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A factory suite is a reusable collection of hardware tests designed for production or QA use: boards on a jig, operator workflow, clear pass/fail verdicts, and a written record of each run. Where workflows are for engineering automation (“build, flash, soak-test this commit”), factory suites are for operators (“plug in the board, click Run, see pass/fail”).

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Anatomy of a suite

Every suite has:
  • An entry point (usually main.py) that declares the ordered sequence of steps.
  • Suite files — Python modules, YAML step metadata, JSON fixtures, firmware binaries, reference images — uploaded into Stout’s object storage.
  • Parsed steps — derived from the entry point at import time, each step carrying a name, a description, and optional visual metadata (icon, color, expected image).

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Importing a suite

From Factory → Import Suite:
  1. Upload a zip of your suite directory, or point at a GitHub repo.
  2. Stout parses main.py to extract the step list and validates each step.
  3. The suite is saved with a version. Re-importing creates a new version so you can roll back if a suite regresses.

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Running a suite

From Factory → [suite] → Run:
  1. Pick a target box. Stout checks that the box has all the nets the suite requires.
  2. Click Start. The suite boots in a dedicated container on the box.
  3. The run detail page opens a WebSocket to the box and streams every step event in real time.
Events you’ll see:
  • step_started / step_completed with pass/fail and duration.
  • image_captured / video_captured if your step takes a camera capture.
  • log_line for free-form output.
  • suite_finished with aggregate successCount / failureCount.

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Run states

StateMeaning
pendingAccepted, waiting for the box.
uploadingSuite files being pushed to the box.
runningSteps executing.
passedEvery step completed successfully.
failedAt least one step failed.
cancelledAn operator clicked Cancel.
errorInfrastructure failure (box lost, suite parse error).

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Reports

Every run produces a report with per-step results, any captured images or videos, and a structured event log. Reports can be downloaded as JSON for integration with your MES or QA tracker.
The authoring guide for factory suites (writing steps, defining pass/fail criteria, camera capture, structured metadata) is coming soon. In the meantime, look at an existing suite’s main.py for the conventions.