Agent skill

exp-dotnet-test-frameworks

Reference data for .NET test framework detection patterns, assertion APIs, skip annotations, setup/teardown methods, and common test smell indicators across MSTest, xUnit, NUnit, and TUnit. DO NOT USE directly — loaded by test analysis skills (exp-test-smell-detection, exp-assertion-quality, exp-test-maintainability, exp-test-tagging) when they need framework-specific lookup tables.

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SKILL.md

.NET Test Framework Reference

Language-specific detection patterns for .NET test frameworks (MSTest, xUnit, NUnit, TUnit).

Test File Identification

Framework Test class markers Test method markers
MSTest [TestClass] [TestMethod], [DataTestMethod]
xUnit (none — convention-based) [Fact], [Theory]
NUnit [TestFixture] [Test], [TestCase], [TestCaseSource]
TUnit [ClassDataSource] [Test]

Assertion APIs by Framework

Category MSTest xUnit NUnit
Equality Assert.AreEqual Assert.Equal Assert.That(x, Is.EqualTo(y))
Boolean Assert.IsTrue / Assert.IsFalse Assert.True / Assert.False Assert.That(x, Is.True)
Null Assert.IsNull / Assert.IsNotNull Assert.Null / Assert.NotNull Assert.That(x, Is.Null)
Exception Assert.Throws<T>() / Assert.ThrowsExactly<T>() Assert.Throws<T>() Assert.That(() => ..., Throws.TypeOf<T>())
Collection CollectionAssert.Contains Assert.Contains Assert.That(col, Has.Member(x))
String StringAssert.Contains Assert.Contains(str, sub) Assert.That(str, Does.Contain(sub))
Type Assert.IsInstanceOfType Assert.IsAssignableFrom Assert.That(x, Is.InstanceOf<T>())
Inconclusive Assert.Inconclusive() skip via [Fact(Skip)] Assert.Inconclusive()
Fail Assert.Fail() Assert.Fail() (.NET 10+) Assert.Fail()

Third-party assertion libraries: Should* (Shouldly), .Should() (FluentAssertions / AwesomeAssertions), Verify() (Verify).

Sleep/Delay Patterns

Pattern Example
Thread sleep Thread.Sleep(2000)
Task delay await Task.Delay(1000)
SpinWait SpinWait.SpinUntil(() => condition, timeout)

Skip/Ignore Annotations

Framework Annotation With reason
MSTest [Ignore] [Ignore("reason")]
xUnit [Fact(Skip = "reason")] (reason is required)
NUnit [Ignore("reason")] (reason is required)
TUnit [Skip("reason")] (reason is required)
Conditional #if false / #if NEVER (no reason possible)

Exception Handling — Idiomatic Alternatives

When a test uses try/catch to verify exceptions, suggest the framework-native alternative:

MSTest:

csharp
// Instead of try/catch (matches exact type):
var ex = Assert.ThrowsExactly<InvalidOperationException>(
    () => processor.ProcessOrder(emptyOrder));
Assert.AreEqual("Order must contain at least one item", ex.Message);

// Or (also matches derived types):
var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(
    () => processor.ProcessOrder(emptyOrder));
Assert.AreEqual("Order must contain at least one item", ex.Message);

xUnit:

csharp
var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(
    () => processor.ProcessOrder(emptyOrder));
Assert.Equal("Order must contain at least one item", ex.Message);

NUnit:

csharp
var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(
    () => processor.ProcessOrder(emptyOrder));
Assert.That(ex.Message, Is.EqualTo("Order must contain at least one item"));

Mystery Guest — Common .NET Patterns

Smell indicator What to look for
File system File.ReadAllText, File.Exists, File.WriteAllBytes, Directory.GetFiles, Path.Combine with hard-coded paths
Database SqlConnection, DbContext (without in-memory provider), SqlCommand
Network HttpClient without HttpMessageHandler override, WebRequest, TcpClient
Environment Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable, Environment.CurrentDirectory
Acceptable MemoryStream, StringReader, InMemory database providers, custom DelegatingHandler

Integration Test Markers

Recognize these as integration tests (adjust smell severity accordingly):

  • Class name contains Integration, E2E, EndToEnd, or Acceptance
  • [TestCategory("Integration")] (MSTest)
  • [Trait("Category", "Integration")] (xUnit)
  • [Category("Integration")] (NUnit)
  • Project name ending in .IntegrationTests or .E2ETests

Setup/Teardown Methods

Framework Setup Teardown
MSTest [TestInitialize] or constructor [TestCleanup] or IDisposable.Dispose / IAsyncDisposable.DisposeAsync
xUnit constructor IDisposable.Dispose / IAsyncDisposable.DisposeAsync
NUnit [SetUp] [TearDown]
MSTest (class) [ClassInitialize] [ClassCleanup]
NUnit (class) [OneTimeSetUp] [OneTimeTearDown]
xUnit (class) IClassFixture<T> fixture's Dispose

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