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v8-testing

Executes and interprets V8 tests. Use when running unittests, cctest, or mjsunit, or when debugging test failures. Do not use for building.

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nodejs/node
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October 4, 2026 at 21:04
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name
v8-testing
description
Executes and interprets V8 tests. Use when running unittests, cctest, or mjsunit, or when debugging test failures. Do not use for building.
# V8 Testing Use this skill to understand how to run tests in V8 and how to handle failures. This specializes the general commands for testing. ## Primary Script The primary script for running tests is `tools/run-tests.py`. You specify the build output directory and the tests you want to run. ## Key Test Suites - **unittests**: C++ unit tests for V8's internal components. - **cctest**: Another, older format for C++ unit tests (deprecated, in the process of being moved to unittests). - **mjsunit**: JavaScript-based tests for JavaScript language features and builtins. ## Running Tests ```bash # Run all standard tests for the x64.optdebug build tools/run-tests.py --progress dots --exit-after-n-failures=5 --outdir=out/x64.optdebug # Run a specific test suite (e.g., cctest) tools/run-tests.py --progress dots --exit-after-n-failures=5 --outdir=out/x64.optdebug cctest # Run a specific test file tools/run-tests.py --progress dots --exit-after-n-failures=5 --outdir=out/x64.optdebug cctest/test-heap # Manual execution with d8 # Note: mjsunit tests always require test/mjsunit/mjsunit.js. # tools/run-tests.py prepends this automatically for all tests in mjsunit, # so you don't need to load it explicitly in the test file. # For manual d8 execution, you must include it first. # You can also run tools/run-tests.py with -v to see the full command line used by the runner. out/x64.optdebug/d8 test/mjsunit/mjsunit.js test/mjsunit/my-test.js ``` *Note: Always pass `--progress dots` so that there is minimal progress reporting, to avoid cluttering the output.* ## Testing Strategy To maximize efficiency, use different build configurations based on the task: - **`x64.debug`**: Use this for deep debugging of a single test case (e.g., with GDB). It provides full debug information and assertions, but is extremely slow and **must be avoided** for running `mjsunit` tests in bulk. - **`x64.optdebug`**: Use this for running the entire test suite. It strikes a balance between performance and debuggability, allowing for faster full-suite checks while still preserving assertions. - **`x64.release`**: Use this for quick checks to verify that a fix works in a release build or to run benchmarks. It is the fastest but provides the least debug information. ## Interpreting Failures If there are any failing tests, they will be reported along their stderr and a command to reproduce them e.g. ``` === mjsunit/maglev/regress-429656023 === --- stderr --- # # Fatal error in ../../src/heap/local-factory.h, line 41 # unreachable code # ...stack trace... Received signal 6 Command: out/x64.optdebug/d8 --test test/mjsunit/mjsunit.js test/mjsunit/maglev/regress-429656023.js --random-seed=-190258694 --nohard-abort --verify-heap --allow-natives-syntax ``` You can retry the test either by running the test name with `tools/run-tests.py`, e.g. `tools/run-tests.py --progress dots --outdir=out/x64.optdebug mjsunit/maglev/regress-429656023`, or by running the command directly. When running the command directly, you can add additional flags to help debug the issue, and you can try running a different build (e.g. running a debug build if a release build fails).
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