Testing: Finish adoption of shared CLI test utilities

[bcherrington]

Current state and gap

Shared CLI utilities are used across many command-test modules, but adoption is incomplete and duplicate setup or assertion patterns remain. This issue owns maintainability of the test harness; exact exit-code behavior remains in #55.

Acceptance criteria

• Inventory CLI test modules and identify duplicated runner, environment, service-manager, repository, and result-diagnostic setup.
• Migrate only patterns that improve clarity and isolation; do not hide command-specific intent behind generic helpers.
• Remove obsolete duplicate helpers after their consumers migrate.
• Preserve test independence and improve failure diagnostics.
• Run the complete CLI suite and normal CI profile.

[github-actions]

🔍 Triage Analysis

Priority Assessment: Medium

• Rationale: Code quality improvement that enhances maintainability
• Impact: Reduces technical debt and improves testing consistency
• Urgency: Should be completed before adding new CLI features

Issue Classification

• Type: Task/Enhancement (refactoring)
• Complexity: Medium (systematic updates across 8 files)
• Effort Estimate: 2-4 hours of focused development work

Technical Assessment

Strengths:
✅ Well-defined acceptance criteria with clear checklist
✅ Builds on completed foundation (issue #8)
✅ Clear implementation guidance provided
✅ Incremental approach recommended

Dependencies:

• ✅ Prerequisite completed: Issue Testing: Create comprehensive test suite for new CLI command structure #8 (CLI test suite implementation)
• 🔄 Enables: Future environment variable testing and enhanced validation

Recommended Approach

1. Incremental Implementation

   • Update one test file at a time
   • Run tests after each file to ensure no regressions
   • Verify mock configurations remain consistent

2. Quality Assurance

   • Test individual file execution
   • Verify full suite runs successfully
   • Confirm improved error reporting works as expected

3. Risk Mitigation

   • Low risk due to existing test coverage
   • Well-documented shared utilities already proven in test_backup_commands.py

Assignment Recommendation

Ideal assignee: Developer familiar with:

• Python testing patterns (pytest)
• CLI testing utilities implemented in issue Testing: Create comprehensive test suite for new CLI command structure #8
• TimeLocker CLI command structure

Labels Applied

• area:testing (primary)
• area:cli (secondary)
• priority:medium
• complexity:medium
• enhancement

Next Steps

1. Assign to appropriate developer
2. Consider adding to current sprint if CLI work is prioritized
3. Coordinate with any ongoing CLI development to avoid conflicts

---

This issue is ready for implementation with clear requirements and well-defined success criteria.

[bcherrington]

Reconciled on 2026-07-18. Retained because utility adoption is broad but demonstrably incomplete; the stale fixed file list was removed.