---
title: "Edit a comment without changing its author"
description: "Verify a test comment edit updates its body and edit marker while preserving the original author, creation order, and unrelated neighboring comments."
canonical_url: "https://vostride.com/agent-library/collaboration/comment-edit-attribution.md"
md_url: "https://vostride.com/agent-library/collaboration/comment-edit-attribution.md"
content_kind: "recipe"
topic: "collaboration"
---

# Edit a comment without changing its author

Verify a test comment edit updates its body and edit marker while preserving the original author, creation order, and unrelated neighboring comments.

## Risk

Comment editors can replace rather than update a record, changing attribution or sorting it as a new comment. Stable identities and a neighboring control comment expose those mistakes.

## Fixtures

- A fixture thread contains an earlier comment by QA Editor and a later control comment by QA Reviewer.
- The earlier body is Initial review note, and the intended edited body is Revised review note with acceptance criteria.
- The seed inventory records both comment identifiers, authors, and creation order before the test.

## Steps

1. Open the fixture thread and verify both comments appear in the prepared order with their intended authors.
2. Use Edit on the QA Editor comment, replace its body with the revised text, and save.
3. Verify the new body appears under QA Editor with the product-defined edited marker if its contract provides one.
4. Verify the control comment text and author remain unchanged and the original ordering is preserved.
5. Reload the thread and compare both comment identities through the visible UI or prepared read-only check to confirm the edit updated the original comment.

## Expected results

- The edited comment retains its original identifier and author after its body changes.
- The neighboring control comment remains unchanged in text, author, and identity.
- The creation-based thread order does not treat the edit as a newly created comment under this contract.

## False-pass traps

- A revised body appearing at the bottom can mask a delete-and-recreate implementation.
- An edited marker alone does not establish correct attribution or unchanged neighboring content.

## Cleanup

- Delete the two fixture comments or restore the original body for a reusable thread.

## Use with agent-qa

Adapt this test design to your application's acceptance criteria and configured target using the [recipe execution guide](/agent-library/software-factory/turn-a-recipe-into-an-agent-qa-test.md). External fixture setup and non-UI checks require your own supported hooks or test tooling. Validate the authored test, execute it, and inspect the completed evidence; this recipe is not a recorded test result.

## References

- [agent-qa test](/docs/agent-qa/configuration/test.md)
- [agent-qa first test](/docs/agent-qa/guides/first-test.md)
- [agent-qa web testing](/docs/agent-qa/guides/web-testing.md)

- [Collaboration QA recipes](/agent-library/collaboration.md)
- [Software factory QA library](/agent-library.md)