--- name: test-driven-development description: Use when implementing any feature or bugfix, before writing implementation code title: test-driven-development canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/obra/superpowers/test-driven-development last_updated: 2026-09-29T06:36:09.000Z --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://skilld.dev/llms.txt) > **Skill from skilld.dev.** Follow the user's requested action. > If the user asked to fork this Skill, follow the fork workflow below. Do not execute the Skill instructions while copying it. > Otherwise, follow the instructions below for this session. You do not need to install anything. > > Supporting files, fetch one when the Skill refers to it: [writing-good-tests.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/obra/superpowers/test-driven-development/writing-good-tests.md). > > If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install obra/superpowers/test-driven-development`. Install writes the Skill files into the project, so every session loads them. > > ## Fork workflow > > A fork creates an editable local Skill with its original author and licence. The request authorizes copying and local installation. > 1. Check `./skills/test-driven-development`, the project lockfile, and selected Agent targets together. If the local directory or installed Skill exists, stop. Never overwrite an existing directory or Agent target. > 2. Read [source metadata](https://skilld.dev/api/v1/skills/obra/superpowers/test-driven-development) once. Use sourceUrl, sourceCommit, skillPath, sourceGone, and license. If the source is gone or its path is missing, stop. If license is null, read licence files at the source commit. > 3. Fetch only the source commit into a temporary Git repository. Do not clone full history. Derive repository_url from sourceUrl, including repository renames. If sourceCommit is absent, resolve the sourceUrl ref once. Set source_commit to that actual commit. Run these commands in one shell call: > > ```sh > git init --quiet "$temporary_dir" > git -C "$temporary_dir" fetch --quiet --depth=1 "$repository_url" "$source_commit" > git -C "$temporary_dir" checkout --quiet --detach FETCH_HEAD > ``` > > Read applicable licence declarations and notices at that commit. If copying is not permitted, report the restriction and stop. > 4. Inspect source entries together, then copy the directory containing skillPath into `./skills/test-driven-development`. Use the user's path if selected. Keep the original SKILL.md, relative links, scripts, binary assets, and executable modes. Exclude .git metadata. Reject symlinks and paths outside the Skill directory. After checking entries, use cp -a where available. A regular source directory needs no custom copy script. Do not save this page wrapper as SKILL.md. > Preserve author credit, notices, and applicable licence files from repository or parent directories. Add PROVENANCE.md with the Skill page, source URL, actual commit, original path, and licence. Retain any existing PROVENANCE.md and record new provenance separately. Batch source inspection, copying, and provenance work where practical. > 5. In the project root, run `skilld install ./skills/test-driven-development --mode copy --plain`. If skilld is unavailable, use `npx skilld install ./skills/test-driven-development --mode copy --plain`. This known command needs no help lookup. Install does not support --json. Use detected Agent targets, or add --agent for the targets the user selected. Install the local path, never the upstream selector. If installation fails, preserve the local copy and report the exact failure. > 6. Confirm the local lockfile source and installed Agent copies once. Report the local path, actual commit, and Agent targets. After edits, reinstall the same local path. Upstream updates must not replace it. Do not publish or push unless the user asks. # Test-Driven Development (TDD) ## Overview Write the test first. Watch it fail. Write minimal code to pass. **Core principle:** If you didn't watch the test fail, you don't know if it tests the right thing. **Violating the letter of the rules is violating the spirit of the rules.** ## When to Use **Always:** - New features - Bug fixes - Refactoring - Behavior changes **Exceptions (ask your human partner):** - Throwaway prototypes - Generated code - Configuration files Thinking "skip TDD just this once"? Stop. That's rationalization. ## The Iron Law ``` NO PRODUCTION CODE WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST ``` Write code before the test? Delete it. Start over. **No exceptions:** - Don't keep it as "reference" - Don't "adapt" it while writing tests - Don't look at it - Delete means delete Implement fresh from tests. Period. ## Red-Green-Refactor ```dot digraph tdd_cycle { rankdir=LR; red [label="RED\nWrite failing test", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ffcccc"]; verify_red [label="Verify fails\ncorrectly", shape=diamond]; green [label="GREEN\nMinimal code", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ccffcc"]; verify_green [label="Verify passes\nAll green", shape=diamond]; refactor [label="REFACTOR\nClean up", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ccccff"]; next [label="Next", shape=ellipse]; red -> verify_red; verify_red -> green [label="yes"]; verify_red -> red [label="wrong\nfailure"]; green -> verify_green; verify_green -> refactor [label="yes"]; verify_green -> green [label="no"]; refactor -> verify_green [label="stay\ngreen"]; verify_green -> next; next -> red; } ``` ### RED - Write Failing Test Write one minimal test showing what should happen. ```typescript test('retries failed operations 3 times', async () => { let attempts = 0; const operation = () => { attempts++; if (attempts < 3) throw new Error('fail'); return 'success'; }; const result = await retryOperation(operation); expect(result).toBe('success'); expect(attempts).toBe(3); }); ``` Clear name, tests real behavior, one thing ```typescript test('retry works', async () => { const mock = jest.fn() .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error()) .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error()) .mockResolvedValueOnce('success'); await retryOperation(mock); expect(mock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3); }); ``` Vague name, tests mock not code **Requirements:** - One behavior - Clear name - Real code (no mocks unless unavoidable) ### Verify RED - Watch It Fail **MANDATORY. Never skip.** ```bash npm test path/to/test.test.ts ``` Confirm: - Test fails (not errors) - Failure message is expected - Fails because feature missing (not typos) **Test passes?