name: testing-patterns description: Testing strategies, patterns, and best practices across test types. Auto-triggers when writing tests, setting up test infrastructure, or improving test coverage.

Testing Patterns Skill

Test Pyramid

        /\
       /  \    E2E Tests (few, slow, expensive)
      /----\
     /      \  Integration Tests (some)
    /--------\
   /          \ Unit Tests (many, fast, cheap)
  --------------

Unit Testing Patterns

Arrange-Act-Assert (AAA)

def test_user_can_change_email():
    # Arrange
    user = User(email="old@example.com")

    # Act
    user.change_email("new@example.com")

    # Assert
    assert user.email == "new@example.com"

Given-When-Then (BDD Style)

def test_user_can_change_email():
    # Given a user with an email
    user = User(email="old@example.com")

    # When they change their email
    user.change_email("new@example.com")

    # Then the email is updated
    assert user.email == "new@example.com"

Test Data Builders

class UserBuilder:
    def __init__(self):
        self.name = "Default Name"
        self.email = "default@example.com"
        self.role = "user"

    def with_name(self, name):
        self.name = name
        return self

    def with_admin_role(self):
        self.role = "admin"
        return self

    def build(self):
        return User(self.name, self.email, self.role)

# Usage
admin = UserBuilder().with_name("Admin").with_admin_role().build()

Parameterized Tests

@pytest.mark.parametrize("input,expected", [
    ("hello", "HELLO"),
    ("World", "WORLD"),
    ("", ""),
    ("123", "123"),
])
def test_uppercase(input, expected):
    assert input.upper() == expected

Integration Testing Patterns

Database Tests

@pytest.fixture
def db_session():
    # Setup
    engine = create_engine("sqlite:///:memory:")
    Base.metadata.create_all(engine)
    session = Session(engine)

    yield session

    # Teardown
    session.close()

def test_user_repository(db_session):
    repo = UserRepository(db_session)
    user = repo.create(User(name="Test"))

    found = repo.find_by_id(user.id)
    assert found.name == "Test"

API Tests

@pytest.fixture
def client():
    app.config["TESTING"] = True
    with app.test_client() as client:
        yield client

def test_create_user(client):
    response = client.post("/users", json={"name": "Test"})

    assert response.status_code == 201
    assert response.json["name"] == "Test"

Contract Tests

# Consumer defines expected contract
def test_user_api_contract():
    # Expected response structure
    expected_schema = {
        "type": "object",
        "required": ["id", "name", "email"],
        "properties": {
            "id": {"type": "integer"},
            "name": {"type": "string"},
            "email": {"type": "string", "format": "email"}
        }
    }

    response = client.get("/users/1")
    validate(response.json, expected_schema)

Mocking Strategies

When to Mock

• External services (APIs, databases in unit tests)
• Non-deterministic behavior (time, randomness)
• Slow operations
• Side effects (email, notifications)

When NOT to Mock

• Your own code (usually)
• Simple value objects
• In integration tests (test real interactions)

Mock Patterns

# Stub - returns canned response
mock_service.get_user.return_value = User(id=1, name="Test")

# Mock - verifies interaction
mock_service.send_email.assert_called_once_with("test@example.com")

# Spy - records calls but uses real implementation
with patch.object(service, 'method', wraps=service.method) as spy:
    service.method()
    spy.assert_called()

E2E Testing Patterns

Page Object Pattern

class LoginPage:
    def __init__(self, driver):
        self.driver = driver

    @property
    def username_input(self):
        return self.driver.find_element(By.ID, "username")

    @property
    def password_input(self):
        return self.driver.find_element(By.ID, "password")

    def login(self, username, password):
        self.username_input.send_keys(username)
        self.password_input.send_keys(password)
        self.submit_button.click()
        return DashboardPage(self.driver)

# Usage in test
def test_successful_login(driver):
    login_page = LoginPage(driver)
    dashboard = login_page.login("user", "pass")
    assert dashboard.welcome_message == "Welcome, user!"

Test Quality Indicators

Good Tests Are

• Fast: Milliseconds for unit tests
• Isolated: No test depends on another
• Repeatable: Same result every run
• Self-validating: Pass or fail, no manual check
• Timely: Written before or with code

Bad Test Smells

• Flaky tests (intermittent failures)
• Slow test suite
• Tests that test implementation details
• Tests requiring manual setup
• Tests that share mutable state