# Add scenarios for the failure paths nobody can reproduce by hand

Timeouts, server errors, and empty states made reproducible on demand instead of only in production.

Category: Mocks, fixtures, and test doubles
Source: https://letsship.ai/use-cases/add-failure-path-scenarios
Published: 2026-08-25

## Goal

Add mock scenarios for the failure paths that cannot be reproduced by hand: timeouts, server errors, and empty results.

## Acceptance criteria

- A scenario exists for each failure mode the surface can hit
- A test asserts the interface behaviour for each
- Screenshots of the visual states are attached
- Scenarios are selectable without a code change

## What lands as proof

A screenshot per failure state and a test per scenario, which together are the first proof these paths render at all.

## Prompt

Copy this to an agent to open the ticket:

```text
Create a Linear issue in my team and assign it to the SHIP agent.

Title: Add failure scenarios for {surface}

Description: Add mock scenarios for the failure paths that cannot be reproduced by hand: timeouts, server errors, and empty results.

Acceptance criteria:
- A scenario exists for each failure mode the surface can hit
- A test asserts the interface behaviour for each
- Screenshots of the visual states are attached
- Scenarios are selectable without a code change

Before you create the issue, pick a surface in this repository with untested error handling and replace {surface} with it.
```

## Questions

### What does the agent actually change?

The ticket is scoped to one outcome: add mock scenarios for the failure paths that cannot be reproduced by hand: timeouts, server errors, and empty results. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.

### How do I know the work is done?

The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means a test per scenario, plus screenshots for the visual states, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.

### How much oversight does this need?

None is required before the run starts. Every claim this ticket makes can be checked by machine, so the agent works straight through and a person reviews the finished pull request like any other.