This Claude skill automates the execution and management of unit tests using CTest within CMake-based environments. It streamlines the development workflow by identifying build directories, compiling test suites with the necessary flags, and running specific or parallel tests to ensure code reliability and rapid bug detection.

When should I use test?

test is useful in the following scenarios: • Verifying code changes by running targeted unit tests for specific modules like backend or connectivity services. • Automating the build-and-test cycle when tests are not yet compiled, ensuring the environment is correctly configured with -DBUILD_TESTS=ON. • Reducing development wait times by executing test suites in parallel using multi-core processing flags. • Debugging regression issues by listing available tests and running failing cases in verbose mode to capture detailed error logs. • Performing health checks on the entire project codebase by running the full test suite and reporting pass/fail statistics.

name	test
description	Run unit tests using CTest. Use when user asks to run tests, test the code, check test results, or mentions test failures.
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Glob

Test Skill

Run unit tests for the OrderParserProcessor project using CTest.

Prerequisites

Project must be built with -DBUILD_TESTS=ON option
Tests are typically located in service directories under test/ subdirectories (e.g., backend/test/, connectivity/test/)
Identify the build directory (check for existing build directories)

Instructions

Find the build directory (search for directories like build/, cmake-build-*/, backend/build/, etc.)
Check if tests were built (look for test executables or check CMake cache for BUILD_TESTS)
If tests not built, rebuild with tests: cmake -B <build_dir> -DBUILD_TESTS=ON && cmake --build <build_dir>
Identify which specific tests to run based on user request or context
Run the specific tests using CTest with pattern matching
Report test results (passed/failed counts)
If tests fail, show failure details and relevant error messages

Test Commands

Run Specific Tests (Recommended)

# Run tests matching a pattern
ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -R <test_name_pattern> --output-on-failure

# Examples:
ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -R backend --output-on-failure
ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -R connectivity --output-on-failure
ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -R script_processor --output-on-failure

Run All Tests

ctest --test-dir <build_dir> --output-on-failure

Run with Parallel Execution (Recommended for speed)

# Use -j2 or higher to run tests in parallel
# Some tests use timers, so parallel execution speeds things up
ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -j2 --output-on-failure

# Adjust based on available CPU cores
ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -j4 --output-on-failure

List Available Tests

ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -N

Run Tests Verbosely

ctest --test-dir <build_dir> -R <pattern> --verbose

Rerun Failed Tests

ctest --test-dir <build_dir> --rerun-failed --output-on-failure

Build Tests (if not already built)

cmake -B <build_dir> -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
cmake --build <build_dir>

Test Organization

Tests are organized per service/component:

backend/test/ - Backend service tests
connectivity/test/ - Connectivity module tests
Other component directories may have their own test/ subdirectories

Best Practices

Run specific tests rather than the entire suite when working on a particular component
Use parallel execution (-j2 or higher) when running multiple tests - some tests use timers
List tests first with -N to see what's available
Use pattern matching with -R to target relevant tests

Common Issues

No tests found: Ensure BUILD_TESTS=ON was set during CMake configuration
Test compilation errors: Check test source files in component test/ directories
Test failures: Review output with --output-on-failure flag
Build directory missing: Run build first with tests enabled
Wrong build directory: Search for actual build directory location
Tests taking too long: Use -j for parallel execution or run specific tests with -R

Success Criteria

Requested tests pass successfully
No segmentation faults or crashes
Test output is clear and informative
Targeted tests run efficiently

test

When & Why to Use This Skill

Use Cases