Pinchtab Coldstart

PinchTab Cold-Start Test

Validate that an AI agent can go from zero to working with PinchTab using only the skill docs — no hand-holding.

Prerequisites

Before spawning the subagent, clean the environment:

PROJECT_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
# Stop Docker benchmark services if running — they bind port 9867 and
# the cold-start native server will collide with them.
docker compose -f "$PROJECT_ROOT/tests/tools/docker-compose.yml" down 2>/dev/null
pkill -f 'pinchtab' 2>/dev/null
pkill -f 'Google Chrome.*pinchtab' 2>/dev/null
sleep 2
rm -f ~/.local/state/pinchtab/current-tab 2>/dev/null
rm -f "$PROJECT_ROOT/pinchtab" 2>/dev/null
rm -f ~/.pinchtab/coldstart-config-*.json 2>/dev/null
lsof -ti:9867 2>/dev/null | xargs kill 2>/dev/null

The cold-start uses PINCHTAB_CONFIG=~/.pinchtab/coldstart-config-<timestamp>.json so it never touches the user's real ~/.pinchtab/config.json. Stale coldstart-config files from previous runs are removed above so ./pinchtab config init writes a truly fresh OOTB config every time.

Wait 2 seconds after cleanup before spawning the agent.

Execution

Spawn a single subagent on Haiku 4.5 (model: "haiku" in the Agent tool call). Cold-start is a doc-quality test: if Haiku can complete 11/11 from the SKILL docs alone, the onboarding flow is genuinely cold-start-ready. Opus passing is unsurprising and not the signal we want. Do not let the subagent inherit Opus from the parent.

Use the prompt below. Replace {PROJECT_ROOT} and {TIMESTAMP} with actual values.

You are running a PinchTab cold-start validation. Your working directory is {PROJECT_ROOT}.

Start by reading the context file, then follow its instructions:

1. Read `tests/coldstart/subagent-context.md` — your full instructions.
2. Read the skill files it references.
3. Read the group files it references.
4. Execute all steps in groups 0 and 1.

Report pass/fail for every step. Write your full results to `/tmp/pinchtab-coldstart-{TIMESTAMP}.md`.

Interpreting results

• 11/11 PASS: The skill docs are sufficient for a cold start.
• Any failure: Check what the agent got stuck on — that's a gap in the skill docs or the CLI ergonomics.

Key things to look for in the report:

• Did the agent use the default port (9867) or pick a custom one?
• Did the agent read the server's READY output or poll health in a loop?
• Did the agent use ./pinchtab CLI or fall back to curl/HTTP API?
• Did the agent leave ~/.pinchtab/config.json untouched and run from a PINCHTAB_CONFIG=~/.pinchtab/coldstart-config-*.json throwaway path?
• Did the agent avoid running ./pinchtab config init, ./pinchtab server, and ./pinchtab session create? The auto-flow on the first nav should handle all three. If the agent ran any of them, the cold-start docs failed to communicate that the auto-flow is the test.
• Did step 0.1 (cold nav) auto-create the config AND auto-start the server in a single command?
• Did step 0.5 (IDPI rejection) get a clean idpi_domain_blocked-style error against https://example.com?
• Did step 1.2 (click follows link) pass without an eval workaround?
• Did step 1.5 (fill+press login) reach VERIFY_LOGIN_SUCCESS_DASHBOARD?

Comparing runs

Track token usage and tool call counts across runs to measure improvements. Thresholds are calibrated for Haiku 4.5 — recalibrate if you switch models.

(Earlier runs on Opus 4.7 came in around 45-53k tokens / 29-38 tool calls. Haiku tends to use more tool calls for the same task; expect higher numbers and adjust thresholds after the first few Haiku runs.)

Source: pinchtab/pinchtab — distributed by TomeVault.