test-driven-development

name	test-driven-development
description	Follow TalkPipe TDD workflow when making code changes. Use when implementing features, fixing bugs, or refactoring. Enforces write-fail-fix-pass order and test placement conventions.

Test-Driven Development

Follow the project TDD workflow when making code changes. Tests live under tests/; use .venv for running them.

When to Use

• Implementing a new feature
• Fixing a bug
• Refactoring code that should have test coverage

Workflow (Strict Order)

1. Write a unit test that fails without the change (or update an existing test)
2. Verify the test fails: pytest tests/... -v (or the specific test)
3. Make the code change
4. Verify the test passes: pytest tests/... -v or pytest --cov=src

Conventions

• Location: Unit tests under tests/
• Prefer: Update and augment existing tests over creating new ones
• Scope: Tests should be as short as possible while testing functionality completely
• Environment: Use .venv; activate with source .venv/bin/activate or run via .venv/bin/python

Commands

# Run all tests with coverage
pytest --cov=src

# Run a specific test file
pytest tests/test_foo.py -v

# Run a specific test
pytest tests/test_foo.py::test_bar -v

When a Test Is Not Reasonable

Notify the user if it is not reasonable to write a unit test. Examples:

• One-off scripts or exploratory code
• Changes that are purely cosmetic or documentation-only
• Integration tests that require external services not available in CI
• Code paths that are unreachable or deprecated

Do not skip the test silently; explain why and get user confirmation.

Checklist

• Test written or existing test updated
• Test fails before the change (verified)
• Code change made
• Test passes after the change (verified)
• If no test: user notified with reason