Test crewrota without real accounts: isolate() and the fakes

crewrota’s tests never call the real claude or the real quota-axi. isolate() in src/test/helpers.ts points HOME and every config folder at a fresh temp folder and sets CREWROTA_CLAUDE and CREWROTA_QUOTA_AXI to the two fakes in src/test/fixtures/. The same fakes run a demo crew for screenshots and docs output.

isolate()

import { isolate } from './helpers.js';

const root = isolate();

It makes a temp folder named crewrota-test-* and sets:

Variable	Points at
HOME, USERPROFILE	<root>/home
APPDATA	<root>/appdata
XDG_CONFIG_HOME	<root>/xdg-config
XDG_DATA_HOME	<root>/xdg-data
CREWROTA_HOME	<root>/crew-home
CREWROTA_CLAUDE	src/test/fixtures/fake-claude.mjs
CREWROTA_QUOTA_AXI	src/test/fixtures/fake-quota-axi.mjs

It removes CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, CREW_MEMBER, CREWROTA_DENYLIST, QUOTA_AXI_CLAUDE_PROFILES and every FAKE_CLAUDE_* and FAKE_QUOTA_* variable, so nothing from your own shell leaks in. Call it at the top of every test file.

The other helpers

Helper	What it does
fakeMember(config, name, { email?, org?, ship? })	Registers a member with an invented login (.claude.json with an oauthAccount), without the creation workflow. The email defaults to <name>@example.com
scriptedUi(answers)	A stand-in for the prompts: answers each question in order and records what was asked
readLog(file)	Reads a fake’s log: one { args, dir } per call
snapshot(dir)	Every file below a folder with its bytes, links not followed, to prove a command changed nothing
fakeClaude, fakeQuotaAxi, cliPath, fixturesDir	Paths to the fakes, dist/cli.js and the fixtures folder

Commands that need injection take a runner or a deps object instead (MemberDeps, LaunchDeps, SetupDeps, a LinkRunner), so a test can answer questions and record calls without a terminal.

The fake claude

src/test/fixtures/fake-claude.mjs only writes inside CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR and never touches a real account.

Call	What it does
--version	Prints 2.1.310 (Claude Code) (fake)
auth login [--email <e>]	Writes an oauthAccount into .claude.json
auth status	Prints { loggedIn, authMethod, configDirectory } as JSON; exit 0 when logged in
auth logout	Removes the oauthAccount
-p ... --output-format stream-json	Prints an init line, a rate_limit_event with both windows, then a result
no arguments, with no login yet	Plays Claude Code’s first-run login: writes an oauthAccount
anything else	A session launch: exits with FAKE_CLAUDE_EXIT

Knob	Default	Effect
FAKE_CLAUDE_LOG	none	Append each call’s arguments and config folder to this file
FAKE_CLAUDE_EMAIL	sam@example.com	The login’s email when --email is not given
FAKE_CLAUDE_ORG	empty	The login’s organisation
FAKE_CLAUDE_LOGIN_EXIT	0	Make the login fail with this code
FAKE_CLAUDE_STATUS_EXIT	unset	Make auth status report logged out, with this code
FAKE_CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIRECTORY	the real folder	The folder auth status reports, to test a mismatch
FAKE_CLAUDE_NO_LIMITS	unset	Leave the rate_limit_event out
FAKE_CLAUDE_FIVE, FAKE_CLAUDE_WEEK	25, 40	The 5-hour and week percent the warm-up reports
FAKE_CLAUDE_EXIT	0	A session launch’s exit code

The fake quota-axi

src/test/fixtures/fake-quota-axi.mjs prints one schema 5 reading with five_hour and seven_day windows and reads no credentials.

Knob	Default	Effect
FAKE_QUOTA_LOG	none	Append each call’s arguments, CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR and QUOTA_AXI_CLAUDE_PROFILES
FAKE_QUOTA_EXIT	unset	Fail with this code
FAKE_QUOTA_FIVE, FAKE_QUOTA_WEEK	30, 55	Percent used
FAKE_QUOTA_STATUS	fresh	Another status, which crewrota ignores

A demo crew

For docs output or screenshots, run the built CLI against the fakes in a scratch folder with a short path, so paths in the output show nothing personal:

D=/tmp/demo-crew
unset CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR CREW_MEMBER QUOTA_AXI_CLAUDE_PROFILES
export HOME=$D/home USERPROFILE=$D/home APPDATA=$D/appdata XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$D/xdg CREWROTA_HOME=$D/crew-home
export CREWROTA_CLAUDE=$PWD/src/test/fixtures/fake-claude.mjs
export CREWROTA_QUOTA_AXI=$PWD/src/test/fixtures/fake-quota-axi.mjs
mkdir -p $HOME $APPDATA/crewrota $XDG_CONFIG_HOME $CREWROTA_HOME/members/main
echo '{"oauthAccount":{"emailAddress":"main@example.com","organizationName":"","organizationUuid":""}}' > $CREWROTA_HOME/members/main/.claude.json
echo '{"skipPermissions":null,"current":"main","members":{"main":{"provider":"claude","created":"2026-11-05T00:00:00.000Z"}}}' > $APPDATA/crewrota/config.json
node dist/cli.js list

• Unset CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR when your shell is itself a crew member; otherwise crew statusline writes that member’s real quota.json.
• crew add needs a terminal, so seed members by hand as fakeMember does, or run crew add in a real terminal against the fake, which plays the first-run login.
• FAKE_CLAUDE_FIVE=12 node dist/cli.js warmup main gives one member its own reading.
• Set CREWROTA_CODE and CREWROTA_PYTHON to an empty file so crew shortcut and crew widget startup write their files without opening anything.
• When you are done, remove the scratch folder only after its links are gone: member folders hold junctions or symbolic links to ships.

Related

• Build and test
• Safety rules
• Environment variables