Replace sleep with wait-for-tcp script in run-tests.sh and CI workflow to improve reliability of smoke tests. Update TESTING.md to include prerequisites for the new script.

.gitea/workflows/smoke-tests.yml

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ name: Smoke tests
 on:
   workflow_dispatch:
   push:
+  pull_request:
 
 jobs:
   smoke:
@@ -14,10 +15,14 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Install needed tools
+        env:
+          DEBIAN_FRONTEND: noninteractive
         run: |
+          set -e
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends openssh-client netcat-openbsd ca-certificates curl
           curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y
-          echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
+          echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
-          sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y netcat-openbsd
 
       - name: Build
         run: cargo build
@@ -34,7 +39,7 @@ jobs:
           RUST_LOG=info ./target/debug/mudserver -d "$TEST_DB" &
           MUD_PID=$!
           trap 'kill $MUD_PID 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
-          sleep 2
+          bash scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh 127.0.0.1 2222
           set +e
           ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -p 2222 smoketest@localhost <<'EOF'
           1
@@ -56,13 +61,13 @@ jobs:
           set -e
           [[ $r -eq 0 || $r -eq 255 ]]
 
-      - name: Smoke — persistence (reconnect)
+      - name: Smoke - persistence (reconnect)
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           RUST_LOG=info ./target/debug/mudserver -d "$TEST_DB" &
           MUD_PID=$!
           trap 'kill $MUD_PID 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
-          sleep 2
+          bash scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh 127.0.0.1 2222
           set +e
           ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -p 2222 smoketest@localhost <<'EOF'
           look
@@ -82,13 +87,13 @@ jobs:
           ./target/debug/mudtool -d "$TEST_DB" settings set registration_open false
           ./target/debug/mudtool -d "$TEST_DB" settings list
 
-      - name: Smoke — in-game admin
+      - name: Smoke - in-game admin
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           RUST_LOG=info ./target/debug/mudserver -d "$TEST_DB" &
           MUD_PID=$!
           trap 'kill $MUD_PID 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
-          sleep 2
+          bash scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh 127.0.0.1 2222
           set +e
           ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -p 2222 smoketest@localhost <<'EOF'
           admin help
@@ -108,7 +113,7 @@ jobs:
           RUST_LOG=info ./target/debug/mudserver -d "$TEST_DB" &
           MUD_PID=$!
           trap 'kill $MUD_PID 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
-          sleep 2
+          bash scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh 127.0.0.1 2222
           set +e
           ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -p 2222 newplayer@localhost <<'EOF'
           quit
@@ -125,7 +130,7 @@ jobs:
           RUST_LOG=info ./target/debug/mudserver -d "$TEST_DB" &
           MUD_PID=$!
           trap 'kill $MUD_PID 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
-          sleep 2
+          bash scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh 127.0.0.1 2222
           set +e
           (
             echo "1"

TESTING.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 This builds the server and mudtool, starts the server with a temporary DB, and runs the same sequence as the smoke steps in [`.gitea/workflows/smoke-tests.yml`](.gitea/workflows/smoke-tests.yml) (new player, persistence, mudtool admin, in-game admin, registration gate, tick combat), then cleans up. Use `MUD_TEST_DB` (default `./mudserver.db.test`) so you do not overwrite your normal `mudserver.db`.
 
-Prerequisites: Rust toolchain (cargo), ssh client. In CI, Rust is installed by the workflow.
+Prerequisites: Rust toolchain (cargo), OpenSSH client, and OpenBSD `nc` (`netcat-openbsd` on Debian/Ubuntu) for [`scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh`](scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh). CI installs these explicitly before the smoke steps.
 
 ---
 

run-tests.sh

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ trap cleanup EXIT
 cargo build
 RUST_LOG=info ./target/debug/mudserver -d "$TEST_DB" &
 SERVER_PID=$!
-sleep 2
+bash "$ROOT/scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh" 127.0.0.1 2222
 
 ssh_mud smoketest@localhost <<'EOF'
 1

scripts/ci/wait-for-tcp.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+host=${1:-127.0.0.1}
+port=${2:-2222}
+max_attempts=${3:-30}
+for _ in $(seq 1 "$max_attempts"); do
+  if nc -z -w 1 "$host" "$port" 2>/dev/null; then
+    exit 0
+  fi
+  sleep 1
+done
+echo "timeout waiting for $host:$port" >&2
+exit 1