crosvm-testing

name	crosvm-testing
description	Skill to assist with running tests and managing test VMs in the crosvm repository.

Crosvm Testing (tools/run_tests & tools/testvm)

This skill covers running the crosvm test suite and managing the virtual machines used for integration testing.

[!TIP] When you have completed your code changes and are ready to commit or upload, please run the overall presubmit checks according to the crosvm-contribution-workflow SKILL.md.

Running Tests (tools/run_tests)

The tools/run_tests script is the primary test runner. It supports unit tests (running on the host or via emulators) and integration tests (running on a test VM or the host).

1. Unit Tests

• Run host native unit tests:

  ./tools/run_tests
  

• Run unit tests for a specific platform (via emulator):

  ./tools/run_tests -p <platform>
  

  Supported platforms: x86_64, aarch64, armhw, mingw64, riscv64. Example for ARM64: ./tools/run_tests -p aarch64 Example for Windows (via Wine): ./tools/run_tests -p mingw64

2. Integration Tests

Integration tests require a Device Under Test (DUT).

• Run integration tests on a Test VM (Recommended):

  ./tools/run_tests --dut=vm
  

  This will automatically start a test VM, run the tests inside it, and keep the VM running for subsequent runs.
• Run integration tests on the Host:

  ./tools/run_tests --dut=host
  

  Note: This may not work on all host configurations and might require root.

3. Test Filtering

The runner supports nextest filter expressions using the -E or --filter-expr flag. See nextest documentation for details.

• Run tests for a specific package:

  ./tools/run_tests -E 'package(devices)'
  

• Run a specific test by name:

  ./tools/run_tests -E 'test(test_send_cmd_not_ready)'
  

• Run tests for a package and its dependencies:

  ./tools/run_tests -E 'deps(vm_control)'
  

4. Useful Flags

• --no-unit-tests: Skip unit tests and only run integration tests.
• --no-integration-tests: Skip integration tests.
• --run-root-tests: Enable integration tests that require root privileges.
• --retries <N>: Retry failed tests N times.
• --repetitions <N>: Repeat all tests N times (useful for detecting flakiness).

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Managing Test VMs (tools/testvm, tools/x86vm, tools/aarch64vm)

For integration testing (--dut=vm), crosvm uses test VMs. You can manage these VMs using tools/x86vm (for x86_64) or tools/aarch64vm (for ARM64). These are wrappers around tools/testvm.

Replace x86vm with aarch64vm in the commands below depending on the architecture you are testing.

• Start the VM:

  ./tools/x86vm up
  

• Open an interactive SSH shell into the VM:

  ./tools/x86vm shell
  

  (This will start the VM if it is not already running).
• Stop the VM gracefully:

  ./tools/x86vm stop
  

• Force kill the VM:

  ./tools/x86vm kill
  

• View VM console logs:

  ./tools/x86vm logs
  

• Clean/Reset the VM (deletes images):

  ./tools/x86vm clean