Test Smell Detection
Identifies antipatterns and code smells in PHP test suites.
15 Test Smells
| # | Smell | Severity | Detection Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logic in Test | High | if/for/while/foreach in tests |
| 2 | Mock Overuse | High | >3 mocks in single test |
| 3 | Test Interdependence | High | static $, @depends |
| 4 | Fragile Test | High | expects(exactly), at() |
| 5 | Mystery Guest | Medium | file_get_contents, getenv |
| 6 | Eager Test | Medium | Multiple unrelated assertions |
| 7 | Assertion Roulette | Medium | >5 assertions without context |
| 8 | Obscure Test | Low | test_it_works, test_foo |
| 9 | Test Code Duplication | Medium | Repeated setup/assertion |
| 10 | Conditional Test Logic | Medium | if.*assert patterns |
| 11 | Hard-Coded Test Data | Low | Magic values in tests |
| 12 | Testing Private Methods | High | setAccessible(true) |
| 13 | Slow Test | Medium | sleep, I/O in unit tests |
| 14 | Mocking Final Classes | High | Mock concrete final classes |
| 15 | Mocking Value Objects | High | Mock readonly/immutable classes |
Quick Detection Commands
bash
# Logic in tests
Grep: "if \(|for \(|while \(|foreach \(" --glob "tests/**/*Test.php"
# Mock overuse (manual count needed)
Grep: "createMock|createStub" --glob "tests/**/*Test.php"
# Test interdependence
Grep: "static \$|@depends" --glob "tests/**/*Test.php"
# Testing private methods
Grep: "setAccessible\(true\)|ReflectionMethod" --glob "tests/**/*Test.php"
# Mystery guest
Grep: "file_get_contents|fopen|getenv|_ENV|_SERVER" --glob "tests/**/*Test.php"
# Fragile tests
Grep: "expects\(.*exactly|expects\(.*at\(" --glob "tests/**/*Test.php"
Output Format
markdown
# Test Smell Report ## Summary | Smell | Count | Severity | |-------|-------|----------| | Logic in Test | 5 | High | | Mock Overuse | 3 | High | ## Findings ### Logic in Test (5 occurrences) | File | Line | Code | |------|------|------| | OrderTest.php | 45 | `foreach ($items as $item)` | **Recommendation:** Extract to data providers or inline values. ## Action Items 1. **High Priority** — Refactor tests with >5 mocks 2. **Medium Priority** — Inline fixture data
Severity Matrix
| Severity | Smells | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| High | Logic in Test, Mock Overuse, Test Interdependence, Fragile Test, Mocking Final/VO, Testing Private | Unreliable results, design problems |
| Medium | Mystery Guest, Eager Test, Slow Test, Conditional Logic, Duplication | Hard to understand/maintain |
| Low | Obscure Test, Hard-Coded Data | Documentation/readability |
Related Skills
| Smell | Fix With |
|---|---|
| Mock Overuse | acc-create-mock-repository |
| Mystery Guest | acc-create-test-builder |
| Test Duplication | acc-create-test-builder |
References
- •
references/smell-catalog.md— Full smell descriptions with code examples - •
references/refactoring-patterns.md— Refactoring patterns for testability