test_first_workflow

A development rule that requires tests to be written before or alongside new code. TDD, or test-driven development, means writing a failing test first and then implementing the code that makes it pass.

In plain words
What is it for?
It applies when adding features, functions, API endpoints, user-interface components, or database operations, including writing tests for normal, invalid, boundary, and error inputs.
Why use it?
It checks expected behavior early and makes edge cases and error cases part of the implementation work.

Cursor rule for Cursor

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/markmhendrickson/foundation/test_first_workflow
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/markmhendrickson/foundation

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 23 Only the description is in the session, so the agent can decide to use it. The body loads when it is invoked.
When invoked 1,917 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00023 $0.01917
Opus 5 $0.00012 $0.00958
Sonnet 5 $0.00005 $0.00383
Haiku 4.5 $0.00002 $0.00192

Measured yesterday against content hash 7dab94c97bb1, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

test_first_workflow scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured yesterday.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

.cursor/rules/test_first_workflow.mdc · 341 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 341 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Test-First Workflow Rules

Reference: Repository testing standards

Purpose

Enforces test-first (TDD) or test-alongside development workflow to catch bugs early and ensure comprehensive test coverage.

Scope

This document covers:

  • Test-first workflow requirements
  • Test writing alongside implementation
  • Test execution before implementation verification
  • Test coverage verification

This document does NOT cover:

  • Test execution after implementation (see agent_test_execution.mdc)
  • Test quality standards (see repository test quality rules)

Trigger Patterns

Agents MUST follow test-first workflow when:

  • Implementing new features
  • Adding new functions or methods
  • Creating new API endpoints
  • Building new UI components
  • Adding new database operations

Test-First Workflow

Option 1: Pure TDD (Test-Driven Development)

For new features or significant changes:

  1. Write test cases FIRST

    • Create test file before implementation file
    • Write test cases covering:
      • Happy path
      • Edge cases (null, empty, invalid values)
      • Error cases
      • Boundary conditions
  2. Run tests to verify they fail (RED)

    • Tests should fail because implementation doesn't exist
    • This confirms tests are actually testing something
  3. Implement feature to make tests pass (GREEN)

    • Write minimal code to make tests pass
    • Don't over-engineer
  4. Refactor if needed (REFACTOR)

    • Improve code quality while keeping tests green
    • Verify tests still pass after refactoring

Option 2: Test-Alongside Development

For smaller changes or when TDD is impractical:

  1. Write test cases alongside implementation

    • Create test file at same time as implementation
    • Write tests for each function as you implement it
    • Don't defer test writing
  2. Run tests frequently

    • Run tests after each function implementation
    • Fix failures immediately
    • Verify tests pass before moving on
  3. Ensure comprehensive coverage

    • Test happy path
    • Test edge cases
    • Test error cases
    • Verify all code paths covered

Read the full file on GitHub · 341 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. yesterday First seen · 341 lines · 23 tokens per session scan A 7dab94c97bb1

Subscribe to this mod's changes

test_first_workflow is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository markmhendrickson/foundation (2 stars, last pushed 1mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 23 tokens to every session and 1,917 once invoked, about $0.0001 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-31.