"Generate emulate seed configs for stateful API emulation. Wraps Vercel's emulate tool for GitHub, Vercel, Google OAuth, Slack, Apple Auth, Microsoft Entra, AWS, Okta, Clerk, Resend, Stripe, and MongoDB Atlas APIs — full state machines, not mocks. Use when setting up test environments, CI pipelines, integration tests, or offline development."
Resources
4Install
npx skillscat add yonatangross/orchestkit/emulate-seed Install via the SkillsCat registry.
Emulate Seed Configs
Generate and manage seed configs for emulate (Apache-2.0) — Vercel Labs' stateful API emulation tool. Each category has individual rule files in rules/ loaded on-demand.
Paired agent: This skill pairs with the `emulate-engineer` subagent (
subagent_type: "ork:emulate-engineer"). When a task involves generating a full emulate config from scratch, webhook HMAC setup, CI pipeline integration, or parallel-worker port isolation, spawn the agent rather than handling it inline — it has the full 13-emulator service-port matrix and seed-rules in context.
Not mocks. Emulate provides full state machines with cascading deletes, cursor pagination, webhook delivery, and HMAC signature verification. Create a PR via the API and it appears in GET /repos/:owner/:repo/pulls. Delete a repo and its issues, PRs, and webhooks cascade-delete.
New in 2026-04 (emulate 0.4.x)
- Modular
@emulators/*packages — each service is its own package (@emulators/github,@emulators/stripe, etc.); top-levelemulatere-exportscreateEmulatorand the CLI. - 4 new services (12 total):
mongoatlas:4007,okta:4008,resend:4009,stripe:4010with drop-in seed YAML blocks. - Resend local inbox —
GET http://localhost:4009/inboxreturns captured emails for assertions without hitting a real provider. - Stripe hosted checkout — real session redirect flow +
checkout.session.completed/expiredwebhook delivery, suitable for E2E payment tests. - MongoDB Atlas — Admin API v2 (projects/clusters/DB users) + Data API v1 with full CRUD + aggregate.
- Okta OIDC — full discovery, JWKS,
authorize/token/userinfo/revoke/introspectplus Users/Groups/Apps CRUD. - Entra / Apple / Slack expansions (v0.4.0) — PKCE + refresh rotation (Entra), RS256 JWKS (Apple), OAuth v2 consent UI (Slack).
@emulators/adapter-next— catch-all Next.js route handler runs emulators on the same origin as the app; fixes OAuth callback URL drift on Vercel preview deploys.
Auto-Discovery (M125 #4)
scripts/auto-discover.sh scans the project's package.json, matches deps against references/dep-to-emulator-map.json, and either reports the matches or writes emulate.config.yaml. Three modes:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| (default) | Report matched deps + emulator union on stderr; do not write |
--json |
Emit machine-readable JSON instead of human report |
--apply |
Write emulate.config.yaml (refuses to overwrite without --force) |
$ bash scripts/auto-discover.sh
/ork:emulate-seed --auto — scanning /path/to/package.json
Detected:
@octokit/rest → github · Any GitHub API client
next-auth → google-oauth, apple-auth, microsoft-entra · Default OAuth providers
stripe → stripe
@vercel/blob → aws · @vercel/blob is S3-compatible
Union: apple-auth, aws, github, google-oauth, microsoft-entra, stripe
$ bash scripts/auto-discover.sh --apply
…
✓ Wrote /path/to/emulate.config.yaml with 6 service(s)Multi-emulator deps default to all reasonable providers; the user prunes the YAML afterwards. Unmapped deps are silently skipped — extending coverage is a docs PR (edit references/dep-to-emulator-map.json), not a code change.
/ork:dev reads the resulting emulate.config.yaml at boot — see src/skills/dev/scripts/boot.sh.
Quick Reference
| Category | Rules | Impact | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed Config | 1 | HIGH | Setting up emulate.config.yaml for test environments |
| Service Selection | 1 | MEDIUM | Choosing GitHub/Vercel/Google for your tests |
| Webhook Setup | 1 | MEDIUM | Testing webhook delivery with HMAC verification |
| Parallel CI | 1 | HIGH | Running tests in parallel without port collisions |
| Auth Tokens | 1 | MEDIUM | Seeding tokens mapped to emulated users |
Total: 5 rules across 5 categories
Quick Start
# Install (packages published under @emulators/* scope)
npm install --save-dev emulate
# Start all services
npx emulate
# Start specific services with seed data
npx emulate --service github,stripe --seed ./emulate.config.yaml
# Generate a starter config
npx emulate init --service githubServices (0.9.0 — 14 emulators)
New across releases:
- 0.5.0 — added Clerk, MongoDB Atlas, Stripe, Resend, and Okta emulators; portless integration (embedded emulators without dedicated ports); Google OAuth
hdclaim support; Stripe Checkout + Resend magic link examples; AWS S3 emulator now matches the official SDK wire format.- 0.6.0 — expanded Slack (OAuth v2 consent UI, conversations/reactions).
- 0.6.1 — Vercel Blob store.