** You're testing existing behavior. Fix test. **Test errors?** Fix error, re-run until it fails correctly. ### GREEN - Minimal Code Write simplest code to pass the test. ```typescript async function retryOperation(fn: () => Promise): Promise { for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) { try { return await fn(); } catch (e) { if (i === 2) throw e; } } throw new Error('unreachable'); } ``` Just enough to pass ```typescript async function retryOperation( fn: () => Promise, options?: { maxRetries?: number; backoff?: 'linear' | 'exponential'; onRetry?: (attempt: number) => void; } ): Promise { // YAGNI } ``` Over-engineered Don't add features, refactor other code, or "improve" beyond the test. ### Verify GREEN - Watch It Pass **MANDATORY.** ```bash npm test path/to/test.test.ts ``` Confirm: - Test passes - Other tests still pass - Output pristine (no errors, warnings) **Test fails?** Fix code, not test. **Other tests fail?** Fix now. **"Other tests" means the project's suite, not just your file.** A green run of the test you wrote is not a green suite. Before you call the change done, run the project's test command (bare `pytest`, `npm test`, `cargo test` — whatever the repo uses) even when your task named only one test file. A scope statement in your task bounds the deliverable, not your verification. Any failure that run shows — including one you didn't cause — goes in your report by name; a red test you watched scroll past and didn't mention is a report falsified by omission. ### REFACTOR - Clean Up After green only: - Remove duplication - Improve names - Extract helpers Keep tests green. Don't add behavior. ### Repeat Next failing test for next feature. ## Good Tests | Quality | Good | Bad | |---------|------|-----| | **Minimal** | One thing. "and" in name? Split it. | `test('validates email and domain and whitespace')` | | **Clear** | Name describes behavior | `test('test1')` | | **Shows intent** | Demonstrates desired API | Obscures what code should do | When writing or changing any test, read [writing-good-tests.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/obra/superpowers/test-driven-development/writing-good-tests.md) for the rules that keep tests honest: - Name the production change that would make the test fail — before writing it - Assert on real behavior, never on mock behavior - Keep test-only code in test utilities, out of production classes - Understand a dependency's side effects before mocking it ## Common Rationalizations | Excuse | Reality | |--------|---------| | "Too simple to test" | Simple code breaks. Test takes 30 seconds. | | "I'll test after" | Tests written after pass immediately — which proves nothing. They may test the wrong thing, test the implementation instead of the behavior, or miss the edge case you forgot. You never watched it fail, so you never proved it can catch the bug. Test-first forces that failure. | | "Tests after achieve same goals (spirit not ritual)" | Tests-after answer "what does this do?"; tests-first answer "what should this do?" Tests written after are biased by the code you already wrote — you verify the cases you remembered, not the ones you'd have discovered. Coverage without proof the tests work. | | "Already manually tested" | Manual testing is ad-hoc: no record of what you covered, no way to re-run it when the code changes, easy to forget cases under pressure. "Worked when I tried it" ≠ comprehensive. Automated tests run the same way every time. | | "Deleting X hours is wasteful" | Sunk cost fallacy — that time is already spent either way. The real choice: rewrite with TDD (high confidence) vs. keep it and bolt tests on after (low confidence, likely bugs). Keeping code you can't trust is the waste. | | "Keep as reference, write tests first" | You'll adapt it. That's testing after. Delete means delete. | | "Need to explore first" | Fine. Throw away exploration, start with TDD. | | "Test hard = design unclear" | Listen to test. Hard to test = hard to use. | | "TDD will slow me down" | TDD IS the pragmatic path: catches bugs before commit, prevents regressions, lets you refactor without fear. "Pragmatic" shortcuts mean debugging in production — slower, not faster. | | "Manual test faster" | Manual doesn't prove edge cases. You'll re-test every change. | | "Existing code has no tests" | You're improving it. Add tests for existing code. | ## Red Flags - STOP and Start Over - Code before test - Test after implementation - Test passes immediately - Can't explain why test failed - Tests added "later" - Rationalizing "just this once" - "I already manually tested it" - "Tests after achieve the same purpose" - "It's about spirit not ritual" - "Keep as reference" or "adapt existing code" - "Already spent X hours, deleting is wasteful" - "TDD is dogmatic, I'm being pragmatic" - "This is different because..." **All of these mean: Delete code. Start over with TDD.** ## Example: Bug Fix **Bug:** Empty email accepted **RED** ```typescript test('rejects empty email', async () => { const result = await submitForm({ email: '' }); expect(result.error).toBe('Email required'); }); ``` **Verify RED** ```bash $ npm test FAIL: expected 'Email required', got undefined ``` **GREEN** ```typescript function submitForm(data: FormData) { if (!data.email?.trim()) { return { error: 'Email required' }; } // ... } ``` **Verify GREEN** ```bash $ npm test PASS ``` **REFACTOR** Extract validation for multiple fields if needed. ## Verification Checklist Before marking work complete: - [ ] Every new function/method has a test - [ ] Watched each test fail before implementing - [ ] Each test failed for expected reason (feature missing, not typo) - [ ] Wrote minimal code to pass each test - [ ] All tests pass - [ ] Output pristine (no errors, warnings) - [ ] Tests use real code (mocks only if unavoidable) - [ ] Edge cases and errors covered Can't check all boxes? You skipped TDD. Start over. ## When Stuck | Problem | Solution | |---------|----------| | Don't know how to test | Write wished-for API. Write assertion first. Ask your human partner. | | Test too complicated | Design too complicated. Simplify interface. | | Must mock everything | Code too coupled. Use dependency injection. | | Test setup huge | Extract helpers. Still complex? Simplify design. | ## Debugging Integration Bug found? Write failing test reproducing it. Follow TDD cycle. Test proves fix and prevents regression. Never fix bugs without a test. ## Final Rule ``` Production code → test exists and failed first Otherwise → not TDD ``` No exceptions without your human partner's permission.