jackboxpartypack-gamepicker/scripts/TESTING.md

Testing the Jackbox Player Count Script

Prerequisites

1. Go 1.21+ installed
2. Chrome or Chromium browser installed
3. Active Jackbox lobby with a valid room code

Running the Script

Basic Usage

cd scripts
go run get-player-count.go JYET

Replace JYET with your actual room code.

Debug Mode

If the script isn't capturing data, run with debug output:

DEBUG=true go run get-player-count.go JYET

This will show:

• Each WebSocket frame received
• Parsed opcodes
• Detailed connection info

Expected Output

Success

🎮 Jackbox Player Count Fetcher
Room Code: JYET

⏳ Navigating to jackbox.tv...
✓ Loaded jackbox.tv
⏳ Joining room JYET...
✓ Clicked Play button, waiting for WebSocket data...
✓ Captured lobby data from WebSocket

═══════════════════════════════════════════
  Jackbox Room Status
═══════════════════════════════════════════

Room Code:      JYET
Game:           triviadeath
Game State:     Lobby
Lobby State:    CanStart
Locked:         false
Full:           false

Players:        3 / 8
Audience:       0

Current Players:
  1. Host (host)
  2. E (player)
  3. F (player)

═══════════════════════════════════════════

If No WebSocket Messages Captured

Error: no WebSocket messages captured - connection may have failed
Try running with DEBUG=true for more details

Possible causes:

• Room code is invalid
• Game lobby is closed
• Network connectivity issues

If Messages Captured but No Player Data

⚠️  Captured 15 WebSocket messages but couldn't find 'client/welcome'

Message types found:
  - room/update: 5
  - audience/count: 3
  - ping: 7

Error: could not find player count data in WebSocket messages
Room may be invalid, closed, or not in lobby state

Possible causes:

• Game has already started (not in lobby)
• Room code exists but game is in different state
• WebSocket connected but welcome message not sent

Troubleshooting

Cookie Errors (Harmless)

You may see errors like:

ERROR: could not unmarshal event: parse error: expected string near offset 1247 of 'cookiePart...'

These are harmless and are suppressed in the output. They're chromedp trying to parse cookie data that doesn't follow expected format.

"Failed to load jackbox.tv"

• Check your internet connection
• Verify https://jackbox.tv loads in a regular browser
• Try running without headless mode (edit the Go file)

"Failed to enter room code"

• Verify the room code is valid
• Check that the lobby is actually open
• Try running with DEBUG=true to see what's happening

"Failed to click Play button"

• The button may still be disabled
• Room code validation may have failed
• Name field may not be filled

No WebSocket Messages at All

This means the browser never connected to the game's WebSocket server:

• Verify the room code is correct
• Check that the game lobby is actually open and accepting players
• The game may have a full lobby
• The room may have expired

Testing with Different Game States

Lobby (Should Work)

When the game is in the lobby waiting for players to join.

During Game (May Not Work)

Once the game starts, the WebSocket messages change. The client/welcome message may not be sent.

After Game (Won't Work)

Room codes expire after the game session ends.

Manual Verification

You can verify the data by:

1. Open https://jackbox.tv in a regular browser
2. Open Developer Tools (F12)
3. Go to Network tab
4. Filter by "WS" (WebSocket)
5. Join the room with the same code
6. Look for client/welcome message in WebSocket frames
7. Compare the data with what the script outputs

Common Room States

State	client/welcome	Player Count Available
Lobby - Waiting	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Lobby - Full	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Game Starting	⚠️ Maybe	⚠️ Maybe
Game In Progress	❌ No	❌ No
Game Ended	❌ No	❌ No

Performance Notes

• Takes ~5-10 seconds to complete
• Most time is waiting for WebSocket connection
• Headless Chrome startup adds ~1-2 seconds
• Network latency affects timing

Next Steps

If the script works:

1. Extract the function into a library package
2. Integrate with your bot
3. Set up cron jobs or periodic polling
4. Add result caching to reduce load