Testing framework

Testing Framework

Set up test infrastructure, choose frameworks, and author focused test suites across multiple languages. Treat this skill as a router: select the one testing module that matches the codebase, then load only the relevant references/templates.

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up test infrastructure from scratch
• Choosing a test framework for a new project
• Writing new tests (unit, integration, E2E)
• Adding accessibility testing to an existing suite
• Configuring CI/CD test automation
• Testing shell scripts with ShellSpec or BATS

When NOT to Use This Skill

• TDD methodology (red-green-refactor) → use test-driven-development
• Diagnosing and fixing bugs → use debugging
• Reviewing existing code or PRs → use code-review
• Performance benchmarking → use domain-specific profiling tools
• Framework-specific implementation patterns beyond tests → use the language/framework skill first, then return here for test scaffolding

Scope Control

This skill intentionally spans several ecosystems, so avoid loading every module. Pick a lane:

Need	Use
Choose a test stack	Decision tree + references/test-runners.md
Add tests to a React/Next.js app	Next.js/React module + Playwright/RTL templates
Add tests to Rust code	Rust module + AAA references
Add tests to PHP/TYPO3	TYPO3/PHP module
Test shell scripts	ShellSpec/BATS module
Improve existing suite quality	scripts/analyze-test-quality.py + anti-pattern references

If a request needs two or more ecosystems, handle them as separate passes so the output stays practical.

Decision Tree

What do you need to test?
│
├─ Rust application
│   └─ cargo test + AAA pattern → templates/rust/
│
├─ Next.js / React application
│   ├─ Component tests → Vitest + React Testing Library → assets/nextjs/
│   ├─ E2E tests → Playwright → templates/e2e/
│   └─ Accessibility → axe-core → references/a11y-testing.md
│
├─ PHP / TYPO3 extension
│   └─ PHPUnit + Playwright E2E → templates/typo3/
│
├─ Shell / Bash scripts
│   ├─ BDD-style → ShellSpec → assets/shellspec/
│   └─ TAP-compliant → BATS → scripts/init_bats_project.sh
│
├─ Existing code needs coverage analysis
│   └─ scripts/analyze-test-quality.py + references/anti-patterns.md
│
└─ CI/CD integration needed
    └─ GitHub Actions or GitLab CI → references/ci-cd.md

Testing Modules

1. Rust Unit Testing

High-quality Rust unit tests following AAA pattern with deployment confidence.

Key Principles:

• Test naming: test_<function>_<scenario>_<expected_behavior>
• AAA Pattern: Arrange-Act-Assert with clear sections
• Mock external dependencies, not pure functions
• Speed target: milliseconds per test

Quick Start:

#[tokio::test]
async fn test_withdraw_valid_amount_decreases_balance() {
    // Arrange
    let mut account = Account::new(100);

    // Act
    let result = account.withdraw(30).await;

    // Assert
    assert!(result.is_ok());
    assert_eq!(account.balance(), 70);
}

Resources:

• Templates: templates/rust/unit-test.md, templates/rust/async-test.md
• References: references/aaa-pattern.md, references/naming-conventions.md
• Quality analysis: scripts/analyze-test-quality.py

2. E2E Testing with Playwright

Automated E2E testing with LLM-powered visual debugging.

Workflow Phases:

1. Application Discovery
2. Playwright Setup
3. Pre-flight Health Check
4. Test Generation
5. Screenshot Capture
6. Visual Analysis
7. Regression Detection
8. Fix Generation
9. Test Suite Export

Quick Start:

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('user creates new entity', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/entities');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /create/i }).click();
  await page.getByLabel(/name/i).fill('New Item');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /save/i }).click();
  await expect(page.getByText('New Item')).toBeVisible();
});

Resources:

• Workflow: assets/e2e-workflow/phase-*.md
• Templates: templates/e2e/playwright.config.template.ts
• Data: assets/e2e-data/playwright-best-practices.md

3. Next.js Testing Stack

Complete testing setup for Next.js with Vitest, RTL, and Playwright.

Setup:

python scripts/generate_test_deps.py --nextjs-version <version> --typescript

Test Patterns:

// Component test with accessibility
import { render, screen } from '@/test/utils/render'
import { axe } from '@axe-core/playwright'

it('has no accessibility violations', async () => {
  const { container } = render(<EntityCard entity={mockEntity} />)
  const results = await axe(container)
  expect(results.violations).toHaveLength(0)
})

Resources:

• Config templates: assets/nextjs/vitest.config.ts, assets/nextjs/playwright.config.ts
• Examples: examples/nextjs/
• References: references/a11y-testing.md

4. TYPO3/PHP Testing

PHPUnit-based testing for TYPO3 extensions with E2E support.

