test-consolidate

name	test-consolidate
description	Consolidate verbose test suites by replacing repetitive unit tests with property-based tests, parameterized tests (rstest), or fuzz tests. Less code to maintain, same or better coverage.

Test Consolidator

Analyze test modules for opportunities to replace many similar unit tests with a single, more powerful testing construct — property-based tests, parameterized tests, or fuzz tests. The goal is comprehensive coverage with minimal code to maintain, review, and keep updated.

When to Use

• A test module has 5+ unit tests for the same function with different inputs
• Tests follow a pattern: call function with input X, assert output Y
• You notice copy-paste test bodies differing only in values
• Before a PR when test files are growing faster than source files
• After refactoring: old tests may cluster around the same behavior
• During periodic test hygiene alongside test-dedup

Philosophy

Tests should scale with behaviors, not with inputs.

If a function has 20 valid inputs worth testing, the answer is NOT 20 test functions. The answer is one construct that covers all 20 — and ideally the infinite space between them.

The hierarchy of consolidation (prefer higher):

1. Property-based test (proptest) — When you can state an invariant that holds for ALL valid inputs. One proptest! replaces unbounded unit tests. Maximum coverage, minimum code.

2. Parameterized test (rstest) — When you have a finite, important set of (input, expected) pairs and no general invariant. One #[rstest] with a #[case] list replaces N identical test bodies.

3. Table-driven test — When the inputs and outputs fit a simple table. A for loop over a Vec<(Input, Expected)> inside a single #[test]. Simpler than rstest if there's no need for individual test names.

4. Fuzz test — When exploring adversarial or untrusted input spaces. One fuzz target can subsume hundreds of hand-crafted "weird input" tests.

5. Individual unit tests — The last resort. Only when each test truly exercises unique setup, distinct error paths, or documents a specific bug.

Never consolidate for the sake of shorter code. The goal is less code to maintain — meaning fewer places to update when the function signature changes, fewer tests to rename when behavior evolves, and fewer copy-paste errors.

Analysis Process

Step 1: Identify Test Clusters

A test cluster is a group of tests that:

• Test the same function or method
• Have the same structure (setup → call → assert)
• Differ primarily in input values and expected outputs
• May also differ in minor setup variations

Scan the module and group tests into clusters. A single test can belong to multiple clusters if it tests more than one function.

Cluster: parse_duration()
  - test_parse_seconds          → parse_duration("5s")  == Duration::from_secs(5)
  - test_parse_minutes          → parse_duration("3m")  == Duration::from_secs(180)
  - test_parse_hours            → parse_duration("2h")  == Duration::from_secs(7200)
  - test_parse_zero             → parse_duration("0s")  == Duration::ZERO
  - test_parse_large            → parse_duration("999h") == Duration::from_secs(3596400)
  - test_parse_invalid_unit     → parse_duration("5x")  == Err(...)
  - test_parse_empty            → parse_duration("")     == Err(...)
  - test_parse_negative         → parse_duration("-1s")  == Err(...)

Step 2: Classify Each Cluster

For each cluster, determine the best consolidation strategy:

Can you state a universal property? → Property-based test. Examples:

• "parse then format roundtrips for all valid inputs"
• "output length is always ≤ input length"
• "sorted output is a permutation of input"
• "encoding never produces invalid UTF-8"

Is it a finite set of (input, expected) with no general property? → Parameterized test (rstest) or table-driven test. Examples:

• Known error codes mapping to messages
• Specific file extensions mapping to MIME types
• Configuration keys mapping to defaults

Are the tests exploring adversarial/edge inputs? → Fuzz test. Examples:

• "doesn't panic on any byte sequence"
• "doesn't allocate more than 10x input size"

Does each test have genuinely unique setup or assertions? → Keep as individual tests. Don't force consolidation.

Step 3: Evaluate Consolidation Candidates

For each cluster, answer:

Question	If Yes	If No
Can I state one invariant covering all cases?	proptest	Next question
Are all test bodies structurally identical?	rstest or table-driven	Partial consolidation
Do >3 tests share the same assertion pattern?	At minimum table-driven	Probably keep individual
Would adding a new case require a new function?	Consolidate (adding cases should be trivial)	Fine as-is
Do tests differ only in values, not in logic?	Strong consolidation candidate	Keep separate

Step 4: Choose the Right Tool

Property-Based (proptest) — Best for invariants

Use when: The assertion is about a property that holds regardless of input.

