OPAL Frontend

This is an Angular SSR application. There are two main reasons for this:

• the web server for when the app is deployed in Kubernetes.

• to proxy API requests to internally-facing backend API services, such as the opal-fines-service.

Contents

• Getting Started
• Local Development Strategy
• Production Server
• Running Unit Tests
• Running End-to-End Tests
• Accessibility Tests
• Switching Between Local and Published Common Libraries

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Running the application requires the following tools to be installed in your environment:

• Node.js ^20.19.0 or ^22.12.0 or >=24.0.0 (use .nvmrc, currently 24.13.0).

• yarn v4

• Docker

Install Dependencies

Install dependencies by executing the following command:

yarn

Local Development Strategy

1. Clone Backend Repositories

IMPORTANT: All repositories must be cloned into the same parent directory. For example, if you have a GitHub folder in your Documents directory, all of the following repositories should be cloned directly inside that GitHub folder:

Documents/
└── GitHub/
  ├── opal-shared-infrastructure/
  ├── opal-fines-service/
  ├── opal-user-service/
  ├── opal-logging-service/
  └── opal-frontend/

Clone the opal-shared-infrastructure repository and follow the instructions in there to get it up and running. This is required for the below repositories: Clone the opal-fines-service repository and follow the instructions in there to get it up and running. This is required by the front end to make local Fines API requests. Clone the opal-user-service repository and follow the instructions in there to get it up and running. This is required by the front end to make local User API requests. Clone the opal-logging-service repository and follow the instructions in there to get it up and running. This is required by the opal-fines-service to make local Logging API requests.

2. Clone opal-frontend-common-ui-lib

Clone the opal-frontend-common-ui-lib repository and run:

yarn
yarn build

This is required if you want to develop the frontend against the local version of the UI library using yarn dev:local-lib:ssr.

3. Clone opal-frontend-common-node-lib

Clone the opal-frontend-common-node-lib repository and run:

yarn
yarn build

This is required if you want to develop the frontend against the local version of the Node library using yarn dev:local-lib:ssr.

4. Development server

There are two ways to run the Angular SSR application depending on whether you are developing against local or published versions of the common libraries:

• To use the published versions of the libraries:

  yarn dev:ssr

  This starts the SSR dev server using the versions pinned in your package.json/yarn.lock. No packages are reinstalled.

• To use local versions of the libraries:

  First, ensure you've built the libraries locally and set the environment variables:

  export COMMON_UI_LIB_PATH="[INSERT PATH TO COMMON UI LIB DIST FOLDER]"
  export COMMON_NODE_LIB_PATH="[INSERT PATH TO COMMON NODE LIB DIST FOLDER]"

  Ensure you've built both libraries and exported the environment variables before running this command.

  Then run:

  yarn dev:local-lib:ssr

  This will import the local builds and start the SSR dev server with those versions.

The application's home page will be available at http://localhost:4200.

Note this is running the Angular SSR application and expects the opal-fines-service to also be running locally to function correctly.

5. Production server

There are two options depending on whether you're working with local or published versions of the common libraries. This command builds the Angular SSR application for production and serves it. You will not have hot reloading in this mode.

• To build and serve the application using the published libraries:

  yarn build:serve:ssr

  This will:

  • Build the application for production using the versions pinned in your package.json/yarn.lock
  • Serve it on http://localhost:4000

• To build and serve the application using local libraries:

  First, ensure you've built both common libraries and set the environment variables:

  export COMMON_UI_LIB_PATH="[INSERT PATH TO COMMON UI LIB DIST FOLDER]"
  export COMMON_NODE_LIB_PATH="[INSERT PATH TO COMMON NODE LIB DIST FOLDER]"

  Ensure you've built both libraries and exported the environment variables before running this command.

  Then run:

  yarn build:serve:local-lib:ssr

  This will:

  • Import the local builds of the common libraries
  • Build the application for production
  • Serve it on http://localhost:4000

The application's home page will be available at http://localhost:4000.

Note this is running the Angular SSR application and expects the opal-fines-service to also be running locally to function correctly.

6. Redis (Optional)

By default Redis is disabled for local development. If desired, start up a Redis instance locally:

docker run -p 6379:6379 -it redis/redis-stack-server:latest

And enable Redis integration within the application by setting the environment variable FEATURES_REDIS_ENABLED to true. The application will connect to Redis on the next startup.

7. Launch Darkly (Optional)

By default Launch Darkly is disabled by default for local development. To enable set the following environment variables. Replace XXXXXXXXXXXX with the project client id.

export FEATURES_LAUNCH_DARKLY_ENABLED=true
export LAUNCH_DARKLY_CLIENT_ID=XXXXXXXXXXXX

The streaming of flags is disabled by default, if you would like to enable set the following environment variable.

export FEATURES_LAUNCH_DARKLY_STREAM=true

Build

Run yarn build:ssr to build the project. The build artifacts will be stored in the dist/opal-frontend directory. This compiles both the node.js server-side code and angular code.

