[dmccoystephenson]

Stage B (unit-test expansion) cycle: characterization tests are added for the package's public surface and release identity, which until now were guarded only by convention. No production code is changed.

Summary

• test_every_place_the_version_is_written_agrees_with_version — both module headers (trace_client/trace_client.py, trace_client/__init__.py) and pyproject.toml are checked to name __version__, so a release that bumps one place and not the others fails CI instead of shipping a vendored file that names two versions.
• test_the_package_exports_every_public_name_of_the_module — trace_client.__all__ is checked to equal the module's own public names (plus __version__), each re-exported as the same object, so a public constant added to the single-file distribution cannot be silently missing from the package import.
• test_disabled_reason_values_are_the_exported_constants — REASON_ENVIRONMENT / REASON_CONFIG / REASON_NO_KEY are pinned to the strings the README documents, and disabled_reason is checked to take those constants' values.
• test_report_does_not_raise_for_tags_that_are_not_a_mapping — a list or int passed as tags is confirmed to be dropped and logged at DEBUG ([trace] could not queue <name>), never raised.

Test plan

• python -m unittest -v locally on Python 3.8.10: Ran 54 tests ... OK (50 before).
• The two drift tests were mutation-checked: with pyproject.toml bumped to 0.4.2 and INSTALL_TAG removed from __all__, both failed; both files were restored afterwards.
• CI test (3.8), test (3.10), test (3.12) green.

Java parity

No Java-visible behavior changed — tests only.

Deferred

• The version tag is added even when it pushes an event past MAX_TAGS #16 (version tag can push an event past MAX_TAGS) is not picked: its fix changes the wire format/README promise and needs a coordinated decision with trace-client-java, so it is left for the owner. The new tests deliberately do not characterize that path.

No tracking issue — gap found during triage.

This PR description was drafted during a Gardener session (https://github.com/Stephenson-Software/gardener).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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drafted by Claude on behalf of Daniel Stephenson

[dmccoystephenson]

Self-review rubric (head of trace/test-public-surface, CI run 39114246539):

• Scope: PASS — git diff --stat origin/main shows only tests/test_trace_client.py (+48), all four new tests plus the re/types imports they use.
• Tests-new: PASS (n/a) — no new public method or attribute; the cycle adds tests only.
• Tests-fix: PASS (n/a) — no bug fix. In its place the two drift guards were mutation-checked: pyproject.toml bumped to 0.4.2 → version test FAILED (['0.4.1'] != ['0.4.2']); INSTALL_TAG removed from __all__ → exports test FAILED; both restored, suite back to Ran 54 tests ... OK.
• Sibling structure: PASS — tests sit in the single TraceClientTest class, use long test_<behavior> names, mock.patch.dict for the environment, self.log for log assertions, and close() every enabled client.
• Sibling renames: PASS (n/a) — nothing renamed.
• Docs: PASS — no behavior changed; README "Building" (python -m unittest -v, 3.8/3.10/3.12) still matches build.yml.
• Issue resolution: PASS (n/a) — no Closes; The version tag is added even when it pushes an event past MAX_TAGS #16 deferred with its reason in the PR body.
• CI: PASS — test (3.8), test (3.10), test (3.12) all green.
• Stdlib-only: PASS — the only new imports are re and types; pyproject.toml untouched.
• Py3.8 floor: PASS — test (3.8) green; no post-3.8 syntax added.
• Never-raises / never-blocks, Log level: PASS (n/a) — no production code touched.
• Version agreement: PASS — the new test now enforces four of the five places mechanically (the fifth is test_user_agent_names_the_client_version itself).
• Exports: PASS — enforced mechanically by the new exports test.
• Java parity noted: PASS — PR body states no Java-visible behavior changed.

Judgment notes (non-blocking):

• tests/test_trace_client.py:282 — the header assertion hardcodes the repository URL; that is intended, since the header is meant to stay verbatim when vendoring, but a repo rename will need this line updated along with the headers.
• tests/test_trace_client.py:295 — the public-name heuristic counts module-level names whose __module__ is this module (or that have none, like the str/int constants); a public name re-bound from another module would be skipped. No such name exists today.
• The version test reads files relative to the test file, so it assumes a source checkout — true for CI and for the documented python -m unittest -v.

Ready to merge: tests-only, CI green, no do-not-auto-merge path touched.

This review was drafted during a Gardener session (https://github.com/Stephenson-Software/gardener).

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drafted by Claude on behalf of Daniel Stephenson