Testing

Guide for testing sysc-greet during development.

Test Mode

sysc-greet includes a test mode that bypasses greetd authentication, allowing you to test the greeter without locking your session.

Running Test Mode

# Basic test mode
kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test

# Test mode with debug logging
kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --debug

# Test mode with screensaver enabled
kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --screensaver

Fullscreen Testing

For accurate preview, test in fullscreen:

kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test

Debug Logging

Enable debug logging to diagnose issues:

kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --debug

Debug logs are written to /tmp/sysc-greet-debug.log and include:

• Key press events
• Mode transitions
• Animation state changes
• IPC communication (if not in test mode)
• Wallpaper commands
• Theme changes
• Preference saves

Viewing Debug Logs

# View entire log
cat /tmp/sysc-greet-debug.log

# Follow log in real-time
tail -f /tmp/sysc-greet-debug.log

# View last 50 lines
tail -n 50 /tmp/sysc-greet-debug.log

Test Mode Restrictions

Important: Test mode is automatically disabled if GREETD_SOCK environment variable is set. This prevents accidental use of test mode in production environments.

Command Line Options

Theme Testing

Test with a specific theme:

kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --theme dracula
kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --theme nord
kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --theme tokyo-night

Available theme names: dracula, gruvbox, material, nord, tokyo-night, catppuccin, solarized, monochrome, transishardjob, eldritch

Username Caching

Test username caching:

kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --remember-username

Testing Checklist

When testing changes, verify:

• All themes render correctly
• Border styles display properly
• Background effects animate smoothly
• ASCII effects work for all variants
• Screensaver activates after timeout
• Preferences save and restore correctly
• Session selection works
• Keyboard navigation functions properly
• Test mode works without greetd
• Debug logging captures expected events

Integration Testing

For full integration testing with greetd:

1. Build and install sysc-greet
2. Configure greetd service
3. Restart greetd: sudo systemctl restart greetd
4. Test actual login flow
5. Check greetd logs: journalctl -u greetd -n 50

Note: Integration testing requires root access and will lock your session. Use test mode for most development work.

Performance Testing

Monitor resource usage during testing:

# Monitor CPU/memory
htop

# Monitor in separate terminal
watch -n 1 'ps aux | grep sysc-greet'

Background effects (fire, matrix, rain) are CPU-intensive. Verify they don't cause excessive resource usage on target hardware.

Kitty and compositor visual testing

Run sysc-greet fullscreen in Kitty inside the testbed's running compositor with --test. This bypasses authentication while exercising the real greeter window. Use a second connected display to check secondary-output placement; one output cannot verify that path.

Common Test Scenarios

Test Theme Switching

1. Start greeter in fullscreen Kitty: kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test
2. Press F1 (Settings)
3. Navigate to Themes
4. Cycle through all themes
5. Verify colors update correctly

Test Background Effects

1. Start greeter in fullscreen Kitty: kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test
2. Press F1 (Settings)
3. Navigate to Backgrounds
4. Test the listed effects, including Sonar, Cracktro, Plasma, Higgs Field, model rotations, and Australian SLR
5. Verify animations render correctly

Test Screensaver

1. Start greeter in fullscreen Kitty: kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test --screensaver
2. Wait for idle timeout (or manually trigger)
3. Verify screensaver displays
4. Press any key to exit
5. Verify login state is preserved

Test ASCII Variants

1. Start greeter in fullscreen Kitty: kitty --start-as=fullscreen sysc-greet --test
2. Press Page Up/Down
3. Verify ASCII art cycles through variants
4. Verify selected variant persists after restart

Troubleshooting Test Mode

Test mode doesn't start:

• Check GREETD_SOCK is not set: unset GREETD_SOCK
• Verify binary is executable: chmod +x sysc-greet

Debug log not created:

• Check /tmp/ is writable
• Verify --debug flag is used
• Check file permissions: ls -la /tmp/sysc-greet-debug.log

Colors look wrong:

• Test in fullscreen kitty for accurate preview
• Check terminal color profile support
• Verify theme files are correct

For more troubleshooting, see Troubleshooting Guide.