- 0.7.0 — added Linear (13th provider): stateful orgs/teams/issues/cycles + webhooks.
- 0.8.0 — added Twilio (14th provider): accounts, phone numbers, messages, calls, conversations, messaging services, Verify flows, and simulator endpoints, with a Next.js SMS-verification example.
- 0.9.0 — added a Nuxt emulator adapter (alongside the Next.js adapter); provider count unchanged.
All backwards-compatible.
| Service | Default Port | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | :4000 |
Projects, deployments, domains, env vars, teams |
| GitHub | :4001 |
Repos, PRs, issues, comments, reviews, Actions, webhooks, orgs, teams |
| Google OAuth | :4002 |
OAuth 2.0 authorize, token exchange, userinfo |
| Slack | :4003 |
Chat, conversations, users, reactions, OAuth v2 with consent UI |
| Apple Auth | :4004 |
Sign in with Apple — OIDC discovery, JWKS (RS256), auth flow, token exchange |
| Microsoft Entra | :4005 |
OAuth 2.0/OIDC v2.0, authorization code + PKCE, refresh token rotation, v1 token endpoint, Graph /users/{id} |
| AWS | :4006 |
S3 buckets, SQS queues, IAM users/roles, STS identity |
| MongoDB Atlas (0.4+) | :4007 |
Admin API v2 (projects, clusters, DB users) + Data API v1 (full CRUD + aggregate) |
| Okta (0.4+) | :4008 |
OIDC discovery, JWKS, authorize/token/userinfo/revoke/introspect, Users/Groups/Apps CRUD |
| Resend (0.4+) | :4009 |
Send + batch (100/req), list/retrieve/cancel, domains, API keys, audiences, contacts, local inbox (GET /inbox) |
| Stripe (0.4+) | :4010 |
Customers, payment methods, customer sessions, payment intents, charges, products, prices, hosted checkout session w/ webhook delivery |
| Clerk (0.5+) | (on-demand) | Users, sessions, organizations |
| Linear (0.7+) | (on-demand) | Orgs, teams, issues, cycles, webhooks |
| Twilio (0.8+) | (on-demand) | Accounts, phone numbers, messages, calls, conversations, messaging services, Verify flows, simulator endpoints |
See references/api-coverage.md for full endpoint lists.
Next.js Adapter (0.4+) — @emulators/adapter-next
Runs emulators on the same origin as your Next.js app via a catch-all route handler. Fixes the OAuth callback URL drift problem on Vercel preview deploys — no more http://localhost:4001 redirect mismatches.
// next.config.js
const { withEmulate } = require('@emulators/adapter-next')
module.exports = withEmulate({ /* your next config */ })
// app/api/[...emulate]/route.ts
import { createEmulateHandler } from '@emulators/adapter-next'
export const { GET, POST } = createEmulateHandler({
services: ['github', 'stripe', 'resend'],
persistence: { /* load(), save() or built-in filePersistence */ },
})Seed Config Structure
A seed config pre-populates the emulator with tokens, users, repos, and projects so tests start from a known state.
# emulate.config.yaml
tokens:
dev_token:
login: yonatangross
scopes: [repo, workflow, admin:org]
ci_token:
login: ci-bot
scopes: [repo]
github:
users:
- login: yonatangross
name: Yonatan Gross
- login: ci-bot
name: CI Bot
repos:
- owner: yonatangross
name: my-project
private: false
default_branch: main
topics: [typescript, testing]
vercel:
users:
- username: yonatangross
email: yonaigross@gmail.com
projects:
- name: my-docs
framework: next
# NEW in 0.4.x — drop-in seed blocks
okta:
users:
- login: alice@example.com
firstName: Alice
lastName: Smith
groups: [{ name: Everyone }, { name: Admins }]
apps: [{ name: My Web App }]
authorization_servers:
- name: default
audiences: ["api://default"]
resend:
domains: [{ name: example.com }]
api_keys: [{ name: default }]
# In tests: GET http://localhost:4009/inbox to assert captured emails
stripe:
customers:
- name: Test Customer
email: customer@example.com
products: [{ name: Pro Plan }, { name: Starter Plan }]
prices:
- { product: Pro Plan, unit_amount: 4900, currency: usd, recurring: { interval: month } }
- { product: Starter Plan, unit_amount: 1900, currency: usd, recurring: { interval: month } }
# Webhook delivery fires on checkout.session.completed / expired
mongoatlas:
projects: [{ name: my-project }]
clusters: [{ project: my-project, name: my-cluster }]
database_users: [{ project: my-project, username: app-user }]See rules/seed-config.md for full schema and best practices.
