Testing

Use a disposable profile or VM for upgrade tests. Do not publish private contact details in evidence.

Test context

Record these six fields before starting:

• MeowMenu version/revision: the exact release, prerelease, commit, or development revision under test.
• Distribution/version: the distribution name and version.
• Xfce version: the exact desktop version reported by the tester.
• Architecture: for example, x86_64 or amd64.
• Session type: X11 or Wayland.
• Installation method/artifact: the package format, source build, or exact artifact identity.

Every result applies only to this recorded version and environment. It does not establish results for another distribution, Xfce version, architecture, session, or installation method.

Five-minute core check

1. Install the version under test. Compare the installed version with the version shown in About, then restart the panel.
2. Add MeowMenu through Add New Items. On a fresh profile, confirm the Modern preset is selected.
3. Open the menu, search for a known application, and launch it.
4. Press Tab to switch Applications/Places, Ctrl+Tab to move among areas, arrows to navigate, and Enter to activate.
5. Close with Escape, reopen MeowMenu, and repeat an open/search/launch cycle.
6. Log out and in, then confirm the panel item, search, keyboard flow, and another startup still work.

A pass is scoped to the six recorded context fields above. File a compatibility report; prefer a durable public issue or release note over a short-lived workflow link.

Routine CI and timing evidence

Every pull request to main and every main push runs one full debugoptimized build and test suite on Ubuntu 26.04, Debian 13, and Fedora

1. Three focused checks cover sanitizers, catalogs and repository consistency, and operation without optional build integrations or Calculator provider executables. These six results are routine source and test evidence, not live desktop results or installable package evidence.

The broader Xfce 4.16, 4.18, 4.20, and successor source-stack matrix is run explicitly when compatibility evidence is needed. CodeQL runs independently on a weekly schedule or manual request. Neither is a routine required result.

After a CI-shape change, timing is reviewed using the first ten consecutive completed routine pull-request or main runs. Each measurement starts with the run and ends when its last required result completes; at least nine should finish within 15 minutes. A run is replaced only if a superseding change cancelled it or a documented hosted-service incident overlapped it, with the exclusion and next consecutive replacement recorded.

Automated dependency evidence

Ubuntu 26.04 and Debian 13 build inputs are resolved from debian/control; Fedora 44 uses dnf builddep on the RPM spec; Arch remains authoritative through makepkg --syncdeps. Each positive gate records configured, disabled, executed, skipped, failed, and timed-out tests, installs its artifact, checks helper ownership and linkage, and runs the dependency-sensitive action contract.

Direct repository contracts check the required Exo build and helper declarations. The release workflow then builds each native package from the selected tag’s canonical source, runs the product suite, installs the package in its target environment, and verifies its declared dependency closure and installed actions.

Source cells cover Xfce 4.16, 4.18, and 4.20 with Exo. A separate libxfce4ui-4.21-or-newer cell proves Exo is absent, checks symbols and dynamic linkage, installs into an isolated root, and captures all ten interactions when the explicit compatibility matrix is dispatched. This is staged-install evidence, not routine distro CI or live desktop evidence.

The ten interactions are the icon chooser, Help, the Man Pages, Web Search, Wikipedia, Run in Terminal, and Open URI search actions, launcher editing, Places folder fallback, and Places terminal opening. Upgrade coverage repeats the five search actions with historical stored defaults and verifies that custom and persisted command strings remain byte-for-byte unchanged.

Optional five-minute extension

• Switch among the built-in presets.
• Test a Calculator expression, then select or simulate a missing engine and confirm ordinary search still works.
• Drag an application or Place to Favourites.
• Try the available desktop action for an application or Place.
• If convenient, repeat a quick open/search check with a dark theme, vertical panel, or scaled display. Missing optional visual evidence is not a failure.

Upgrade check

1. Record the exact <source-version> already installed and the exact <target-version> under test. In a separate profile, install the source version and add MeowMenu to the panel.
2. Add representative ordered favourites; choose a non-default layout; select non-default preferences; select Calculator engine, result size, and precision; save a custom preset.
3. Record xfconf-query -c meowmenu -lv and copy the saved .meowpreset files to a comparison directory.
4. Upgrade to <target-version> without deleting configuration.
5. Compare the panel item, favourites and order, layout/preferences, Calculator choices, Xfconf output, and preset files.
6. Log out and in and compare again.
7. Restart MeowMenu again to exercise another startup and confirm the values remain unchanged.

Expected result: no panel item, user choice, or preset is lost or silently reset. This result applies only to the recorded source build, target build, and six-field environment.

Removal and full cleanup

Removing a DEB, RPM, or Arch package removes installed program files but normally retains the user’s Xfconf settings and saved presets. This makes a later reinstall recover the configuration. Follow the full cleanup instructions only when you deliberately want to erase that user state.