// BEFORE: 6 unit tests
#[test] fn encode_ascii()    { assert_eq!(encode("hello"), "aGVsbG8="); }
#[test] fn encode_empty()    { assert_eq!(encode(""), ""); }
#[test] fn encode_unicode()  { assert_eq!(encode("café"), "Y2Fmw6k="); }
#[test] fn decode_ascii()    { assert_eq!(decode("aGVsbG8="), "hello"); }
#[test] fn decode_empty()    { assert_eq!(decode(""), ""); }
#[test] fn decode_unicode()  { assert_eq!(decode("Y2Fmw6k="), "café"); }

// AFTER: 1 property test (covers infinite inputs)
proptest! {
    #[test]
    fn roundtrip(input in "\\PC*") {
        let encoded = (&input);
          = (&encoded).();
        prop_assert_eq!(input, decoded);
    }
}

Parameterized (rstest) — Best for case tables

Use when: You have specific (input, expected) pairs with no general property.

// BEFORE: 7 unit tests
#[test] fn status_200() { assert_eq!(status_text(200), "OK"); }
#[test] fn status_201() { assert_eq!(status_text(201), "Created"); }
#[test] fn status_400() { assert_eq!(status_text(400), "Bad Request"); }
#[test] fn status_404() { assert_eq!(status_text(404), "Not Found"); }
#[test] fn status_500() { assert_eq!(status_text(500), "Internal Server Error"); }
#[test] fn status_unknown() { assert_eq!(status_text(999), "Unknown"); }
#[test] fn status_zero() { assert_eq!(status_text(0), "Unknown"); }

// AFTER: 1 parameterized test








 ( code: ,  expected: &) {
    ((code), expected);
}

Table-Driven — Best for simple mappings without rstest

Use when: Cases are simple, no need for individual test names in output.

// AFTER: 1 table-driven test
#[test]
fn status_text_cases() {
    let cases = [
        (200, "OK"),
        (201, "Created"),
        (400, "Bad Request"),
        (404, "Not Found"),
        (500, "Internal Server Error"),
        (999, "Unknown"),
        (0, "Unknown"),
    ];
    for (code, expected) in cases {
        assert_eq!(status_text(code), expected, "code={code}");
    }
}

Fuzz Test — Best for adversarial input exploration

Use when: Tests are exploring "weird inputs" to find crashes.

// BEFORE: 12 unit tests trying to crash the parser
#[test] fn parse_null_bytes()   { let _ = parse(b"\x00\x00"); }
#[test] fn parse_huge_input()   { let _ = parse(&vec![0xFF; 10_000]); }
#[test] fn parse_truncated()    { let _ = parse(b"\x01\x02"); }
// ... 9 more ...

// AFTER: 1 fuzz target (explores billions of inputs)
fuzz_target!(|data: &[u8]| {
    let _ = parse(data);
});
// KEEP: 1-2 specific regression tests if they document known bugs

Step 5: Check for Blockers

Before recommending consolidation, verify:

• Feature gates: proptest requires stdx-proptest. If all tests move behind a feature gate, keep at least one ungated unit test as baseline.
• Regression tests: Tests with bug references (// Regression: GH-123) should stay as individual tests even if technically consolidatable.
• Error path tests: Tests verifying specific error messages or error variants may need individual tests if the exact error matters.
• Readability anchors: Keep one simple example test per public function as documentation, even if a property test covers it.
• rstest availability: This project does not currently use rstest. If recommending it, note that rstest = "0.23" needs to be added to [dev-dependencies] in Cargo.toml.

Step 6: Produce Consolidation Plan

For each cluster, specify:

1. Current state: Number of tests, lines of test code
2. Recommended strategy: Which tool and why
3. What gets removed: Which specific tests are replaced
4. What gets kept: Which tests survive and why
5. New test code: The actual replacement test(s)
6. Net effect: Lines removed vs added, maintenance burden change

Project-Specific Conventions

Test locations in this codebase

• Inline tests: #[cfg(test)] mod tests { ... } at bottom of source file
• Separate test files: src/stdx/*_tests.rs, src/engine/tests.rs
• Property tests: often in the same file, gated with #[cfg(all(test, feature = "stdx-proptest"))]
• Kani proofs: #[cfg(kani)] mod kani_proofs { ... } or in *_tests.rs
• Simulation tests: tests/simulation/ directory

