Smart crop works in production but has lost automated UI coverage

AEM teams relying on Next-Gen Dynamic Media smart crop need confidence that editors can still open the dialog, choose a ratio, and save a useful crop. An open Core Components issue says four Image v3 smart-crop UI tests were not carried into a Playwright test migration. This is a coverage gap, not evidence that smart crop itself is broken.

Find the unsupported test boundary

The issue explains that NGDM is unavailable in the SDK, AEM 6.5, and 6.6 LTS images used by that repository's GitHub Actions integration workflow. A green run in those environments cannot certify the production NGDM dialog. Inventory which checks your own pipeline actually runs and which are skipped. Do not mistake a skipped test for a pass. Adobe's Dynamic Media Image Profiles guide describes how automatic crop configuration is applied to folders.

Add a small production-like acceptance test

On an environment where NGDM is enabled, use a representative image and test the dialog's listed ratio, custom ratio, flip control, save action, and delivered rendition. Record the asset and image profile used. A front-end unit test with mocked endpoints can protect controls; it cannot prove the rendition service responds correctly. Keep both checks if the workflow matters commercially.

Give editors a fallback

Before a release, identify who can inspect and adjust a bad crop, how long approval takes, and whether an image can be held back. That makes the release decision explicit even if automation is still being rebuilt.

Adovo’s view

A green pipeline is meaningful only for the behavior it exercised. If the customer sees a cropped image, the release gate must reach the crop. Coverage is an operating promise, not a test count.