TC-035: Upload and preview animated GIF file via chat (first frame only)

[bermudas]

Part of #16 (WebQAPreExecuted batch — module: artifacts, final module of the batch).

Case: Elitea-testing-WebQAPreExecuted/artifacts/TC-035_upload-gif-first-frame.md
Priority: medium

Pipeline: analyst (AFS) → implementer (tests/artifacts.spec.ts, batched with the rest of the module) → reviewer → Tal merge.

Dispatching analyst slot (qa-engineer + test-case-analysis) — isolated browser session per case.

[bermudas]

✅ Analyst slot complete — status: defect-found

Executed TC-035 end-to-end against https://next.elitea.ai/ in an isolated browser session (own conversation, id 110). Upload, send, inline-thumbnail rendering, and Artifacts-bucket storage all work correctly. The case's core "first frame only" assertion fails for both expanded-view surfaces:

• Chat transcript inline thumbnail: static, first-frame-only. Correct.
• Chat message's own preview modal: animates. Defect.
• Artifacts bucket "Preview" panel: animates (confirmed live, two screenshots of the same open panel 2s apart show different frames). Defect.

Filed #114 (Major) with full evidence (screenshots, img.src inspection showing data:image/jpeg vs blob: URLs, network response capture).

Also found and cleaned up a leftover conversation ("Test GIF upload expecting first", id 92) from a prior dead dispatch of this same case — its artifact file had already been removed by that session's own partial teardown; only the orphaned conversation remained. Deleted it before starting this run's own execution.

AFS emitted at test-specs/artifacts/l3_upload-gif-first-frame_TC-035.md (uncommitted, per process convention — left for the implementer/lead to pick up). Full Coverage Map, concrete handles (including the .click({force:true}) requirement already tracked in #117, and the undocumented GET /artifacts/s3/{bucket}?format=json bucket-listing endpoint discovered this session), and known-defect-assertion guidance for automation are in the AFS.

Case's own teardown (delete uploaded file) executed and verified via the bucket-listing JSON endpoint — clean state confirmed.

[bermudas]

PR #123 ready: implements the artifacts module (TC-030..043) as one PR. This case's automation is included; see the PR body for the full Run Report (8/14 confirmed green, TC-035 red-for-real-defect on GH#114, 4/14 red-unresolved with root-cause evidence, TC-041/042/043 not yet executed).

[bermudas]

Automated in PR #123 (tests/artifacts.spec.ts). Correctly red for a real, filed product defect (GH#114 — GIF first-frame-only contract violated in preview surfaces), handled via expect.soft() — not masked.