AgenticAI: Instructions file for GitHub Copilot

Testing Guidelines

Test Structure

Naming Convention

Use descriptive test names that explain what is being tested:

describe('UserService', () => {
  describe('createUser', () => {
    it('should create a user with valid input', () => {});
    it('should throw error when email is invalid', () => {});
    it('should hash password before saving', () => {});
  });
});

AAA Pattern

Follow Arrange-Act-Assert pattern:

// Arrange - Set up test data and conditions
const user = createTestUser();

// Act - Execute the code being tested
const result = await userService.createUser(user);

// Assert - Verify the expected outcome
expect(result.id).toBeDefined();

Test Types

Unit Tests

• Test individual functions/methods in isolation
• Mock all external dependencies
• Fast execution (milliseconds)
• High coverage of business logic

Integration Tests

• Test component interactions
• Use test databases or containers
• Verify API contracts
• Test database operations

End-to-End Tests

• Test complete user flows
• Run against staging environment
• Verify critical business paths
• Keep count minimal (expensive to maintain)
• When applicable: Feature that involves multiple components interacting
• Examples:
  • User signup → email confirmation → login → access dashboard
  • Create order → payment → confirmation email → inventory update
  • Upload file → processing → notification → download

Best Practices

Do's

• Test behavior, not implementation
• Keep tests independent (no shared state)
• Use descriptive assertion messages
• Clean up test data after each test
• Use factories for test data creation

Don'ts

• Don't test framework/library code
• Don't use production data in tests
• Don't write flaky tests
• Don't skip tests without documentation
• Don't test private methods directly

Mocking Guidelines

• Mock at the boundary (API, database, external services)
• Verify mock interactions when relevant
• Reset mocks between tests
• Use type-safe mocks when possible