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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.

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Storage model

Mantis uses three storage layers:
  • Provider image - owned by Crabbox, stored in the cloud provider account. Holds machine capabilities (Chrome/Chromium, ffmpeg, scrot, Node/corepack/pnpm, native build tools) and empty cache directories.
  • Warm lease state - owned by the current operator session. Can hold 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. Live under .artifacts/qa-e2e/mantis/...; GitHub Actions uploads them and the Mantis GitHub App comments inline evidence on the PR.
Never bake secrets, browser cookies, Slack login state, repository checkouts, node_modules, or dist/ into a provider image.

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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
candidate_ref is restricted because the workflow uses live credentials: it must resolve to current main ancestry, a release tag, or an open PR head in openclaw/openclaw. The workflow produces:
  • 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: slack-desktop-command.log, openclaw-gateway.log, chrome.log, ffmpeg.log
The PR comment is updated in place via the hidden <!-- mantis-slack-desktop-smoke --> marker.

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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 otherwise. 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-checkpoints is mutually exclusive with --gateway-setup. It runs the opt-in slack-approval-exec-native and slack-approval-plugin-native scenarios unless you pass an explicit approval-checkpoint --scenario; 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 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 have no Slack Web cookies, so their browser capture can land on the Slack sign-in screen. For approval-checkpoint proof, trust the rendered checkpoint images and Slack QA artifacts rather than slack-desktop-smoke.png. Only use a kept warm lease with a manually logged-in Slack Web profile when the browser screenshot itself must show Slack Web.

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Hydrate modes

ModeUse whenRemote behaviorTradeoff
sourceNormal PR proof, cold machines, CIRuns pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prefer-offline and pnpm build inside the VMSlowest, strongest source-checkout proof
prehydratedYou intentionally prepared a reused leaseRequires existing node_modules and dist/; skips install/buildFast, 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 reuses /var/cache/crabbox/pnpm when present.

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Timing interpretation

mantis-slack-desktop-smoke-report.md includes phase timings:
  • crabbox.warmup - cloud provider boot, desktop/browser readiness, 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 show accepted when Crabbox returns a non-zero remote status but Mantis copied metadata proving 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 a 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 gateway/browser/Slack setup is slow.
  • Artifact copy dominates: inspect video size and artifact directory contents.

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Evidence checklist

A good PR comment shows:
  • scenario id and candidate SHA
  • GitHub Actions run URL and 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 and the report’s timing summary
Do not commit screenshots or videos into the repository. Keep them in GitHub Actions artifacts or the PR comment.

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Failure handling

If the workflow fails before the VM run, inspect the Actions job first. Typical causes: untrusted candidate_ref, missing environment secrets, or a 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, then 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.