diff --git a/e2e/transaction-rule.spec.ts b/e2e/transaction-rule.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..091c24e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/transaction-rule.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
+
+// Characterization spec for the Transaction Rule wizard (edit step + test/preview step).
+// Captures CURRENT (pre-migration) behavior so the migration onto the session-backed
+// wizard engine can be proven behavior-preserving. Reset the dataset before each test.
+test.beforeEach(async ({ request }) => {
+  await request.post('/test-reset');
+});
+
+async function getTestInfo(page: any) {
+  return (await page.request.get('/test-info')).json();
+}
+
+async function navigateToRules(page: any) {
+  // The rule fixtures live under client TEST2 (to stay out of the single-client TEST
+  // transaction grid the other specs use), so view as an admin who sees all clients.
+  await page.request.get('/test-set-client-mode?mode=multi-client');
+  await page.setExtraHTTPHeaders({ 'x-clients': '"all"' });
+  await page.goto('/admin/transaction-rule');
+  await page.waitForSelector('#entity-table');
+}
+
+async function openNewDialog(page: any) {
+  await page.locator('button:has-text("New Transaction Rule")').first().click();
+  await page.waitForSelector('#wizard-form');
+}
+
+async function openEditDialog(page: any) {
+  // the edit pencil on the seeded rule's row (hx-get .../<id>/edit)
+  await page.locator('#entity-table tbody tr').first()
+    .locator('[hx-get*="/edit"]').first().click();
+  await page.waitForSelector('#wizard-form');
+}
+
+// Add a valid account-coding row (Solr typeahead unavailable in tests, so inject the
+// account id into the row's hidden input), location Shared, percentage 100.
+async function addAccount(page: any, accountId: string) {
+  await page.locator('#wizard-form a:has-text("New account")').first().click();
+  await page.waitForTimeout(400);
+  const hidden = page.locator('#wizard-form input[type="hidden"][name*="[transaction-rule-account/account]"]').first();
+  await hidden.evaluate((el: HTMLInputElement, v: string) => {
+    const n = document.createElement('input'); n.type = 'hidden'; n.name = el.name; n.value = v;
+    el.parentNode!.replaceChild(n, el);
+  }, accountId);
+  await page.waitForTimeout(200);
+  const loc = page.locator('#wizard-form select[name*="[transaction-rule-account/location]"]').first();
+  if (await loc.count() > 0) await loc.selectOption('Shared').catch(() => {});
+  const pct = page.locator('#wizard-form input[name*="[transaction-rule-account/percentage]"]').first();
+  await pct.fill('100');
+  await pct.dispatchEvent('change');
+  await page.waitForTimeout(200);
+}
+
+async function fillDescription(page: any, desc: string) {
+  await page.locator('#wizard-form input[name*="[transaction-rule/description]"]').first().fill(desc);
+}
+
+// Approval status is required to advance/save; the radio-card's first option is "Approved".
+async function selectApproved(page: any) {
+  const radio = page.locator('#wizard-form input[type="radio"][name*="transaction-approval-status"]').first();
+  await radio.check({ force: true }).catch(async () => {
+    await page.locator('#wizard-form label:has-text("Approved")').first().click();
+  });
+  await page.waitForTimeout(100);
+}
+
+async function clickTest(page: any) {
+  // the footer "Test" button navigates edit -> test
+  await page.locator('#wizard-form button:has-text("Test"), #wizard-form a:has-text("Test")').first().click();
+  await page.waitForTimeout(800);
+}
+
+test.describe.configure({ mode: 'serial' });
+
+test.describe('Transaction Rule wizard (characterization)', () => {
+  test('New dialog opens the edit step with rule form + account grid', async ({ page }) => {
+    await navigateToRules(page);
+    await openNewDialog(page);
+
+    const modal = page.locator('#wizard-form');
+    await expect(modal).toContainText('Description');
+    await expect(modal).toContainText('Outcomes');
+    await expect(modal).toContainText('New account');
+    await expect(modal).toContainText('Approval status');
+    // the step indicator + the Test (advance) control
+    await expect(modal.locator('button:has-text("Test"), a:has-text("Test")').first()).toBeVisible();
+  });
+
+  test('Edit dialog pre-populates the seeded rule', async ({ page }) => {
+    await navigateToRules(page);
+    await openEditDialog(page);
+    const desc = page.locator('#wizard-form input[name*="[transaction-rule/description]"]').first();
+    await expect(desc).toHaveValue('ZZRULEMATCH');
+  });
+
+  test('advancing to the test step renders the matching-transactions preview', async ({ page }) => {
+    const info = await getTestInfo(page);
+    await navigateToRules(page);
+    await openNewDialog(page);
+    await fillDescription(page, 'ZZRULEMATCH');
+    await addAccount(page, info.accounts['test-account'].toString());
+    await selectApproved(page);
+    await clickTest(page);
+    // the wizard advances to the test/preview step (the test-table query + render is
+    // reused unchanged by the migration; the seed has no recent match, so the count is 0)
+    const modal = page.locator('#wizard-form');
+    await expect(modal).toContainText('Matching transactions');
+  });
+
+  test('Saving from the test step creates the rule and closes the modal', async ({ page }) => {
+    const info = await getTestInfo(page);
+    await navigateToRules(page);
+    const before = await page.locator('#entity-table tbody tr').count();
+    await openNewDialog(page);
+    await fillDescription(page, 'ZZRULEMATCH');
+    await addAccount(page, info.accounts['test-account'].toString());
+    await selectApproved(page);
+    await clickTest(page);
+    // Save from the test step
+    await page.locator('#wizard-form button:has-text("Save"), #wizard-form button[type="submit"]').first().click();
+    await page.waitForTimeout(1000);
+    // modal closed + a new rule row added
+    await expect(page.locator('#wizard-form')).toBeHidden();
+    expect(await page.locator('#entity-table tbody tr').count()).toBe(before + 1);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/clj/auto_ap/test_server.clj b/test/clj/auto_ap/test_server.clj
index 15c03a2d..ec683a54 100644
--- a/test/clj/auto_ap/test_server.clj
+++ b/test/clj/auto_ap/test_server.clj
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 (def test-account-ids (atom {}))
 (def test-client-ids (atom {}))
 (def test-sales-summary-id (atom nil))
+(def test-rule-id (atom nil))
 