Feature gates

• Property tests: stdx-proptest feature
• Kani proofs: kani feature
• Simulation harnesses: sim-harness, scheduler-sim

Dependencies to add if recommending new tools

• rstest: Add rstest = "0.23" to [dev-dependencies] in Cargo.toml
• proptest: Already available behind stdx-proptest feature
• cargo-fuzz: External tool, no Cargo.toml change needed

Output Format

## Test Consolidation Report: [module/file]

### Cluster Analysis

#### Cluster 1: `function_name()` — N tests, M lines

**Tests in cluster:**
| # | Test | Input | Assertion |
|---|------|-------|-----------|
| 1 | `test_foo_basic` | "hello" | returns "HELLO" |
| 2 | `test_foo_empty` | "" | returns "" |
| 3 | `test_foo_unicode` | "café" | returns "CAFÉ" |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

**Pattern detected:** All tests call `foo(input)` and assert exact output.
Inputs vary, assertion structure is identical.

**Recommended strategy:** Property-based test
**Rationale:** The invariant `foo(x).to_lowercase() == x.to_lowercase()` holds
for all inputs. A single proptest replaces all 8 unit tests.

**Consolidation:**
- REPLACE tests #1-#6 with proptest `prop_foo_case_invariant`
- KEEP `test_foo_empty` as anchor (documents empty-input behavior)
- KEEP `test_foo_regression_gh_42` (regression test, bug reference)

**Proposed code:**
```rust
proptest! {
    #[test]
    fn prop_foo_case_invariant(input in "\\PC{0,100}") {
        prop_assert_eq!(foo(&input).to_lowercase(), input.to_lowercase());
    }
}

Cluster 2: bar() — N tests, M lines

...

Summary

Metric	Before	After	Change
Total tests	34	12	-22 (65%)
Test lines	280	95	-185 (66%)
Behaviors covered	8	8	No change
Input space covered	~34 points	Continuous	Vastly improved

Dependency Changes

• Add rstest = "0.23" to [dev-dependencies] (if rstest recommended)
• No new dependencies needed (if only proptest/fuzz)

Migration Order

1. Add proptest for Cluster 1 (highest value: 8 tests → 1)
2. Add rstest for Cluster 3 (6 tests → 1 parameterized)
3. Rewrite Cluster 5 as table-driven (4 tests → 1)
4. Run full test suite to verify no coverage loss
5. Delete subsumed unit tests

## Decision Heuristics

### When to prefer proptest over rstest
- You can state a property about the output without knowing the exact value
- The input space is continuous or very large
- Roundtrip properties exist (encode/decode, serialize/deserialize)
- Order/sorting/containment invariants exist

### When to prefer rstest over proptest
- Each case has a specific expected output that must be exact
- The set of important cases is finite and known
- The mapping is arbitrary (no mathematical relationship)
- You want each case to appear as a named sub-test in output

### When to prefer table-driven over rstest
- Cases are simple value pairs
- You don't need individual test names in CI output
- You want to avoid adding a dependency
- The table fits in <20 lines

### When to prefer fuzz over all else
- The function processes untrusted/external input
- The goal is "never panic" rather than "correct output"
- You've been writing tests that try to "trick" the parser

### When NOT to consolidate
- Each test has genuinely different setup logic (not just different values)
- Tests verify different error paths with different error types
- Tests are regression tests for specific bugs (keep the history)
- The "consolidated" version would be harder to understand than the originals
- There are only 2-3 tests — consolidation overhead isn't worth it

## Judgment Calls

- **Threshold**: Don't consolidate clusters of fewer than 4 tests unless the
  consolidation is obviously cleaner (e.g., perfect roundtrip property).
- **Mixed clusters**: If 6 of 8 tests consolidate but 2 are genuinely unique,
  consolidate the 6 and keep the 2. Don't force everything into one construct.
- **Error tests**: Tests for error cases often belong in a separate rstest or
  table, not mixed into the happy-path property test. Group by success/failure.
- **Naming**: Consolidated tests should have clear names describing the
  invariant or case set, not generic names like `test_all_cases`.

## Related Skills

- `test-dedup` — Remove tests subsumed by higher-level tests (complementary)
- `test-strategy` — Decide what kind of test to write for new code