Test Debugging and Troubleshooting

This skill provides systematic approaches to debugging failing tests, improving test reliability, and resolving common testing issues.

Systematic Debugging Approach

1. Understand the Failure

Analyze the error message:

•Read the complete error output
•Identify the specific assertion that failed
•Note the expected vs actual values
•Check the stack trace for failure location

Reproduce locally:

bash

# Run the specific failing test
bats tests/failing-test.bats
Invoke-Pester tests/FailingTest.Tests.ps1

# Run with verbose output
bats --verbose tests/failing-test.bats
Invoke-Pester -Output Detailed

# Run with debugging enabled
DEBUG=1 bats tests/failing-test.bats
$DebugPreference = "Continue"; Invoke-Pester tests/

2. Isolate the Problem

Run only the failing test:

bash

# Bats - run specific file
bats tests/specific-test.bats

# Pester - run specific test
Invoke-Pester -TestName "specific test name"
Invoke-Pester -Path tests/Specific.Tests.ps1

Add diagnostic output:

bash

# Bats
@test "failing test" {
    echo "Input: $input" >&3
    echo "Status: $status" >&3
    echo "Output: $output" >&3
    run command
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

# Pester
It "failing test" {
    Write-Host "Variable value: $testVar" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    $result = Get-Function
    Write-Host "Result: $result" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    $result | Should -Be $expected
}

3. Common Test Failure Patterns

Timing Issues

Problem: Tests fail intermittently due to timing or race conditions.

Solutions:

powershell

# Add appropriate waits
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 100

# Poll for conditions
$timeout = (Get-Date).AddSeconds(5)
while ((Get-Date) -lt $timeout) {
    if (Test-Condition) { break }
    Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 100
}

bash

# Wait for condition
for i in {1..50}; do
    if [ -f "$file" ]; then break; fi
    sleep 0.1
done

Environment Dependencies

Problem: Tests pass locally but fail in CI, or vice versa.

Solutions:

bash

# Check environment differences
@test "environment check" {
    echo "PATH: $PATH" >&3
    echo "PWD: $PWD" >&3
    echo "HOME: $HOME" >&3
    env | sort >&3
}

powershell

# Check environment
It "environment check" {
    Write-Host "OS: $($PSVersionTable.OS)"
    Write-Host "PSVersion: $($PSVersionTable.PSVersion)"
    Write-Host "PATH: $env:PATH"
    Get-ChildItem Env: | Format-Table
}

Path Issues

Problem: Files or commands not found.

Solutions:

bash

# Use absolute paths based on test location
@test "path handling" {
    cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/.."
    run ./script.sh
    assert_success
}

# Check file exists before testing
@test "file operations" {
    [ -f "./script.sh" ] || skip "script.sh not found"
    run ./script.sh
}

powershell

# Use PSScriptRoot for relative paths
It "path handling" {
    $scriptPath = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot '../script.ps1'
    Test-Path $scriptPath | Should -Be $true
}

State Pollution

Problem: Tests affect each other through shared state.

Solutions:

bash

setup() {
    # Create isolated temp directory per test
    TEST_DIR="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/test-$$"
    mkdir -p "$TEST_DIR"
    cd "$TEST_DIR"
}

teardown() {
    # Clean up after each test
    cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME"
    rm -rf "$TEST_DIR"
}

powershell

BeforeEach {
    # Reset state before each test
    $script:GlobalVar = $null
    Remove-Item TestDrive:\* -Recurse -Force
}

AfterEach {
    # Clean up mocks
    Remove-Mock *
}

Flaky Test Patterns

Identifying Flaky Tests

Run tests multiple times:

bash

# Bash - run 10 times
for i in {1..10}; do
    echo "Run $i"
    bats tests/flaky-test.bats || break
done

# PowerShell - run 10 times
1..10 | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "Run $_"
    Invoke-Pester tests/Flaky.Tests.ps1
}

Common Causes of Flakiness

1. Non-Deterministic Order

Problem: Tests depend on execution order or unordered collections.

Solution:

powershell

# Sort results before comparison
$result = Get-Items | Sort-Object Name
$result[0].Name | Should -Be "expected"

# Use -Contain instead of index-based checks
$result | Should -Contain "expected-item"

2. External Dependencies

Problem: Tests depend on network, filesystem, or external services.

Solution:

powershell

# Mock external calls
Mock Invoke-RestMethod {
    return @{ Status = "Success" }
}

Mock Test-Path { return $true }

bash

# Mock external commands
my_curl() {
    echo '{"status":"success"}'
}
export -f my_curl
alias curl=my_curl

3. Timestamp or Random Data

Problem: Tests use current time or random values.

Solution:

powershell

# Mock Get-Date
Mock Get-Date {
    return [datetime]"2026-01-01 12:00:00"
}

# Use fixed seed for random
Get-Random -SetSeed 42

4. Resource Cleanup

Problem: Previous test runs leave artifacts.