 (defn admin-identity []
   (case @test-identity-mode
@@ -182,6 +183,25 @@
                                                          :ledger-mapped/amount 500.0
                                                          :ledger-mapped/account "account-id-2"}]}])
         tempids (:tempids tx-result)
+        ;; A pre-existing transaction rule (for the wizard edit flow), in a SEPARATE
+        ;; transaction so the first one's tempid->entity-id allocation (and thus the TEST
+        ;; transaction grid order other specs depend on) is byte-identical to before.
+        ;; Under client TEST2 so it stays out of the single-client TEST views. We do NOT
+        ;; seed a recent matching transaction: a date-NOW txn perturbs an unrelated
+        ;; transaction-edit save spec, and the rule test step's query/render is reused
+        ;; unchanged by the migration, so characterizing that the preview table renders is
+        ;; sufficient parity (the specific match count is not what the migration risks).
+        rule-tx (:tempids
+                 @(dc/transact conn
+                               [{:db/id "rule-id"
+                                 :transaction-rule/client (get tempids "client-id-2")
+                                 :transaction-rule/description "ZZRULEMATCH"
+                                 :transaction-rule/note "ZZRULEMATCH"
+                                 :transaction-rule/transaction-approval-status :transaction-approval-status/approved
+                                 :transaction-rule/accounts [{:db/id "rule-acct"
+                                                              :transaction-rule-account/account (get tempids "account-id")
+                                                              :transaction-rule-account/location "Shared"
+                                                              :transaction-rule-account/percentage 1.0}]}]))
         tx-entity-id (get tempids "transaction-id")]
     (println "Test transaction entity ID:" tx-entity-id)
     (reset! test-account-ids
@@ -195,6 +215,7 @@
             {:test (get tempids "client-id")
              :test2 (get tempids "client-id-2")})
     (reset! test-sales-summary-id (get tempids "sales-summary-id"))
+    (reset! test-rule-id (get rule-tx "rule-id"))
     tx-entity-id))
 
 (defn test-info-handler [request]
@@ -205,6 +226,7 @@
            :accounts @test-account-ids
            :clientMode @test-identity-mode
            :salesSummaryId @test-sales-summary-id
+           :ruleId @test-rule-id
            :clients (mapv :client/code (:clients request))})})
 
 (defn test-set-client-mode-handler [request]