openclaw/docs/concepts/mantis-slack-desktop-runbook.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Operator runbook for Mantis Slack desktop QA: GitHub dispatch, local CLI, warm VNC leases, hydrate modes, timing interpretation, artifacts, and failure handling.	Running Mantis Slack desktop QA from GitHub or locally Debugging slow Mantis Slack desktop runs Choosing source, prehydrated, or warm-lease mode Posting screenshot and video evidence to a PR	Mantis Slack desktop runbook

Mantis Slack desktop QA is the real-UI lane for Slack-class bugs that need a Linux desktop, VNC rescue, Slack Web, a real OpenClaw gateway, screenshots, videos, and a PR evidence comment.

Use it when unit tests or the headless Slack live lane cannot prove the bug.

Storage model

Mantis uses three different storage layers:

• Provider image: owned by Crabbox and stored in the cloud provider account. It contains machine capabilities such as Chrome/Chromium, ffmpeg, scrot, Node/corepack/pnpm, native build tools, and empty cache directories.
• Warm lease state: owned by the current operator session. It can contain a logged-in browser profile, /var/cache/crabbox/pnpm, and a prepared source checkout while the lease is alive.
• Mantis artifacts: owned by the OpenClaw run. They live under .artifacts/qa-e2e/mantis/..., then GitHub Actions uploads them and the Mantis GitHub App comments inline evidence on the PR.

Never put secrets, browser cookies, Slack login state, repository checkouts, node_modules, or dist/ into a prebaked provider image.

GitHub dispatch

Run the workflow from main:

gh workflow run mantis-slack-desktop-smoke.yml \
  --ref main \
  -f candidate_ref=<trusted-ref-or-sha> \
  -f pr_number=<pr-number> \
  -f scenario_id=slack-canary \
  -f crabbox_provider=aws \
  -f keep_vm=false \
  -f hydrate_mode=source

Allowed candidate_ref values are intentionally narrow because the workflow uses live credentials: current main ancestry, release tags, or an open PR head from openclaw/openclaw.

The workflow writes:

• uploaded artifact: mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-<run-id>-<attempt>;
• inline PR comment from the Mantis GitHub App;
• slack-desktop-smoke.png;
• slack-desktop-smoke.mp4;
• slack-desktop-smoke-preview.gif;
• slack-desktop-smoke-change.mp4;
• mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-summary.json;
• mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-report.md;
• remote logs such as slack-desktop-command.log, openclaw-gateway.log, chrome.log, and ffmpeg.log.

The PR comment is updated in place by the hidden <!-- mantis-slack-desktop-smoke --> marker.

Local CLI

Cold source proof:

pnpm openclaw qa mantis slack-desktop-smoke \
  --provider aws \
  --class standard \
  --gateway-setup \
  --credential-source convex \
  --credential-role maintainer \
  --provider-mode live-frontier \
  --model openai/gpt-5.4 \
  --alt-model openai/gpt-5.4 \
  --scenario slack-canary \
  --hydrate-mode source

Keep the VM for VNC rescue:

pnpm openclaw qa mantis slack-desktop-smoke \
  --provider aws \
  --class standard \
  --gateway-setup \
  --scenario slack-canary \
  --keep-lease

Open VNC:

crabbox vnc --provider aws --id <cbx_id> --open

Reuse a warm lease:

pnpm openclaw qa mantis slack-desktop-smoke \
  --provider aws \
  --lease-id <cbx_id-or-slug> \
  --gateway-setup \
  --scenario slack-canary \
  --hydrate-mode source

Use --hydrate-mode prehydrated only when the reused remote workspace already has node_modules and a built dist/. Mantis fails closed if those are missing.

Prove native Slack approval UI:

pnpm openclaw qa mantis slack-desktop-smoke \
  --provider aws \
  --class standard \
  --approval-checkpoints \
  --credential-source convex \
  --credential-role maintainer \
  --hydrate-mode source

Approval checkpoint mode is mutually exclusive with --gateway-setup. It runs the opt-in slack-approval-exec-native and slack-approval-plugin-native scenarios unless you pass explicit approval checkpoint --scenario flags; other Slack scenarios are rejected before the VM starts. The Slack QA runner writes each checkpoint JSON file from the real Slack API message it observed, then the remote watcher renders that message snapshot into approval-checkpoints/<scenario>-pending.png and approval-checkpoints/<scenario>-resolved.png. The run fails if any checkpoint JSON, message evidence, ack JSON, or rendered screenshot is missing or empty.

Cold GitHub Actions leases do not have Slack Web cookies, so their browser capture can land on Slack sign-in. For approval checkpoint proof, trust the rendered checkpoint images and Slack QA artifacts rather than slack-desktop-smoke.png. Use a kept warm lease with a manually logged-in Slack Web profile only when the browser screenshot itself must show Slack Web.

Hydrate modes

Mode	Use when	Remote behavior	Tradeoff
source	Normal PR proof, cold machines, CI	Runs pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prefer-offline and pnpm build inside the VM	Slowest, strongest source-checkout proof
prehydrated	You intentionally prepared a reused lease	Requires existing node_modules and dist/; skips install/build	Fast, but only valid for operator-controlled warm leases

GitHub Actions always prepares the candidate checkout before the VM run. Its pnpm store is cached by OS, Node version, and lockfile. The VM source run also uses /var/cache/crabbox/pnpm when present.

Timing interpretation

mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-report.md includes phase timings:

• crabbox.warmup: cloud provider boot, desktop/browser readiness, and SSH.
• crabbox.inspect: lease metadata lookup.
• credentials.prepare: Convex credential lease acquisition.
• crabbox.remote_run: sync, browser launch, OpenClaw install/build or hydrate validation, gateway startup, screenshot, and video capture.
• artifacts.copy: rsync back from the VM.

crabbox.remote_run can be marked accepted when Crabbox returns a non-zero remote status after Mantis has copied metadata proving that either the OpenClaw gateway setup completed or the Slack QA command itself exited successfully. Treat accepted as pass-with-explanation, not a failed scenario.

If the run is slow:

• warmup dominates: prebake or promote a better Crabbox provider image;
• remote_run dominates in source: use a warm lease, improve pnpm store reuse, or move machine prerequisites into the provider image;
• remote_run dominates in prehydrated: the remote workspace was not actually ready, or the gateway/browser/Slack setup is slow;
• artifact copy dominates: inspect video size and artifact directory contents.

Evidence checklist

A good PR comment should show:

• scenario id and candidate SHA;
• GitHub Actions run URL;
• artifact URL;
• inline approval checkpoint screenshot, or a Slack Web screenshot from a logged-in warm lease;
• inline animated preview when available;
• full MP4 and trimmed MP4 links;
• pass/fail status;
• timing summary in the attached report.

Do not commit screenshots or videos into the repository. Keep them in GitHub Actions artifacts or the PR comment.

Failure handling

If the workflow fails before the VM run, inspect the Actions job first. Typical causes are untrusted candidate_ref, missing environment secrets, or candidate install/build failure.

If the VM run fails but screenshots were copied back, inspect:

cat mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-report.md
cat mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-summary.json
cat slack-desktop-command.log
cat openclaw-gateway.log
cat chrome.log
cat ffmpeg.log

If the run kept the lease, open VNC with the report's crabbox vnc ... command. Stop the lease when done:

crabbox stop --provider aws <cbx_id-or-slug>

If Slack login expired, repair it in VNC on a kept lease and rerun with --lease-id. Do not bake that browser profile into a provider image.

Related

• QA overview
• Slack channel
• Testing