Code coverage

Code Coverage Analysis

Measure, analyze, and improve test coverage to ensure comprehensive testing of your codebase. This skill implements Phase 7 of the 8-phase testing methodology.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Measure current test coverage
• Identify untested code paths
• Meet coverage requirements (80%+)
• Generate coverage reports
• Configure coverage in CI/CD
• Improve test effectiveness
• Find dead code through coverage

Trigger phrases: "code coverage", "test coverage", "coverage report", "coverage gaps", "untested code", "80% coverage", "coverage threshold", "coverage analysis"

What This Skill Does

Coverage Metrics

Metric	Description	Target
Line Coverage	% of lines executed	80%+
Branch Coverage	% of branches taken	75%+
Function Coverage	% of functions called	90%+
Statement Coverage	% of statements executed	80%+

Language-Specific Tools & Examples

Python (pytest-cov / coverage.py)

# pyproject.toml configuration
[tool.coverage.run]
source = ["src"]
branch = true
omit = [
    "*/tests/*",
    "*/__pycache__/*",
    "*/migrations/*",
    "*/.venv/*"
]

[tool.coverage.report]
exclude_lines = [
    "pragma: no cover",
    "def __repr__",
    "raise AssertionError",
    "raise NotImplementedError",
    "if TYPE_CHECKING:",
    "if __name__ == .__main__.:",
]
fail_under = 80
show_missing = true

[tool.coverage.html]
directory = "htmlcov"

# Running coverage
# pytest --cov=src --cov-report=html --cov-report=xml --cov-fail-under=80

# Coverage commands
# coverage run -m pytest tests/
# coverage report -m
# coverage html
# coverage xml

# Example: Adding tests to improve coverage
# Before: 65% coverage in user_service.py

class UserService:
    def create_user(self, name: str, email: str) -> User:
        if not name:
            raise ValueError("Name is required")
        if not self._validate_email(email):
            raise ValueError("Invalid email")

        user = User(name=name, email=email)
        self.repository.save(user)

        # UNCOVERED: Email notification branch
        if self.config.send_welcome_email:
            self.email_service.send_welcome(user)

        return user

    def _validate_email(self, email: str) -> bool:
        # UNCOVERED: This method wasn't tested
        return "@" in email and "." in email.split("@")[1]


# Tests to improve coverage
class TestUserService:
    def test_create_user_sends_welcome_email_when_enabled(
        self, user_service, mock_email_service
    ):
        """Cover the email notification branch."""
        user_service.config.send_welcome_email = True

        user = user_service.create_user("John", "[email protected]")

        mock_email_service.send_welcome.assert_called_once_with(user)

    def test_create_user_skips_email_when_disabled(
        self, user_service, mock_email_service
    ):
        """Cover the else branch."""
        user_service.config.send_welcome_email = False

        user_service.create_user("John", "[email protected]")

        mock_email_service.send_welcome.assert_not_called()

    def test_validate_email_with_valid_email(self, user_service):
        """Cover _validate_email method."""
        assert user_service._validate_email("[email protected]") is True

    def test_validate_email_with_invalid_email(self, user_service):
        """Cover invalid email path."""
        assert user_service._validate_email("invalid") is False
        assert user_service._validate_email("no@domain") is False

JavaScript/TypeScript (Jest/c8)

// jest.config.js
module.exports = {
  collectCoverage: true,
  collectCoverageFrom: [
    'src/**/*.{js,ts}',
    '!src/**/*.d.ts',
    '!src/**/index.{js,ts}',
    '!src/**/*.test.{js,ts}'
  ],
  coverageThreshold: {
    global: {
      branches: 75,
      functions: 90,
      lines: 80,
      statements: 80
    },
    './src/services/': {
      branches: 80,
      functions: 95,
      lines: 85
    }
  },
  coverageReporters: ['text', 'lcov', 'html', 'json-summary'],
  coverageDirectory: 'coverage'
};