Code style

We use ESLint and Prettier

Running the linting:

yarn lint

You can fix prettier formatting issues using:

yarn  prettier:fix

There is a custom lint rule for member ordering to ensure members in the code are ordered in the following format:

[
  "private-static-field",
  "protected-static-field",
  "public-static-field",
  "private-instance-field",
  "protected-instance-field",
  "public-instance-field",
  "constructor",
  "private-static-method",
  "protected-static-method",
  "public-static-method",
  "private-instance-method",
  "protected-instance-method",
  "public-instance-method"
]

Running unit tests

Run yarn test to execute the unit tests via Vitest.

Run yarn test:watch to execute unit tests in watch mode.

To check code coverage, run yarn test:coverage. Code coverage can then be found in the coverage folder of the repository locally.

Running end-to-end tests

We are using cypress for our end-to-end tests (Cucumber .feature files).

Prerequisites

• Start the SSR app locally. The default base URL is http://localhost:4000/.
• Override the base URL with TEST_URL if needed, for example when running against a deployed environment.
• Generic test runs default to edge. In CI, the pipeline falls back to chrome if Edge is unavailable. Explicit browser runs still fail if the requested browser is not installed.

Opal mode (default)

Run yarn test:smoke to execute the end-to-end smoke tests in Opal mode.

yarn test:smoke

Run yarn test:functional to execute the end-to-end functional tests in Opal mode.

yarn test:functional

To filter scenarios by tag locally, set TAGS and use the tagged runner:

TAGS=@UAT-Technical yarn test:functional:tags

Legacy mode

To run Opal functional tests in legacy app mode, used for UAT-Technical coverage:

yarn test:functional:uat-legacy

Dev-JCDE (CI / PR builds)

For PR builds, the enable_legacy_mode label switches the dev environment to legacy mode and points the legacy gateway at JCDE. When legacy mode is enabled in CI, you must also provide a run_tag:<expression> label, for example run_tag:@UAT-Technical, to scope the suite. The pipeline always appends not @skip.

Debugging

Run yarn cypress to open the Cypress console.

yarn cypress

Reports

Artifacts and reports are written to smoke-output/ and functional-output/, using browser-specific subdirectories where applicable.

Running accessibility tests

We are using axe-core and cypress-axe to check the accessibility. Run the production server and once running you can run the smoke or functional test commands.

See opal-frontend-common-ui-lib and opal-frontend-common-node-lib for usage and build instructions.

Switching Between Local and Published Common Libraries

This project supports switching between local and published versions of the opal-frontend-common and opal-frontend-common-node libraries using the following scripts:

Switching to Local Versions

First, ensure you've built the libraries locally and exported the paths to the built dist folders:

# In your shell config file (.zshrc, .bash_profile, etc.)
export COMMON_UI_LIB_PATH="[INSERT PATH TO COMMON UI LIB FOLDER]"
export COMMON_NODE_LIB_PATH="[INSERT PATH TO COMMON NODE LIB DIST FOLDER]"

Then, run the following scripts:

yarn import:local:common-ui-lib
yarn import:local:common-node-lib

These commands will remove the published versions and install the local builds from the paths you specified.

Switching to Published Versions

To reinstall the published packages at the exact versions declared in package.json (not the latest):

yarn import:published:common-ui-lib
yarn import:published:common-node-lib

This is useful when you're no longer working on the libraries directly or want to verify against the published versions that your project is pinned to.

Note: Version upgrades should come via Renovate PRs. These commands do not upgrade to the latest; they reinstall the exact versions specified in package.json. For extra safety in CI, consider using yarn install --immutable to prevent lockfile drift.

Angular code scaffolding

Run yarn ng generate component component-name to generate a new component. You can also use yarn ng generate directive|pipe|service|class|guard|interface|enum|module.

Note the requirement for prefixing the ng commands with yarn

Angular code LLM prompts

https://angular.dev/ai/develop-with-ai

Paste the following prompt into your AI assistant of choice.

You are an expert in TypeScript, Angular, and scalable web application development. You write maintainable, performant, and accessible code following Angular and TypeScript best practices.

## TypeScript Best Practices

- Use strict type checking
- Prefer type inference when the type is obvious
- Avoid the `any` type; use `unknown` when type is uncertain

## Angular Best Practices

- Always use standalone components over NgModules
- Do NOT set `standalone: true` inside the `@Component`, `@Directive` and `@Pipe` decorators
- Use signals for state management
- Implement lazy loading for feature routes
- Use `NgOptimizedImage` for all static images.
- Do NOT use the `@HostBinding` and `@HostListener` decorators. Put host bindings inside the `host` object of the `@Component` or `@Directive` decorator instead

## Components

- Keep components small and focused on a single responsibility
- Use `input()` and `output()` functions instead of decorators
- Use `computed()` for derived state
- Set `changeDetection: ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush` in `@Component` decorator
- Prefer inline templates for small components
- Prefer Reactive forms instead of Template-driven ones
- Do NOT use `ngClass`, use `class` bindings instead
- DO NOT use `ngStyle`, use `style` bindings instead

## State Management

- Use signals for local component state
- Use `computed()` for derived state
- Keep state transformations pure and predictable
- Do NOT use `mutate` on signals, use `update` or `set` instead

## Templates

- Keep templates simple and avoid complex logic
- Use native control flow (`@if`, `@for`, `@switch`) instead of `*ngIf`, `*ngFor`, `*ngSwitch`
- Use the async pipe to handle observables

## Services

- Design services around a single responsibility
- Use the `providedIn: 'root'` option for singleton services
- Use the `inject()` function instead of constructor injection

💡 Copilot Prompt Examples for Angular MCP

📘 1. Ask for Documentation Help

Prompt:

“How do Angular signals work?”

