LiveStackConfig resolves the pipe name + per-install shared secret from two sources in order: OTOPCUA_GALAXY_PIPE + OTOPCUA_GALAXY_SECRET env vars first (for CI / benchwork overrides), then the service's per-process Environment registry values under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\OtOpcUaGalaxyHost (what Install-Services.ps1 writes at install time). Registry read requires the test host to run elevated on most boxes — the skip message says so explicitly so operators see the right remediation. Hard-coded secrets are deliberately avoided: the installer generates 32 fresh random bytes per install, a committed secret would diverge from production the moment the service is re-installed.
LiveStackFixture is an IAsyncLifetime that (1) runs AvevaPrerequisites.CheckAllAsync with CheckGalaxyHostPipe=true + CheckHistorian=false — produces a structured PrerequisiteReport whose SkipReason is the exact operator-facing 'here's what you need to fix' text, (2) resolves LiveStackConfig and surfaces a clear skip when the secret isn't discoverable, (3) instantiates GalaxyProxyDriver + calls InitializeAsync (the IPC handshake), capturing a skip with the exception detail + common-cause hints (secret mismatch, SID not in pipe ACL, Host's backend couldn't connect to ZB) rather than letting a NullRef cascade through every subsequent test. SkipIfUnavailable() translates the captured SkipReason into Assert.Skip at the top of every fact so tests read as cleanly-skipped with a visible reason, not silently-passed or crashed.
LiveStackSmokeTests (5 facts, Collection=LiveStack, Category=LiveGalaxy): Fixture_initialized_successfully (cheapest possible end-to-end assertion — if this passes, the IPC handshake worked); Driver_reports_Healthy_after_IPC_handshake (DriverHealth.State post-connect); DiscoverAsync_returns_at_least_one_variable_from_live_galaxy (captures every Variable() call from DiscoverAsync via CapturingAddressSpaceBuilder and asserts > 0 — zero here usually means the Host couldn't read ZB, the skip message names OTOPCUA_GALAXY_ZB_CONN to check); GetHostStatuses_reports_at_least_one_platform (IHostConnectivityProbe surface — zero means the probe loop hasn't fired or no Platform is deployed locally); Can_read_a_discovered_variable_from_live_galaxy (reads the first discovered attribute's full reference, asserts status != BadInternalError — Galaxy's Uncertain-quality-until-first-Engine-scan is intentionally NOT treated as failure since it depends on runtime state that varies across test runs). Read-only by design; writes need an agreed scratch tag to avoid mutating a process-critical attribute — deferred to a follow-up PR that reuses this fixture.
CapturingAddressSpaceBuilder is a minimal IAddressSpaceBuilder that flattens every Variable() call into a list so tests can inspect what discovery produced without booting the full OPC UA node-manager stack; alarm annotation + property calls are no-ops. Scoped private to the test class.
Galaxy.Proxy.Tests csproj gains a ProjectReference to Driver.Galaxy.TestSupport (PR 36) for AvevaPrerequisites. The NU1702 warning about the Host project being net48-referenced-by-net10 is pre-existing from the HostSubprocessParityTests — Proxy.Tests only needs the Host EXE path for that parity scenario, not type surface.
Test run on THIS machine (OtOpcUaGalaxyHost not yet installed): Skipped! Failed 0, Passed 0, Skipped 5 — each skip message includes the full prerequisites report pointing at the missing service. Once the service is installed + started (scripts\install\Install-Services.ps1), the 5 facts will execute against live Galaxy. Proxy.Tests Unit: 17 pass / 0 fail (unchanged — new tests are Category=LiveGalaxy, separate suite). Full Proxy build clean. Memory already captures the 'live tests run via already-running service, don't spawn' convention (project_galaxy_host_service.md).
lmx-followups.md #5 updated: status is 'IN PROGRESS' across PRs 36 + 37 with the explicit remaining work (install + start services, subscribe-and-receive, write round-trip).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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