// package.json scripts
{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "jest",
    "test:coverage": "jest --coverage",
    "test:coverage:check": "jest --coverage --coverageThreshold='{\"global\":{\"lines\":80}}'",
    "coverage:open": "open coverage/lcov-report/index.html"
  }
}

// c8 (Node.js native coverage)
// c8 --check-coverage --lines 80 npm test

// Example: Improving coverage for UserService
class UserService {
  async createUser(name: string, email: string): Promise<User> {
    if (!name) throw new Error('Name is required');
    if (!this.validateEmail(email)) throw new Error('Invalid email');

    const user = new User(name, email);
    await this.repository.save(user);

    // UNCOVERED BRANCH
    if (this.config.sendWelcomeEmail) {
      await this.emailService.sendWelcome(user);
    }

    return user;
  }

  private validateEmail(email: string): boolean {
    // UNCOVERED METHOD
    const parts = email.split('@');
    return parts.length === 2 && parts[1].includes('.');
  }
}

// Tests to achieve coverage
describe('UserService', () => {
  describe('createUser', () => {
    it('sends welcome email when enabled', async () => {
      mockConfig.sendWelcomeEmail = true;
      await userService.createUser('John', '[email protected]');
      expect(mockEmailService.sendWelcome).toHaveBeenCalled();
    });

    it('skips welcome email when disabled', async () => {
      mockConfig.sendWelcomeEmail = false;
      await userService.createUser('John', '[email protected]');
      expect(mockEmailService.sendWelcome).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
    });

    it('throws on empty name', async () => {
      await expect(userService.createUser('', '[email protected]'))
        .rejects.toThrow('Name is required');
    });

    it('throws on invalid email', async () => {
      await expect(userService.createUser('John', 'invalid'))
        .rejects.toThrow('Invalid email');
    });
  });

  describe('validateEmail', () => {
    it.each([
      ['[email protected]', true],
      ['[email protected]', true],
      ['invalid', false],
      ['no@domain', false],
      ['@example.com', false]
    ])('validates %s as %s', (email, expected) => {
      expect(userService['validateEmail'](email)).toBe(expected);
    });
  });
});

Java (JaCoCo)

<!-- pom.xml JaCoCo configuration -->
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.jacoco</groupId>
    <artifactId>jacoco-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>0.8.11</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <id>prepare-agent</id>
            <goals>
                <goal>prepare-agent</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
        <execution>
            <id>report</id>
            <phase>test</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>report</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
        <execution>
            <id>check</id>
            <goals>
                <goal>check</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <rules>
                    <rule>
                        <element>BUNDLE</element>
                        <limits>
                            <limit>
                                <counter>LINE</counter>
                                <value>COVEREDRATIO</value>
                                <minimum>0.80</minimum>
                            </limit>
                            <limit>
                                <counter>BRANCH</counter>
                                <value>COVEREDRATIO</value>
                                <minimum>0.75</minimum>
                            </limit>
                        </limits>
                    </rule>
                    <rule>
                        <element>CLASS</element>
                        <limits>
                            <limit>
                                <counter>LINE</counter>
                                <value>COVEREDRATIO</value>
                                <minimum>0.70</minimum>
                            </limit>
                        </limits>
                    </rule>
                </rules>
            </configuration>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

<!-- Excluding files from coverage -->
<configuration>
    <excludes>
        <exclude>**/model/*</exclude>
        <exclude>**/dto/*</exclude>
        <exclude>**/*Config.*</exclude>
    </excludes>
</configuration>

Go (go test -cover)

// Running coverage in Go
// go test -coverprofile=coverage.out ./...
// go tool cover -html=coverage.out -o coverage.html
// go tool cover -func=coverage.out

// Coverage with race detection
// go test -race -coverprofile=coverage.out ./...

