test(e2e): draw client IDs from a bounded pool

[ttypic]

Every E2E run created fresh random client IDs against Ably's own test
account, and every CLI subprocess acted as a newly generated default
when its config dir was fresh.

• Replace getUniqueClientId with getTestClientId, which cycles
  through eight IDs per prefix: successive calls still return distinct
  IDs, so tests needing two clients get them, but runs reuse the same
  IDs.
• Set a fixed ABLY_CLIENT_ID for the e2e project so subprocesses without
  --client-id share one identity.
• Keep the connection-lifecycle test's ID unique on purpose: it finds
  its own connection by client ID, and a pooled ID could match a
  concurrent run's connection and hide a failure.

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated
cli-web-cli	Ready	Preview	Oct 5, 2026 6:57pm UTC

[claude-code-ably-assistant]

Walkthrough

This PR replaces the E2E test helper getUniqueClientId (which generated a fresh random UUID on every call) with getTestClientId, which cycles through a fixed pool of eight IDs per prefix. The motivation is MAU billing: Ably counts every distinct client ID it sees toward the account's monthly active user quota, so random IDs were accruing new MAUs on every CI run. A fixed ABLY_CLIENT_ID is also set in the Vitest E2E project config so CLI subprocesses that don't receive --client-id reuse a shared identity.

Changes

Area	Files	Summary
Tests – Helper	test/helpers/e2e-test-helper.ts	Adds getTestClientId(prefix) that draws from a pool of 8 deterministic IDs per prefix; deprecates getUniqueClientId
Tests – E2E (Rooms)	rooms-e2e, rooms-messages, rooms-messages-reactions, rooms-messages-subscribe, rooms-occupancy, rooms-presence, rooms-presence-subscribe, rooms-reactions, rooms-typing (9 files)	Replaces all getUniqueClientId calls with getTestClientId
Tests – E2E (Spaces)	spaces-crud, spaces-e2e, spaces-locations, spaces-occupancy, spaces-subscribe (5 files)	Same replacement
Tests – E2E (Other)	auth-tokens-e2e, channel-presence-subscribe-e2e	Same replacement
Tests – E2E (Connections)	connections.test.ts	Keeps a timestamp-based unique ID with an explanatory comment — intentional exception
Config	vitest.config.ts	Adds ABLY_CLIENT_ID fixed env var to the E2E project so subprocesses share one identity
Docs	docs/Testing.md	Documents the MAU constraint and the getTestClientId / ABLY_CLIENT_ID convention

Review Notes

• Behavioral subtlety – pool size is 8: getTestClientId cycles modulo 8. If a single test file calls it more than 8 times with the same prefix (unlikely today but possible), successive calls wrap and return already-used IDs in the same test run. Worth keeping in mind when new tests are added.
• Intentional exception in connections test: connections.test.ts deliberately keeps a Date.now()-based unique ID. The test locates its own live connection in a log by matching client ID; reusing a pooled ID could match a connection from a concurrent parallel run and produce a false positive. The comment in the diff explains this — reviewers should verify the reasoning holds.
• No production code changes: all changes are in test/ helpers, vitest.config.ts, and docs. There is zero risk to CLI command behavior.
• Old getUniqueClientId export: check whether e2e-test-helper.ts still exports getUniqueClientId (for back-compat) or removes it — if it's still exported but unused, it should be removed to avoid drift.
• Parallel CI runs: pooled IDs reduce MAU cost but mean two simultaneous CI runs (e.g., two open PRs running E2E at the same time) could share client IDs and potentially interfere in presence/occupancy tests. The trade-off appears intentional given the MAU concern, but worth noting.

[claude-code-ably-assistant]

Review: test(e2e): draw client IDs from a bounded pool

The change is well-motivated (cutting MAU from per-run UUID minting) and the implementation is clean. A few observations below.

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test/helpers/e2e-test-helper.ts — pool correctness

The clientIdPoolCursors map intentionally persists across tests within the same vitest worker process. resetTestTracking() does not clear it, which is correct: if it reset on every beforeEach, a test needing two distinct clients would get the same ID on re-entry (cursor % 8 would always start at 0). The current design ensures successive calls within a test get different IDs while recycling across CI runs.

One subtle risk worth being aware of: createAblyClient() and createAblyRealtimeClient() both call getTestClientId() with the default prefix "cli-e2e-test", sharing the same cursor. If a test calls both in sequence, it gets IDs cli-e2e-test-0 and cli-e2e-test-1. That's fine for the current tests, but if future tests assert a specific client ID from these helpers, the cursor offset could cause surprises.

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test/e2e/connections/connections.test.ts — Date.now() instead of UUID

The comment correctly explains why this test can't use the pool. However, Date.now() only has millisecond precision — two parallel CI runs starting at the same ms would get identical client IDs and the test could hide a failure in exactly the scenario the comment warns about. A randomUUID() here (imported from node:crypto, already available in the file) would eliminate the remaining risk without any other trade-off.

---

vitest.config.ts — ABLY_CLIENT_ID: "cli-e2e-default"

Correct placement: this applies only to the e2e project, and fileParallelism: false means CLI subprocesses spawned by different test files won't collide with each other within a single CI run. Works as intended.

---

test/e2e/auth/auth-tokens-e2e.test.ts — pooled ID in JWT

Using getTestClientId("e2e-revoke-key-client") for the JWT x-ably-clientId field is fine. Token revocation is keyed on the per-token x-ably-revocation-key (generated fresh each run), so two concurrent CI runs sharing e2e-revoke-key-client-0 cannot interfere with each other's revocation test.

---

Overall

The MAU cost problem is real and this fix is pragmatic. The only actionable change I'd suggest is replacing Date.now() with randomUUID() in connections.test.ts — the current comment correctly identifies the risk but Date.now() doesn't fully close it. Everything else looks good.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

Update the documentation or migrate the remaining random-ID channel test.

Review effort: Lite
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Channel presence E2E test still generates a fresh client ID · New

What changed in this PR

This PR reduces E2E client-ID churn by using bounded ID pools and a fixed subprocess identity.

Changes:

• Adds pooled client-ID generation.
• Migrates reviewed Spaces, Rooms, Channels, and Auth tests.
• Configures ABLY_CLIENT_ID and documents the convention.
• Preserves a unique connection-lifecycle test ID.

One moderate issue remains: the documentation overlooks another channel test that still generates random client IDs.

File	Summary
vitest.config.ts	Configures the fixed E2E subprocess identity.
test/​helpers/​e2e-test-helper.ts	Adds bounded client-ID generation.
test/​e2e/​spaces/​spaces-subscribe-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​spaces/​spaces-occupancy-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​spaces/​spaces-locations-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​spaces/​spaces-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​spaces/​spaces-crud-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-typing-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-reactions-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-presence-subscribe-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-presence-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-occupancy-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-messages-subscribe-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-messages-reactions-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-messages-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​rooms/​rooms-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​connections/​connections.test.ts	Preserves and documents the unique lifecycle ID.
test/​e2e/​channels/​channel-presence-subscribe-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled IDs.
test/​e2e/​auth/​auth-tokens-e2e.test.ts	Uses pooled token client IDs.
docs/​Testing.md	Documents the bounded-ID convention, but omits another random-ID channel test.

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[umair-ably]

looks good but worth looking into #464 (comment)