[dmccoystephenson]

Summary

• tests/test_batch_scripts.py previously checked only that the Windows batch scripts use REM rather than # comments (Batch scripts start with '#' lines, which cmd.exe runs as a command #37). Nothing guarded the behaviour that the README documents for them.
• Characterization tests are added (Stage B, no production code changed) for the commands each script runs, with REM lines and blank lines ignored:
  • up.bat / down.bat run exactly the Compose commands the README gives as their equivalents, including down.bat's --volumes, which the README warns deletes Viron's database volumes.
  • create_environments.bat defaults the maximum size to 100 and reads it from %~1, runs sizes 1 up to and including the maximum, deletes environments.json before the loop, invokes main.py <size> --exit-after-create with stdout appended to output.txt and stderr to error_log.txt, and prints Error occurred while running with size <n>. on a non-zero exit status.
  • The --exit-after-create token the script passes is checked against the literal main.py compares argv[2] with, so renaming the flag on one side only fails the suite.

Work selection

A documentation accuracy sweep of README.md against main.py, graphik.py, render_window.py, headless_run.py, usage_reporting.py and the three .bat scripts found no drift, so this cycle fell back to test expansion. Every open issue was deferred:

• A failed environment creation leaves the window open and shows no error, unlike a failed load #42, Decide whether per-location colours should be stable across frames #24 — each asks for an owner decision that an autonomous run cannot make.
• The Viron submodule is pinned before Viron required bearer tokens, so Patchwork cannot reach a current Viron #41 — needs an owner decision and a change to the Viron submodule pointer, which is not changed without explicit authorization.
• Add text-based UI support to library for users #11, Support drawing environments with multiple grids #2 — feature-sized, beyond a single polish-sized PR.

Test plan

• python3 -m unittest discover -s tests — 150 tests ran, OK (141 before this change).
• Mutation check: with --volumes removed from down.bat and --exit-after-create removed from create_environments.bat, the two corresponding new tests failed; with the scripts restored, all 10 tests in the file passed.
• Live Viron / pygame anchor: not applicable — no rendering or service-call file is modified.

No tracking issue — gap found during triage.

This PR description was drafted during a Gardener session (https://github.com/Stephenson-Software/gardener).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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drafted by Claude on behalf of Daniel Stephenson

[dmccoystephenson]

Self-review rubric (anchor: Tests workflow green on the PR head; locally python3 -m unittest discover -s tests ran 150 tests, OK):

• Scope: PASS — only tests/test_batch_scripts.py is modified; no production file or .bat script is changed.
• Tests-new: PASS — no new public functions; readCommands is a test helper, used by every new test.
• Tests-fix: not applicable (no bug fix). As an equivalent check, --volumes was removed from down.bat and --exit-after-create from create_environments.bat; test_down_removes_orphans_and_deletes_the_volumes and test_main_is_invoked_with_the_size_and_the_exit_after_create_flag failed, and passed again once the scripts were restored.
• Sibling structure: PASS — the new classes follow the existing TestCommentSyntax pattern (camelCase module helpers, repositoryRoot-relative paths, one docstring per class).
• Sibling renames: not applicable — nothing renamed.
• Docs: PASS — the README's "Running the tests" paragraph says tests/test_batch_scripts.py "reads the Windows batch scripts as text, so it needs no Windows either", which still holds. The Starting Viron and Batch environment creation sections were re-checked against each new assertion and match.
• Issue resolution: not applicable — no Closes; the deferral reason for each open issue is in the PR body.
• Manual validation: UNVERIFIED-not-applicable for the live Viron / pygame run — no rendering or service-call file is touched.

Judgment call:

• tests/test_batch_scripts.py — test_the_flag_is_the_one_main_compares_its_second_argument_against asserts on the source text argv[2] == "--exit-after-create" instead of calling main.parseArgs, so that this file does not have to duplicate the Viron sys.modules stubs from tests/test_main.py. The drawback: a behaviour-preserving refactor of parseArgs (for example, moving the flag into a constant) would fail this test, and it would have to be updated alongside. That is accepted here because the test exists to fail when the two sides drift apart.
• The assertions match whole lines exactly, so reformatting a script (for example, re-aligning the set lines) would also fail them. That trade-off is intentional for characterization tests.

Verdict: ready to merge.

This review was drafted during a Gardener session (https://github.com/Stephenson-Software/gardener).

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drafted by Claude on behalf of Daniel Stephenson