Programmatic SDK
Service packages live under the
@emulators/*scope (e.g.,@emulators/github,@emulators/stripe). The programmatic API (createEmulator) is exported from the top-levelemulatepackage.
import { createEmulator } from 'emulate'
const github = await createEmulator({ service: 'github', port: 4001 })
// github.url -> 'http://localhost:4001'
// State is real — create a PR and it appears in the list
const res = await fetch(`${github.url}/repos/org/repo/pulls`, {
method: 'POST',
headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer dev_token' },
body: JSON.stringify({ title: 'Test PR', head: 'feature', base: 'main' })
})
const prs = await fetch(`${github.url}/repos/org/repo/pulls`)
// -> includes the PR we just created
// Cleanup
github.reset() // Synchronous state wipe
await github.close() // Shut down serverseed here is a parsed object, not a path. Only the CLI --seed flag takes a filename.
For multi-service setup, lifecycle hooks, and the Vitest/Jest wiring, seereferences/upstream.md. For the ork-side corrections to that API, seereferences/ork-delta.md.
Webhook Delivery
Emulate delivers real webhooks with HMAC-SHA256 signatures when state changes:
import crypto from 'crypto'
function verifyWebhook(payload: string, signature: string, secret: string): boolean {
const expected = 'sha256=' + crypto
.createHmac('sha256', secret)
.update(payload)
.digest('hex')
return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(expected))
}See rules/webhook-setup.md for webhook receiver patterns.
CI Integration
# .github/workflows/test.yml
jobs:
test:
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Start emulate
run: npx emulate --service github --seed .emulate/ci.yaml &
- name: Wait for emulate
run: sleep 2
- name: Run tests
run: npm test
env:
GITHUB_API_BASE: http://localhost:4001
VERCEL_API_BASE: http://localhost:4000Parallel Test Execution
Each test worker gets its own port to avoid race conditions:
// vitest.config.ts
const workerPort = 4001 + parseInt(process.env.VITEST_WORKER_ID || '0')See rules/parallel-ci.md for full parallel isolation patterns.
Decision Matrix
| Tool | When to Use | Stateful? | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| emulate (FIRST CHOICE) | GitHub/Vercel/Google/Slack/Apple/Entra/AWS/Okta/Resend/Stripe/MongoDB/Clerk/Linear testing | YES | All 13 services |
| Pact | Contract verification between services | No | Any |
| MSW | In-browser/Node HTTP mocking | No | Any |
| Nock | Node.js HTTP intercept | No | Any |
| WireMock | HTTP stub server | Partial | Any |
Use emulate when:
- Testing code that calls GitHub, Vercel, Google, Slack, Apple, Entra, AWS, Okta, Resend, Stripe, MongoDB Atlas, Clerk, or Linear
- You need state persistence across multiple API calls in a test
- You want webhook delivery with real HMAC signatures (GitHub, Stripe)
- You need cascading side-effects (delete repo -> PRs cascade-delete)
- You need to assert on sent emails without hitting a real provider (Resend local
/inbox) - You need hosted Stripe checkout sessions with real redirect flow in tests
Use MSW/Nock when:
- Mocking arbitrary HTTP APIs not covered by emulate
- You need in-browser interception (MSW)
- Tests only need single request/response pairs
Upstream coverage (do not restate)
This skill is a wrap plus our delta. emulate ships its own per-service reference docs;
copying them here only produces something that goes stale on the next release. If a
topic below comes up, read the first-party source, not a paraphrase.
| Topic | First-party source |
|---|---|
Programmatic API (createEmulator, url, reset(), close()), Vitest/Jest wiring, config auto-detection order, token fallback |
references/upstream.md (synced from vercel-labs/emulate, skills/emulate/SKILL.md) |
| GitHub endpoint recipes, GitHub App JWT seeding, Octokit and Auth.js base-URL wiring, GitHub OAuth flow | https://github.com/vercel-labs/emulate/blob/main/skills/github/SKILL.md |
Google OIDC discovery, JWKS, authorize/token/userinfo/revoke, PKCE, google-auth-library, Passport, openid-client |
https://github.com/vercel-labs/emulate/blob/main/skills/google/SKILL.md |
| Vercel endpoint recipes, cursor pagination, team scoping, integration OAuth flow | https://github.com/vercel-labs/emulate/blob/main/skills/vercel/SKILL.md |
| Every other emulator (Slack, Apple, Entra, AWS, Okta, Resend, Stripe, MongoDB Atlas, Clerk, Linear, Twilio) | https://github.com/vercel-labs/emulate/tree/main/skills |
What stays ours: references/ork-delta.md (the corrections and house conventions that
are not in any vendor doc), references/cli-reference.md, references/api-coverage.md,references/dep-to-emulator-map.json, scripts/auto-discover.sh, and everything in rules/.
Read references/ork-delta.md before copying any snippet out of a vendor doc. It records
the two API facts vendor prose does not spell out (the exported factory is createEmulator,
and seed in the programmatic options is an object rather than a path) plus the*_API_BASE env-var convention this repo uses instead of the vendor's *_EMULATOR_URL.
Related Skills
testing-integration— Integration test patterns (emulate as first choice for API tests)testing-e2e— End-to-end test patterns with emulated backendstesting-unit— Unit test patterns (use emulate for API-dependent units)security-patterns— Auth token patterns (emulate token seeding)
CLI Reference
See references/cli-reference.md for all CLI flags and commands.