema validation, API versioning, and backward compatibility testing. Use when testing API contracts or coordinating distributed teams.

How do I install contract-testing?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/proffesor-for-testing/agentic-qe --skill contract-testing in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/contract-testing/ (personal) or .claude/skills/contract-testing/ (project).

Which AI agents can use contract-testing?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is contract-testing safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains contract-testing?

It is published by proffesor-for-testing in proffesor-for-testing/agentic-qe. It has 125 recorded installs.

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