This guide will help you triage test failures on build.webkit.org and get the bots back to being green.

= Find out what is failing =

There are two main ways to do this:

 * Browse build.webkit.org (you should probably start with this one)
   1. Find recent builds that have failed
     * Windows:
       1. Go to http://build.webkit.org/buildslaves.
       1. Click on the name of a slave you're interested in to see a summary of its recent builds.
     * Other platforms:
       1. Go to http://build.webkit.org/builders.
       1. Click on the name of a builder you're interested in to see a summary of its recent builds.
     * The '''Info''' column will tell you if any tests failed for that build.
     * To see the test output for a particular build, click on the link in the '''Build #''' column, then on '''view results''', then on '''results.html'''
 * Use `webkit-patch`
   1. Run this command:
{{{
webkit-patch failure-reason
}}}
   1. When prompted, specify which builder you're interested in.
   1. Press Enter to continue. `webkit-patch` will look back through the recent builds for that builder until it has found when all current failures were introduced.

= Find out when each test started failing =

You can either:

 * Look back through old builds on build.webkit.org
 * Use the output from `webkit-patch failure-reason`
 * Use `svn log`/`git log` to find out when the test or its results were last changed

= Try to figure out the reason each test is failing =

(You probably won't be able to figure out exactly why every test is failing, but the more information you can get now, the better.)

Look at the revision range where the failure was introduced. If you find that:

 * The test and/or its expected output was modified
   * The test might need new results for the failing platform(s).
   * Are the test's results platform-specific (i.e., are they beneath `LayoutTests/platform/`)?
     * Yes: the failing platforms might just need new results checked in. You'll have to verify that the current output from those platforms is correct.
     * No: the failing platforms might have some missing functionality in WebKit or DumpRenderTree.
 * Related areas of WebKit were modified
   * Were the modifications platform-specific?
     * Yes: the failing platforms might need similar modifications made.
     * No: there might be some existing platform-specific code that is responsible for the different results.

= Group failures by "root cause" =

If a multiple tests are all failing for the same reason, they should be grouped together into a single root cause.

= File one or more bugs for each root cause =

If a test fails on multiple platforms and those platforms will need separate fixes, you should file one bug for each failing platform.

 1. Go to http://webkit.org/new-bug
 1. Include in your report:
   * The name(s) of the failing test(s)
   * The root cause you determined, if any
   * What platform(s) the failures occur on
   * When the failures began, if known
   * A link to the failing output
     * If a single test had incorrect output, link to the pretty diff.
     * If multiple tests had incorrect output, or if the failure is a crash or hang, link to results.html.
 1. Apply keywords
   * `LayoutTestFailure`
   * `Regression`, if the failure is due to a regression in WebKit
   * `PlatformOnly`, if the test only fails on one platform

= Get the bots green again =

 * If you know what the root cause is, and know how to fix it (e.g., by making a change to WebKit or checking in new correct results), then fix it and close the bug!
 * If the tests always fail with the same incorrect output, check in new results for the tests and include the bug URL in your ChangeLog.
   * You should do this even if the test is "failing". By running the test against these "expected failure" results rather than skipping the test entirely, we can discover when new regressions are introduced.
 * If the tests fail intermittently, or crash, or hang, add the tests to the appropriate Skipped files. Include a comment in the Skipped file with the bug URL and a brief description of how it fails (e.g., "Crashes", "Sometimes times out", etc.).