argent-screenshot-diff

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha cef7f8baa3a0 · 29 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publishersoftware-mansion GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source foldersoftware-mansion/argent/packages/skills/skills/argent-screenshot-diffThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceApache-2.0As the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdictcef7f8baa3a0A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedPushed today
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Compare saved or live app screenshots with the argent screenshot-diff tool. Use when testing visual regressions, before/after UI comparisons, screenshot diff checks, visible layout, spacing, color, typography, clipping,…

---
name: argent-screenshot-diff
description: Compare saved or live app screenshots with the argent screenshot-diff tool. Use when testing visual regressions, before/after UI comparisons, screenshot diff checks, visible layout, spacing, color, typography, clipping, overflow, text rendering, or image/icon rendering changes.
---

## 1. Role

Use `screenshot-diff` as supporting visual evidence for UI QA and visual regression checks. It highlights pixel-visible change or stability; it does not replace visual inspection, accessibility/component-tree state, frame/attribute checks, logs, network evidence, or app behavior.

Do not use screenshot diffing for tap-coordinate discovery. Use `describe`, `debugger-component-tree`, or `native-describe-screen` to find targets first.

`screenshot-diff` supports physical iPhones (kind `"device"`) for both saved-file diffs and live captures. A live capture on hardware goes through the on-device runner at full resolution, is device-wide, and needs no registered app. Keep baselines per device model and resolution, and note that the `rotation` parameter is ignored on hardware: the capture follows the device's real orientation.

## 2. When To Use

Use `screenshot-diff` when pixel comparison can answer the verification question:

- Required for explicit "UI regression test", "visual regression test", "screenshot diff", "compare screenshots", or "before/after visual comparison" requests, unless stable comparable screenshots cannot be produced.
- Good fit when the affected screen has stable before/after states and the expected result is pixel-visible: layout, position, size, spacing, color, typography, image/icon rendering, clipping, overflow, or text rendering.
- Good fit when the risk is unintended visual regression outside the exact element changed.
- Poor fit when the result is better verified structurally: state changes, navigation existence, accessibility tree contents, console/network behavior, or unit tests.
- Poor fit when dynamic content, unpausable animation, timestamps, ads, random data, or missing baseline/current screenshots would make the comparison noisy or meaningless.

## 3. Capture Rules

Use normal downscaled `screenshot` calls for UI context and state checks. Use full-resolution screenshots only when saving baseline/current PNG files for visual regression comparison. Suppress the image block so the full-size PNG is not loaded into context:

```json
{ "udid": "<UDID>", "scale": 1.0, "includeImageInContext": false }
```

Capture the stable baseline before the relevant interaction or before editing whenever feasible. Compare it to the post-change or post-interaction screen after the app reloads, rebuilds, or reaches the state under test.

## 4. Parameters

Provide `udid` and exactly one input for the baseline side and exactly one input for the current side:

- Common UI regression flow: saved baseline plus live current -> `baselinePath`, `captureCurrent: true`, `udid`, `outputDir`.
- Both screenshots already saved -> `baselinePath`, `currentPath`, `udid`, `outputDir`.
- Rare fixture flow: live baseline plus saved current -> `captureBaseline: true`, `currentPath`, `udid`, `outputDir`.
- Do not combine `captureBaseline: true` with `captureCurrent: true`, or provide both a path and live capture flag for the same side.

## 5. Deterministic Flow

1. Navigate to the known-good state.
2. Capture a baseline PNG with `screenshot` using `scale: 1.0` and `includeImageInContext: false`; keep the returned `path`.
3. Perform the interaction, apply the code change and navigate to the state under test.
4. Call `screenshot-diff` with the saved `baselinePath`, `captureCurrent: true`, `udid`, and `outputDir`.
5. Inspect the summary and artifact paths, then combine the diff with normal visual inspection and any structural/runtime evidence needed for the assertion.

```json
{
  "baselinePath": "/tmp/baseline.png",
  "captureCurrent": true,
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "outputDir": "/tmp/argent-diff"
}
```

If both images are already saved, use file paths for both sides:

```json
{
  "baselinePath": "/tmp/baseline.png",
  "currentPath": "/tmp/current.png",
  "udid": "<UDID>",
  "outputDir": "/tmp/argent-diff"
}
```

Excerpt, first 4,206 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/software-mansion/argent
git -C argent checkout cef7f8baa3a0

Works in

1. 2026-10-29
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source cef7f8baa3a0

Questions about argent-screenshot-diff

• github.com/software-mansion/argent/tree/main/packages/skills/ski — the audited source at commit cef7f8baa3a0 and every finding aboveObserved · 29 Oct 2026

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