Solution:

bash

setup() {
    # Clean start
    rm -rf "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR"/*
}

teardown() {
    # Ensure cleanup even on failure
    rm -rf "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR"/* || true
}

Test Isolation Best Practices

Use Test Drives / Temp Directories

powershell

# Pester provides TestDrive:
It "creates file in isolation" {
    New-Item TestDrive:\test.txt
    Test-Path TestDrive:\test.txt | Should -Be $true
}
# Cleaned up automatically after test

bash

# Bats provides $BATS_TEST_TMPDIR
@test "creates file in isolation" {
    touch "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/test.txt"
    [ -f "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/test.txt" ]
}

Reset Global State

powershell

BeforeEach {
    # Clear module state
    Remove-Module MyModule -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Import-Module ./MyModule.psd1
}

Avoid Test Interdependence

bash

# Bad - depends on previous test
@test "create user" {
    create_user "testuser"
}

@test "delete user" {
    delete_user "testuser"  # Fails if previous test skipped
}

# Good - independent tests
@test "delete user" {
    setup() {
        create_user "testuser"
    }
    delete_user "testuser"
}

Debugging Specific Failures

Mock Not Being Called

powershell

# Add diagnostic
Mock Get-Content {
    Write-Host "Mock called with: $Path"
    return "mocked"
}

It "test" {
    $result = Get-Data
    Should -Invoke Get-Content -Times 1 -Exactly
}

# Check parameter filters
Mock Get-Content { return "mocked" } -ParameterFilter {
    Write-Host "Filter checking: $Path"
    $Path -eq "expected.txt"
}

Assertion Output Mismatch

bash

@test "output debugging" {
    run ./script.sh

    # Debug output
    echo "Status: $status" >&3
    echo "Output length: ${#output}" >&3
    echo "Output (hex):" >&3
    echo "$output" | xxd >&3

    # Check for hidden characters
    [ "$output" = "expected" ]
}

powershell

It "output debugging" {
    $result = Get-Output

    # Debug
    Write-Host "Type: $($result.GetType().Name)"
    Write-Host "Length: $($result.Length)"
    Write-Host "Bytes: $([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($result))"

    $result | Should -Be "expected"
}

Test Hangs or Timeouts

bash

# Add timeout to commands
@test "with timeout" {
    run timeout 5s ./slow-script.sh
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

powershell

# Use job with timeout
It "with timeout" {
    $job = Start-Job { ./slow-script.ps1 }
    $null = Wait-Job $job -Timeout 5
    $job.State | Should -Be "Completed"
    Remove-Job $job
}

CI-Specific Debugging

Reproduce CI Environment Locally

bash

# Use same Docker image as CI
docker run -it -v $(pwd):/workspace ubuntu:latest bash
cd /workspace
./tests/run-tests.sh

# Export CI environment variables
export CI=true
export GITHUB_ACTIONS=true
./tests/run-tests.sh

Add CI Diagnostic Steps

yaml

# GitHub Actions example
- name: Debug test environment
  run: |
    echo "=== Environment ==="
    env | sort
    echo "=== Disk space ==="
    df -h
    echo "=== Files ==="
    ls -la

- name: Run tests with verbose output
  run: |
    bats --verbose --timing tests/

Capture CI Artifacts

yaml

- name: Upload test results
  if: always()
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: test-results
    path: |
      test-results.xml
      test-output.log

Performance Issues

Slow Tests

bash

# Identify slow tests
bats --timing tests/ | grep -E '\([0-9]'

# Profile specific test
time bats tests/slow-test.bats

powershell

# Measure test execution
Measure-Command {
    Invoke-Pester tests/Slow.Tests.ps1
}

Solutions:

•Remove unnecessary waits/sleeps
•Mock slow external calls
•Use test data instead of generating large datasets
•Parallelize independent tests

Test Suite Takes Too Long

bash

# Run tests in parallel
bats --jobs 4 tests/

# Split test suites in CI
# Job 1:
bats tests/unit/
# Job 2:
bats tests/integration/

Quick Checklist

When a test fails

•✅ Read the complete error message
•✅ Reproduce the failure locally
•✅ Run only the failing test in isolation
•✅ Add diagnostic output to understand state
•✅ Check for environment differences (CI vs local)
•✅ Verify test isolation (no shared state)
•✅ Check for timing/race conditions
•✅ Validate test setup/teardown
•✅ Review recent code changes
•✅ Consider flaky test patterns

When to use this skill

•Tests fail in CI but pass locally (or vice versa)
•Intermittent test failures (flaky tests)
•Tests hang or timeout
•Unexpected test output or behavior
•Mock or assertion issues
•Need to improve test reliability
•Performance issues in test suites