Test Types:

• Unit tests (no database, fast)
• Functional tests (with database)
• E2E tests (Playwright browser automation)
• Fuzz tests (security, input mutation)
• Mutation tests (test quality verification)

Quick Start:

# Setup
scripts/setup-testing.sh --with-e2e

# Generate test
scripts/generate-test.sh unit UserValidator
scripts/generate-test.sh functional ProductRepository
scripts/generate-test.sh e2e backend-module

Resources:

• Templates: templates/typo3/
• References: references/functional-testing.md, references/mutation-testing.md
• Scripts: scripts/setup-testing.sh, scripts/generate-test.sh

5. Shell Script Testing

Testing frameworks for Bash and POSIX shell scripts.

ShellSpec (BDD-style)

Describe 'Calculator'
  Include lib/calculator.sh

  It 'performs addition'
    When call add 2 3
    The output should eq 5
  End
End

BATS (TAP-compliant)

@test "describe expected behavior" {
    run my_command arg1 arg2
    assert_success
    assert_output --partial "expected substring"
}

Resources:

• ShellSpec template: assets/shellspec/spec_template.sh
• BATS scripts: scripts/init_bats_project.sh
• References: references/gotchas.md, references/advanced-patterns.md

6. Skill Testing Framework

Validation tools for testing skills with input/output pair validation.

Test Types:

• Unit tests for individual components
• Integration tests for complete workflows
• Regression tests against baselines

Quick Start:

# Generate test template
scripts/generate_test_template.py /path/to/skill --output tests.json

# Run tests
scripts/run_tests.py tests.json --skill-path /path/to/skill

# Validate results
scripts/validate_test_results.py actual.txt expected.txt

Resources:

• Template: assets/skill-testing/test_template.json
• Scripts: scripts/run_tests.py, scripts/generate_test_template.py
• References: references/test_patterns.md, references/writing_tests.md

Available Scripts

Script	Purpose
scripts/analyze-test-quality.py	Analyze Rust test file quality
scripts/setup-testing.sh	Set up TYPO3 testing infrastructure
scripts/generate-test.sh	Generate test class templates
scripts/validate-setup.sh	Validate testing setup
scripts/run_tests.py	Run skill test suites
scripts/generate_test_template.py	Generate test templates
scripts/validate_test_results.py	Validate test outputs
scripts/diagnose_test.sh	Diagnose ShellSpec test failures
scripts/init_bats_project.sh	Initialize BATS project
scripts/strip_colors.sh	Strip ANSI colors from output
scripts/generate_test_deps.py	Generate Next.js test dependencies

Reference Documentation

Core Testing Patterns

• references/aaa-pattern.md - Arrange-Act-Assert pattern details
• references/naming-conventions.md - Test naming best practices
• references/test-builders.md - Test builder patterns
• references/anti-patterns.md - Common testing anti-patterns to avoid
• references/writing_tests.md - Best practices for effective testing
• references/test_patterns.md - Examples for different skill types

Framework-Specific

• references/unit-testing.md - PHP/TYPO3 unit testing
• references/functional-testing.md - Functional testing with database
• references/functional-test-patterns.md - Container reset, PHPUnit migration
• references/async-testing.md - Async test patterns
• references/e2e-testing.md - End-to-end testing guide
• references/javascript-testing.md - JavaScript/TypeScript testing

Specialized Testing

• references/fuzz-testing.md - Security fuzz testing
• references/mutation-testing.md - Test quality verification
• references/accessibility-testing.md - axe-core WCAG compliance
• references/a11y-testing.md - Accessibility testing guidelines

CI/CD & Tools

• references/ci-cd.md - GitHub Actions, GitLab CI workflows
• references/ci-integration.md - CI/CD integration patterns
• references/ci-cd-integration.md - E2E CI/CD examples
• references/test-runners.md - Test orchestration patterns
• references/quality-tools.md - PHPStan, Rector, php-cs-fixer
• references/sonarcloud.md - SonarCloud integration

Shell Testing

• references/gotchas.md - BATS common pitfalls
• references/assertions.md - BATS assertion reference
• references/advanced-patterns.md - ShellSpec advanced patterns
• references/troubleshooting.md - Debugging test failures
• references/collected-experience.md - Lessons learned
• references/real-world-examples.md - Production patterns
• references/projects.md - Real-world project examples

Templates

Rust

• templates/rust/unit-test.md - Basic unit test template
• templates/rust/async-test.md - Async test template
• templates/rust/test-builder.md - Test builder pattern

