TESTING.md

MyScience Testing Guide

Manual Testing Checklist

Browser Extension Testing

Installation Verification

• Extension loads successfully in Chrome/Edge (Developer Mode)
• Extension loads successfully in Firefox (Temporary Add-on)
• Extension icons display correctly in extensions list
• No console errors on extension load

Button Injection

• Visit elifesciences.org - button appears in bottom-right
• Visit sciety.org - button appears in bottom-right
• Visit biorxiv.org - button appears in bottom-right
• Button has purple gradient background
• Button text "MyScience" is visible on desktop
• Button shows only icon on mobile/small screens

Accessibility

• Button is keyboard focusable (Tab key)
• Button activates on Enter key
• Button activates on Space key
• Button has visible focus ring
• Screen reader announces "Open MyScience personalized research feed"
• Reduced motion preference is respected

User ID Generation

• Open browser DevTools → Application → Local Storage
• Visit a supported research site
• Verify myscience_user_id is created in localStorage
• User ID format matches user_[alphanumeric]
• Same user ID persists across page reloads
• Same user ID used across different research sites

Web Application Testing

Initial Load

• Navigate to http://localhost:5000
• Page loads without errors
• "MyScience" brand name displays with gradient
• Dark/light theme toggle works
• Empty state shows "Welcome to MyScience!"

Extension Integration

• Click MyScience button from a research site
• New tab opens to MyScience app
• URL includes ?return=[original URL]&site=[site name]&user=[user ID]
• "Return to [site name]" button appears in header
• Click return button → original article opens in new tab
• MyScience tab remains open (not replaced)

User Profile API

• Open browser DevTools → Network tab
• Load MyScience page
• Verify GET /api/user/[userId] returns 200
• User profile is created on first visit
• Same profile retrieved on subsequent visits within session

Save Articles Feature

• Click "Save" button on any article card
• Verify network request POST /api/saved-articles returns 201
• Saved article appears in feed
• Saved count in hero section increments
• Reload page → saved articles persist (within server session)

Search Functionality

• Type in search box
• Articles filter in real-time
• Search matches title, abstract, and authors
• Empty state shows when no matches found
• Clear search → all articles return

Data Persistence Testing

Within Server Session (In-Memory Storage)

• Save an article
• Reload MyScience page → article still appears
• User ID remains consistent
• Profile data persists

Across Server Restarts

⚠️ Expected Behavior: Data is lost when server restarts

• Save an article
• Stop server (Ctrl+C)
• Restart server (npm run dev)
• Reload page → saved articles are gone ✓ (expected)
• User ID in localStorage still exists ✓ (expected)
• New profile is created with same user ID ✓ (expected)

Error Handling

Network Errors

• Stop server
• Try to load MyScience page
• Verify graceful handling (no infinite loading)
• Restart server
• Page recovers without manual reload

Invalid Data

• Open DevTools → Console
• Try to save article with missing fields
• Verify error is logged
• App continues to function

Cross-Browser Testing

Chrome/Edge

• All features work
• Extension installs correctly
• No console errors

Firefox

• All features work
• Extension installs correctly
• No console errors

Accessibility Testing

Keyboard Navigation

• Tab through all interactive elements
• All buttons and inputs are focusable
• Focus order is logical
• Focus indicators are visible
• No keyboard traps

Screen Reader

• All buttons have descriptive labels
• Article cards announce title and metadata
• Loading states are announced
• Error messages are announced

Known Limitations (MVP)

Data Persistence

• In-memory storage only: All saved articles and profile data are lost when the server restarts
• No database: This is intentional for the prototype phase
• localStorage only: User ID persists in browser but not synced across devices

Mock Data

• Article recommendations are hardcoded mock data
• Topics and activity widgets show placeholder content
• Real recommendation engine not yet implemented

Features Not Yet Implemented

• ORCID authentication
• Sciety API integration
• User profile editing
• Article annotations
• Email notifications
• Cross-device sync
• Production database

Testing After Future Changes

When Adding Database

• Saved articles persist across server restarts
• User profiles persist across server restarts
• Database migrations run successfully
• Data integrity is maintained

When Adding ORCID

• OAuth flow completes successfully
• ORCID is saved to user profile
• ORCID is displayed in UI
• User can disconnect ORCID

When Adding Real Recommendations

• Mock data is removed
• Real API calls return recommendations
• Recommendations update based on user activity
• Performance is acceptable with large datasets