Agent skill
golang-stretchr-testify
Comprehensive guide to stretchr/testify for Golang testing. Covers assert, require, mock, and suite packages in depth. Use whenever writing tests with testify, creating mocks, setting up test suites, or choosing between assert and require. Essential for testify assertions, mock expectations, argument matchers, call verification, suite lifecycle, and advanced patterns like Eventually, JSONEq, and custom matchers. Trigger on any Go test file importing testify.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang/tree/main/skills/golang-stretchr-testify
Metadata
Additional technical details for this skill
- author
- samber
- version
- 1.1.3
- openclaw
-
{ "emoji": "\u2705", "install": [ { "bins": [ "gotests" ], "kind": "go", "package": "github.com/cweill/gotests/...@latest" } ], "homepage": "https://github.com/samber/cc-skills-golang", "requires": { "bins": [ "go", "gotests" ] }, "skill-library-version": "1.11.1" }
SKILL.md
Persona: You are a Go engineer who treats tests as executable specifications. You write tests to constrain behavior and make failures self-explanatory — not to hit coverage targets.
Modes:
- Write mode — adding new tests or mocks to a codebase.
- Review mode — auditing existing test code for testify misuse.
stretchr/testify
testify complements Go's testing package with readable assertions, mocks, and suites. It does not replace testing — always use *testing.T as the entry point.
This skill is not exhaustive. Please refer to library documentation and code examples for more information. Context7 can help as a discoverability platform.
assert vs require
Both offer identical assertions. The difference is failure behavior:
- assert: records failure, continues — see all failures at once
- require: calls
t.FailNow()— use for preconditions where continuing would panic or mislead
Use assert.New(t) / require.New(t) for readability. Name them is and must:
func TestParseConfig(t *testing.T) {
is := assert.New(t)
must := require.New(t)
cfg, err := ParseConfig("testdata/valid.yaml")
must.NoError(err) // stop if parsing fails — cfg would be nil
must.NotNil(cfg)
is.Equal("production", cfg.Environment)
is.Equal(8080, cfg.Port)
is.True(cfg.TLS.Enabled)
}
Rule: require for preconditions (setup, error checks), assert for verifications. Never mix randomly.
Core Assertions
is := assert.New(t)
// Equality
is.Equal(expected, actual) // DeepEqual + exact type
is.NotEqual(unexpected, actual)
is.EqualValues(expected, actual) // converts to common type first
is.EqualExportedValues(expected, actual)
// Nil / Bool / Emptiness
is.Nil(obj) is.NotNil(obj)
is.True(cond) is.False(cond)
is.Empty(collection) is.NotEmpty(collection)
is.Len(collection, n)
// Contains (strings, slices, map keys)
is.Contains("hello world", "world")
is.Contains([]int{1, 2, 3}, 2)
is.Contains(map[string]int{"a": 1}, "a")
// Comparison
is.Greater(actual, threshold) is.Less(actual, ceiling)
is.Positive(val) is.Negative(val)
is.Zero(val)
// Errors
is.Error(err) is.NoError(err)
is.ErrorIs(err, ErrNotFound) // walks error chain
is.ErrorAs(err, &target)
is.ErrorContains(err, "not found")
// Type
is.IsType(&User{}, obj)
is.Implements((*io.Reader)(nil), obj)
Argument order: always (expected, actual) — swapping produces confusing diff output.
Advanced Assertions
is.ElementsMatch([]string{"b", "a", "c"}, result) // unordered comparison
is.InDelta(3.14, computedPi, 0.01) // float tolerance
is.JSONEq(`{"name":"alice"}`, `{"name": "alice"}`) // ignores whitespace/key order
is.WithinDuration(expected, actual, 5*time.Second)
is.Regexp(`^user-[a-f0-9]+$`, userID)
// Async polling
is.Eventually(func() bool {
status, _ := client.GetJobStatus(jobID)
return status == "completed"
}, 5*time.Second, 100*time.Millisecond)
// Async polling with rich assertions
is.EventuallyWithT(func(c *assert.CollectT) {
resp, err := client.GetOrder(orderID)
assert.NoError(c, err)
assert.Equal(c, "shipped", resp.Status)
}, 10*time.Second, 500*time.Millisecond)
testify/mock
Mock interfaces to isolate the unit under test. Embed mock.Mock, implement methods with m.Called(), always verify with AssertExpectations(t).
Key matchers: mock.Anything, mock.AnythingOfType("T"), mock.MatchedBy(func). Call modifiers: .Once(), .Times(n), .Maybe(), .Run(func).
For defining mocks, argument matchers, call modifiers, return sequences, and verification, see Mock reference.
testify/suite
Suites group related tests with shared setup/teardown.
Lifecycle
SetupSuite() → once before all tests
SetupTest() → before each test
TestXxx()
TearDownTest() → after each test
TearDownSuite() → once after all tests
Example
type TokenServiceSuite struct {
suite.Suite
store *MockTokenStore
service *TokenService
}
func (s *TokenServiceSuite) SetupTest() {
s.store = new(MockTokenStore)
s.service = NewTokenService(s.store)
}
func (s *TokenServiceSuite) TestGenerate_ReturnsValidToken() {
s.store.On("Save", mock.Anything, mock.Anything).Return(nil)
token, err := s.service.Generate("user-42")
s.NoError(err)
s.NotEmpty(token)
s.store.AssertExpectations(s.T())
}
// Required launcher
func TestTokenServiceSuite(t *testing.T) {
suite.Run(t, new(TokenServiceSuite))
}
Suite methods like s.Equal() behave like assert. For require: s.Require().NotNil(obj).
Common Mistakes
- Forgetting
AssertExpectations(t)— mock expectations silently pass without verification is.Equal(ErrNotFound, err)— fails on wrapped errors. Useis.ErrorIsto walk the chain- Swapped argument order — testify assumes
(expected, actual). Swapping produces backwards diffs assertfor guards — test continues after failure and panics on nil dereference. Userequire- Missing
suite.Run()— without the launcher function, zero tests execute silently - Comparing pointers —
is.Equal(ptr1, ptr2)compares addresses. Dereference or useEqualExportedValues
Linters
Use testifylint to catch wrong argument order, assert/require misuse, and more. See samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-linter skill.
Cross-References
- → See
samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-testingskill for general test patterns, table-driven tests, and CI - → See
samber/cc-skills-golang@golang-linterskill for testifylint configuration
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