E2E/Playwright

• templates/e2e/playwright.config.template.ts - Playwright config
• templates/e2e/test-spec.template.ts - Test spec template
• templates/e2e/page-object.template.ts - Page Object Model
• templates/e2e/global-setup.template.ts - Global setup
• templates/e2e/global-teardown.template.ts - Global teardown
• templates/e2e/screenshot-helper.template.ts - Screenshot utilities

TYPO3/PHP

• templates/typo3/UnitTests.xml - PHPUnit unit config
• templates/typo3/FunctionalTests.xml - PHPUnit functional config
• templates/typo3/FunctionalTestsBootstrap.php - Bootstrap file
• templates/typo3/github-actions-tests.yml - CI workflow
• templates/typo3/Build/playwright/ - Playwright E2E setup
• templates/typo3/example-tests/ - Example test classes

Examples

E2E

• examples/e2e/react-vite/ - React Vite example tests
• examples/e2e/reports/ - Example analysis reports

Next.js

• examples/nextjs/unit-test.ts - Unit test example
• examples/nextjs/component-test.tsx - Component test example
• examples/nextjs/e2e-test.ts - E2E test example

Assets

Configuration

• assets/nextjs/vitest.config.ts - Vitest configuration
• assets/nextjs/playwright.config.ts - Playwright configuration
• assets/nextjs/test-setup.ts - Test setup file

ShellSpec

• assets/shellspec/spec_template.sh - ShellSpec test template

Skill Testing

• assets/skill-testing/test_template.json - Test suite template

E2E Workflow

• assets/e2e-workflow/phase-*.md - Detailed workflow phases

E2E Data

• assets/e2e-data/playwright-best-practices.md
• assets/e2e-data/accessibility-checks.md
• assets/e2e-data/common-ui-bugs.md

Checklists

• assets/rust-checklists/pre-commit.md - Pre-commit checklist
• assets/rust-checklists/review.md - Code review checklist

Best Practices

Universal Testing Principles

1. Quality over coverage - Tests should catch real bugs, not boost metrics
2. Test naming matters - Names should describe expected behavior
3. AAA pattern - Arrange, Act, Assert for clear structure
4. Single responsibility - Each test verifies ONE behavior
5. Fast tests - Unit tests should run in milliseconds
6. Mock external dependencies - APIs, databases, file systems, time
7. Don't mock - Value types, pure functions, code under test

Test Organization

1. Group tests by feature or domain, not by test type
2. Keep fixtures minimal, reusable, and documented
3. Ensure each test runs independently
4. Apply setUp() and tearDown() consistently
5. Document test strategy in AGENTS.md or README

CI/CD Integration

1. Generate JUnit reports for CI integration
2. Run tests in parallel when possible
3. Set up code coverage thresholds
4. Configure test artifacts (screenshots, reports)
5. Use test tags for selective execution

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Tests not found:

• Check file naming conventions
• Verify configuration file paths
• Ensure test class extends correct base class

Tests are slow:

• Enable parallel execution
• Mock external dependencies
• Use setup_file() for expensive operations

Flaky tests:

• Check for global state leakage
• Ensure proper cleanup in tearDown
• Mock time/random dependencies

Database errors:

• Verify database driver configuration
• Check fixture format
• Ensure bootstrap file is configured

E2E failures:

• Verify Node.js version
• Install browsers with playwright install
• Check baseURL configuration

External Resources

Resource	Use For
Playwright Docs	E2E testing, Page Objects
Vitest Docs	Unit testing, configuration
Testing Library	React component testing
axe-core	Accessibility testing
ShellSpec	Shell script BDD testing
BATS	Shell script TAP testing
PHPUnit	PHP unit testing

Anti-Patterns with Solutions

1. Testing implementation instead of behavior — asserting internal function calls instead of observable outputs.

   • Solution: test what the code produces (return values, side effects, DOM output) not how it produces it.

2. Oversized test fixtures — test setup is 50+ lines for a 3-line assertion.

   • Solution: use test builders and factory patterns (references/test-builders.md). Keep fixtures minimal and reusable.

3. Flaky tests from global state — tests pass locally but fail in CI, or pass/fail unpredictably.

   • Solution: mock time/random dependencies, ensure proper cleanup in tearDown, check for global state leakage. See references/troubleshooting.md.

4. Coverage theater — chasing 100% line coverage while ignoring edge cases and error paths.

   • Solution: quality over coverage. Focus testing effort where failures hurt most. 85% meaningful coverage > 100% shallow coverage.

5. E2E tests for everything — using Playwright for logic that could be unit-tested in milliseconds.

   • Solution: use the testing tier pyramid. Unit tests for logic (ms), integration for component interaction (seconds), E2E for critical user workflows (minutes).

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Remember: The goal is deployment confidence, not coverage theater.