Mock data factory

Generate a type-safe factory that produces realistic mock data for a named type, interface, or schema. The skill reads the target definition, infers each field's semantics from its name and type (an email becomes a valid address, createdAt a recent ISO date, id a UUID, count a small non-negative integer), and emits a build() factory that returns a complete, valid object while accepting a partial override for any field. It matches the project's existing fixture conventions instead of inventing a new one.

When to use this skill

• A test or story needs a valid instance of a type and you don't want to hand-write every field.
• You keep copy-pasting and tweaking the same object literal across specs — centralize it in one factory.
• Local dev or a seed script needs believable sample records (users, orders, events) rather than "foo" / 123 placeholders.

[!NOTE] The factory produces plausible, schema-valid data — not data that satisfies your business invariants. If a test depends on a specific relationship (e.g. endsAt after startsAt, or a total matching its line items), pass explicit overrides rather than trusting the defaults.

Instructions

1. Locate the target. Read the type the user named — a TypeScript interface/type, a Zod/Yup schema, a Prisma model, a Python dataclass/Pydantic model. Resolve every field, its type, optionality, and any nested or referenced types so the factory returns a fully-populated object.
2. Detect the project's conventions. Inspect the repo before writing — do not guess:
   • Is a faker library already a dependency (@faker-js/faker, faker, factory.ts, fishery, factory_boy)? Reuse it. If none exists, generate deterministic values with plain code rather than adding a dependency.
   • Mirror existing factory/fixture file location and naming (*.factory.ts, factories/, fixtures/, conftest.py).
   • Match the override signature already in use (e.g. build(overrides?: Partial<T>) vs. a fishery params object).
3. Infer field semantics from name + type. Map fields to believable generators: email → valid address, *Id/id/uuid → UUID, *At/*Date → recent ISO timestamp, name/firstName → a real-looking name, url/avatar → a URL, price/amount → a positive decimal, count/quantity → a small int, isActive/enabled → boolean. For enums/unions, pick the first valid member. Fall back to the type's primitive default only when the name carries no signal.
4. Write the factory. Emit a build() that returns a complete object with sensible defaults, deep-merges a Partial<T> override, and is typed so the return value is the full T. Make defaults deterministic (or seedable) so snapshots stay stable. Populate nested objects via their own factories where they exist. Leave a // TODO only where a value needs genuine human judgment (a real foreign key, a domain-specific constraint).
5. Verify it type-checks and runs. Type-check the file (tsc --noEmit, or import it in a scratch test) and instantiate build() plus build({ ...override }) to confirm both produce valid instances and the override actually wins.
6. Report. Summarize the fields and the generator chosen for each, and flag gaps — fields where the inferred value may violate a business rule, unresolved referenced types, or invariants the caller must enforce via overrides.

[!WARNING] Keep generated values clearly synthetic (example.com emails, obviously fake names) and never commit real PII or production-shaped secrets into fixtures. A factory checked into the repo is shared sample data, not a place for live tokens or customer records.

Examples

Given a User type:

export interface User {
  id: string;
  email: string;
  displayName: string;
  role: "admin" | "member" | "guest";
  isActive: boolean;
  createdAt: string; // ISO 8601
}

The skill detects @faker-js/faker is already installed and writes src/test/factories/user.factory.ts:

import { faker } from "@faker-js/faker";
import type { User } from "../../types/user";

export function buildUser(overrides: Partial<User> = {}): User {
  return {
    id: faker.string.uuid(),
    email: faker.internet.email().toLowerCase(),
    displayName: faker.person.fullName(),
    role: "member",
    isActive: true,
    createdAt: faker.date.recent({ days: 30 }).toISOString(),
    ...overrides,
  };
}

Use it in a test, overriding only what the case cares about:

const admin = buildUser({ role: "admin", email: "[email protected]" });
expect(canDeleteWorkspace(admin)).toBe(true);

Seed the faker instance (faker.seed(1)) when you need byte-stable output for snapshots.