What Copilot does:
Calls search_documentation("signals") and returns official Angular documentation context.

---

🧱 2. Generate Code

Prompt:

“Generate a service for user authentication”

What Copilot does:
Runs ng generate service user-auth through the MCP server — adds the file in the correct directory.

---

📚 3. Get Project File Structure

Prompt:

“List all Angular modules in this project”

What Copilot does:
Uses list_projects and get_file_tree to find and display modules across the workspace.

---

🧭 4. Navigate Routing Setup

Prompt:

“What routes are defined in this app?”

What Copilot does:
Parses routing modules and shows route paths, guards, and lazy-loaded modules.

---

🧹 5. Refactor with AI Help

Prompt:

“Convert this component to use the standalone API”

What Copilot does:
Updates component metadata with standalone: true, refactors imports, and removes old NgModule references.

---

🛠️ 6. Add Angular Libraries

Prompt:

“Add Angular Material”

What Copilot does:
Triggers ng add @angular/material to install the package and configure animations + theming.

Zephyr Automation

Zephyr Automation is a tool for integrating test results and ticket management between Zephyr, Jira, and test frameworks (Cucumber, Cypress). It automates the creation and updating of Jira tickets and Zephyr executions based on test reports.

Features

• Create or update Jira tickets from test results
• Create Zephyr executions
• Supports Cucumber and Cypress JSON reports

Project Scripts (zephyr:*)

• zephyr:cypress:jira-create: Create Jira tickets from the Cypress JSON report at functional-output/zephyr/cypress-report-1.json.
• zephyr:cypress:jira-update: Update Jira tickets using the Cypress JSON report at functional-output/zephyr/cypress-report-1.json.
• zephyr:cypress:jira-execute: Create a Zephyr execution from the Cypress JSON report at functional-output/zephyr/cypress-report-1.json.
• zephyr:cucumber:functional:jira-create: Create Jira tickets from the functional Cucumber JSON report at functional-output/zephyr/cucumber-report.json.
• zephyr:cucumber:functional:jira-update: Update Jira tickets using the functional Cucumber JSON report at functional-output/zephyr/cucumber-report.json.
• zephyr:cucumber:functional:jira-execute: Create a Zephyr execution from the functional Cucumber JSON report at functional-output/zephyr/cucumber-report.json.
• zephyr:cucumber:smoke:jira-create: Create Jira tickets from the smoke Cucumber JSON report at smoke-output/zephyr/cucumber-report.json.
• zephyr:cucumber:smoke:jira-update: Update Jira tickets using the smoke Cucumber JSON report at smoke-output/zephyr/cucumber-report.json.
• zephyr:cucumber:smoke:jira-execute: Create a Zephyr execution from the smoke Cucumber JSON report at smoke-output/zephyr/cucumber-report.json.
• zephyr:test:opalComponent: Reset outputs, run component tests, then create a Zephyr execution from the Cypress JSON report.
• zephyr:test:functional: Reset outputs, run functional tests, then create a Zephyr execution from the functional Cucumber JSON report.
• zephyr:test:smoke: Reset outputs, run smoke tests, then create a Zephyr execution from the smoke Cucumber JSON report.

Supported Tags

The following tags can be used in your test scenarios to control ticket creation, linking, and metadata:

Tag Prefix	Example Value	Description
@JIRA-KEY:	@JIRA-KEY:PROJ-123	Associates the test with an existing Jira issue key.
@JIRA-COMPONENT:	@JIRA-COMPONENT:API	Adds the specified Jira component to the ticket.
@JIRA-LABEL:	@JIRA-LABEL:smoke	Adds the specified label to the Jira ticket.
@JIRA-EPIC:	@JIRA-EPIC:PROJ-456	Links the ticket to the specified Jira Epic.
@JIRA-NFR:	@JIRA-NFR:PROJ-789	Links the ticket to a Non-Functional Requirement (NFR) Jira issue.
@JIRA-LINK:	@JIRA-LINK:PROJ-321	Creates a generic link to another Jira issue.
@JIRA-STORY:	@JIRA-STORY:PROJ-654	Links the ticket to a Jira Story.
@JIRA-DEFECT:	@JIRA-DEFECT:PROJ-987	Links the ticket to a Jira Defect.
@JIRA-IGNORE:	@JIRA-IGNORE	Prevents ticket creation or update for this test.

• Tags are case-sensitive and must be used exactly as shown.