// Example: Coverage improvement
// Before: 70% coverage

func (s *UserService) CreateUser(name, email string) (*User, error) {
    if name == "" {
        return nil, errors.New("name is required")
    }

    if !s.validateEmail(email) {
        return nil, errors.New("invalid email")
    }

    user := &User{Name: name, Email: email}
    if err := s.repo.Save(user); err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("save failed: %w", err)
    }

    // UNCOVERED BRANCH
    if s.config.SendWelcome {
        s.emailService.SendWelcome(user)
    }

    return user, nil
}

// Tests to improve coverage
func TestUserService_CreateUser(t *testing.T) {
    tests := []struct {
        name        string
        userName    string
        email       string
        sendWelcome bool
        wantErr     bool
        errMsg      string
    }{
        {
            name:     "creates user successfully",
            userName: "John",
            email:    "[email protected]",
            wantErr:  false,
        },
        {
            name:    "fails with empty name",
            email:   "[email protected]",
            wantErr: true,
            errMsg:  "name is required",
        },
        {
            name:     "fails with invalid email",
            userName: "John",
            email:    "invalid",
            wantErr:  true,
            errMsg:   "invalid email",
        },
        {
            name:        "sends welcome email when enabled",
            userName:    "John",
            email:       "[email protected]",
            sendWelcome: true,
            wantErr:     false,
        },
    }

    for _, tt := range tests {
        t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            svc := NewUserService(
                mockRepo,
                mockEmailSvc,
                &Config{SendWelcome: tt.sendWelcome},
            )

            user, err := svc.CreateUser(tt.userName, tt.email)

            if tt.wantErr {
                require.Error(t, err)
                assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), tt.errMsg)
                return
            }

            require.NoError(t, err)
            assert.Equal(t, tt.userName, user.Name)

            if tt.sendWelcome {
                mockEmailSvc.AssertCalled(t, "SendWelcome", user)
            }
        })
    }
}

Prerequisites

• Tests already written
• Testing framework configured
• Coverage tool available
• Understanding of codebase

Instructions

Step 1: Configure Coverage Tool

1. Install Coverage Tool

   # Python
   pip install pytest-cov coverage
   
   # JavaScript
   npm install --save-dev jest c8
   
   # Java - add JaCoCo plugin to pom.xml
   
   # Go - built-in
   

2. Configure Exclusions

   • Generated code
   • Migrations
   • Configuration files
   • Type definitions

Step 2: Generate Initial Report

1. Run Coverage

   # Python
   pytest --cov=src --cov-report=html
   
   # JavaScript
   npm test -- --coverage
   
   # Java
   mvn test jacoco:report
   
   # Go
   go test -coverprofile=coverage.out ./...
   go tool cover -html=coverage.out
   

2. Analyze Results

   • Identify low-coverage files
   • Find untested branches
   • Note complex functions

Step 3: Improve Coverage

1. Prioritize High-Impact Areas

   • Core business logic
   • Critical paths
   • Error handling

2. Write Missing Tests

   • Branch coverage
   • Error paths
   • Edge cases

Step 4: Set Thresholds

1. Configure Minimums

   • Global: 80% lines
   • Critical: 90% branches
   • Per-file: 70% minimum

2. Fail CI on Threshold

   • Add to CI/CD pipeline
   • Block merges below threshold

Quality Checklist

• Coverage tool configured
• Exclusions properly set
• Initial baseline measured
• Critical paths at 90%+
• Overall coverage at 80%+
• CI/CD threshold enforced
• Reports generated and accessible

Related Skills

• unit-tests - Unit testing (Phase 2)
• mutation-testing - Test quality validation (Phase 8)
• cicd-integration - CI/CD setup (Phase 6)

---

Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: December 2025 Based on: AI Templates tests_generation/code_coverage/

Iterative Refinement Strategy

This skill is optimized for an iterative approach:

1. Execute: Perform the core steps defined above.
2. Review: Critically analyze the output (coverage, quality, completeness).
3. Refine: If targets aren't met, repeat the specific implementation steps with improved context.
4. Loop: Continue until the definition of done is satisfied.