Spike: e2e driver harness (wdio Phase 0) for investigation trace runs

[RE-codes]

Story

As the developer running the native event investigation (Epic #32), I want a small WebdriverIO + wdio-obsidian-service harness that can drive Obsidian deterministically — switch Reading/Live Preview/Source, toggle the plugin, and dispatch trusted gestures — so the trace runs in #34 and #35 are clean, repeatable, and multi-sample instead of hand-performed and noisy.

This is the driver. Issue #33 (nativeEventTracer.ts) is the logger. They are complementary: the spike performs gestures; the tracer records them.

It is also the e2e PRD's Phase 0: it validates the four load-bearing assumptions before any full e2e suite is built. Building it here, where the investigation already needs a deterministic driver, earns that validation for free.

References

• plan/e2e-automation-prd.md §9 Phase 0 — spike scope and the four unknowns
• plan/maintainability-plan-of-attack.md Phase 3 → "e2e Phase 0 spike as the trace driver"
• plan/native-event-investigation.md § Instrumentation Strategy / Exact Procedure

Scope — the four unknowns to prove

• Drive Reading / Live Preview / Source via leaf.setViewState({ type: "markdown", state: { file, mode, source } }) and read the mode back.
• Dispatch trusted middle-click and Ctrl/Cmd-click via the WDIO Actions API and confirm Obsidian's native handlers run (e.g. a new tab opens).
• Toggle the plugin off/on at runtime (app.plugins.disablePlugin / enablePlugin) — the tracer's required plugin-disabled mode (procedure step 2).
• Distinguish Live Preview rendered vs unrendered link by caret position (editor.setCursor).

Definition of Done

• A throwaway spec demonstrates all four unknowns on a real sandboxed Obsidian (earliest + latest).
• The harness can open a fixture, set a mode, dispatch a gesture, and run with the plugin disabled — enough to drive a trace capture for Capture baseline native + plugin-disabled GFM event traces #34 / Run gesture matrix traces with plugin enabled #35.
• Findings recorded (which unknowns held, any surprises), and any that failed flagged before committing further to the e2e approach.
• Committed test/vaults/parity/ + wdio.conf.mts exist (the foundation the later full suite reuses).

Out of scope

• The full e2e assertion/parity suite (PRD Phases 1–4). That comes after the investigation, informed by its measured timing/event findings, as the black-box characterization net for the Phase 5–10 refactor.
• Highlight-detection work.
• Asserting parity — this spike only drives; Build native event tracer module (TRACER_ONLY flag, passive listeners) #33 logs.

Caveat

Drive ordering-sensitive rows freely (event order is Obsidian's, not the driver's). Cross-check absolute timing-magnitude rows (e.g. the middle-click delay) against a manual gesture, since automated input dispatch can perturb latency. If the spike snags, #34 / #35 can fall back to manual driving — drop the blocker if so.

Relationships

• Sibling of Build native event tracer module (TRACER_ONLY flag, passive listeners) #33 (driver vs logger).
• Blocks Capture baseline native + plugin-disabled GFM event traces #34 and Run gesture matrix traces with plugin enabled #35 (deterministic driving for the trace runs).
• Unblocks the future full e2e suite (PRD Phases 1–4, not yet ticketed).