aiskillstore/marketplace/condition-based-waiting
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Use when tests have race conditions, timing dependencies, or inconsistent pass/fail behavior - replaces arbitrary timeouts with condition polling to wait for actual state changes, eliminating flaky tests from timing guesses
Install
npx vskill@latest install aiskillstore/marketplace/condition-based-waitingSKILL.md
Condition-Based Waiting
Overview
Flaky tests often guess at timing with arbitrary delays. This creates race conditions where tests pass on fast machines but fail under load or in CI.
Core principle: Wait for the actual condition you care about, not a guess about how long it takes.
When to Use
Use when:
- Tests have arbitrary delays (
setTimeout,sleep,time.sleep()) - Tests are flaky (pass sometimes, fail under load)
- Tests timeout when run in parallel
- Waiting for async operations to complete
Don't use when:
- Testing actual timing behavior (debounce, throttle intervals)
- Always document WHY if using arbitrary timeout
Core Pattern
Quick Patterns
| Scenario | Pattern | |
|---|---|---|
| Wait for event | waitFor(() => events.find(e => e.type === 'DONE')) | |
| Wait for state | waitFor(() => machine.state === 'ready') | |
| Wait for count | waitFor(() => items.length >= 5) | |
| Wait for file | waitFor(() => fs.existsSync(path)) | |
| Complex condition | waitFor(() => obj.ready && obj.value > 10) |
Implementation
Generic polling function:
See @example.ts for complete implementation with domain-specific helpers (waitForEvent, waitForEventCount, waitForEventMatch) from actual debugging session.
Common Mistakes
❌ Polling too fast: setTimeout(check, 1) - wastes CPU ✅ Fix: Poll every 10ms
❌ No timeout: Loop forever if condition never met ✅ Fix: Always include timeout with clear error
❌ Stale data: Cache state before loop ✅ Fix: Call getter inside loop for fresh data
When Arbitrary Timeout IS Correct
Requirements:
- First wait for triggering condition
- Based on known timing (not guessing)
- Comment explaining WHY
Real-World Impact
From debugging session (2025-10-03):
- Fixed 15 flaky tests across 3 files
- Pass rate: 60% → 100%
- Execution time: 40% faster
- No more race conditions
Security
- Security scanPassed, 95 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
- Model reviewPassed
Quality evaluation
- Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.
Source
- SKILL.md in the repositoryCheckingskills/dyai2025/condition-based-waiting/SKILL.md
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