discover-test-patterns

Discover Test Patterns

Automatically discover and document test patterns used in the project for reference during planning and implementation.

What to Discover

Test File Organization

• Location patterns (e.g., *_test.go, *.test.ts, test_*.py)
• Directory structure (e.g., tests/, __tests__/, alongside source)
• Framework being used

Common Patterns

Find and document:

• How tests are structured (describe/it, test functions, etc.)
• Assertion style (testify, chai, pytest, etc.)
• Mocking approach (mockery, jest.mock, unittest.mock, etc.)
• Setup/teardown patterns
• Table-driven test examples

Framework Detection

Identify testing frameworks:

• Go: testing, testify, ginkgo
• TypeScript/JavaScript: Jest, Mocha, Vitest
• Python: pytest, unittest
• Rust: built-in test framework

Discovery Process

1. Find test files: Use glob patterns to locate tests
2. Read examples: Read 2-3 representative test files
3. Extract patterns: Identify common structures and styles
4. Document: Use template to create reference doc

Output Format

Write to: thoughts/notes/testing.md

Use the template from templates/testing-reference.md and populate with discovered patterns.

Example Output Structure

---
last_updated: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z
last_updated_by: Claude
project: my-project
---

# Test Patterns Reference

Last discovered: 2025-12-23

## Go Test Patterns

### File Organization
- **Location**: `*_test.go` files alongside source
- **Framework**: testify/require
- **Example**: `internal/auth/handler_test.go`

### Common Pattern: Table-Driven Tests
**Found in**: `internal/auth/handler_test.go:45-78`

```go
func TestAuthHandler(t *testing.T) {
    tests := []struct {
        name     string
        input    string
        expected string
    }{
        // test cases
    }
    for _, tt := range tests {
        t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            require.Equal(t, tt.expected, result)
        })
    }
}

Assertion Style

• Use require for assertions that should stop test
• Use assert for non-critical checks

Mocking Approach

• Mockery-generated mocks in mocks/ directory
• Interface-based mocking pattern