Test Updates and Maintenance

Overview

Comprehensive test management system that applies TDD/BDD principles to maintain, generate, and enhance tests across codebases. This skill practices what it preaches - it uses TDD principles for its own development and serves as a living example of best practices.

Core Philosophy

• RED-GREEN-REFACTOR: Strict adherence to TDD cycle
• Behavior-First: BDD patterns that describe what code should do
• Meta Dogfooding: The skill's own tests demonstrate the principles it teaches
• Quality Gates: Comprehensive validation before considering tests complete

What It Is

A modular test management system that:

• Discovers what needs testing or updating
• Generates tests following TDD principles
• Enhances existing tests with BDD patterns
• Validates test quality through multiple lenses

Quick Start

Quick Checklist for First Time Use

• Ensure pytest is installed (pip install pytest)
• Have your source code in src/ or similar directory
• Create a tests/ directory if it doesn't exist
• Run Skill(sanctum:git-workspace-review) first to understand changes
• Start with Skill(test-updates) --target <specific-module> for focused updates

Comprehensive Test Update

# Run full test update workflow
Skill(test-updates)

Targeted Test Updates

# Update tests for specific paths
Skill(test-updates) --target src/sanctum/agents
Skill(test-updates) --target tests/test_commit_messages.py

TDD for New Features

# Apply TDD to new code
Skill(test-updates) --tdd-only --target new_feature.py

Using the Scripts Directly

# Analyze test coverage gaps
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/test_analyzer.py --scan src/

# Generate test scaffolding
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/test_generator.py \
    --source src/my_module.py --style pytest_bdd

# Check test quality
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/quality_checker.py \
    --validate tests/test_my_module.py

When to Use It

Use this skill when you need to:

• Update tests after code changes
• Generate tests for new features
• Improve existing test quality
• Ensure comprehensive test coverage

Perfect for:

• Pre-commit test validation
• CI/CD pipeline integration
• Refactoring with test safety
• Onboarding new developers

Workflow Integration

Phase 1: Discovery

1. Scan codebase for test gaps
2. Analyze recent changes
3. Identify broken or outdated tests

Phase 2: Strategy

1. Choose appropriate BDD style
2. Plan test structure
3. Define quality criteria

Phase 3: Implementation

1. Write failing tests (RED)
2. Implement minimal passing code (GREEN)
3. Refactor for clarity (REFACTOR)

Phase 4: Validation

1. Static analysis and linting
2. Dynamic test execution
3. Coverage and quality metrics

Quality Assurance

The skill applies multiple quality checks:

• Static: Linting, type checking, pattern validation
• Dynamic: Test execution in sandboxed environments
• Metrics: Coverage, mutation score, complexity analysis
• Review: Structured checklists for peer validation

Examples

BDD-Style Test Generation

class TestGitWorkflow:
    """BDD-style tests for Git workflow operations."""

    def test_commit_workflow_with_staged_changes(self):
        """
        GIVEN a Git repository with staged changes
        WHEN the user runs the commit workflow
        THEN it should create a commit with proper message format
        AND all tests should pass
        """
        # Test implementation following TDD principles
        pass

Test Enhancement

• Add edge cases and error scenarios
• Include performance benchmarks
• Add mutation testing for robustness

Integration with Existing Skills

1. git-workspace-review: Get context of changes
2. file-analysis: Understand code structure
3. test-driven-development: Apply strict TDD discipline
4. skills-eval: Validate quality and compliance

Success Metrics

• Test coverage > 85%
• All tests follow BDD patterns
• Zero broken tests in CI
• Mutation score > 80%

Troubleshooting FAQ

Common Issues

Q: Tests are failing after generation A: This is expected! The skill follows TDD principles - generated tests are designed to fail first. Follow the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle:

1. Run the test and confirm it fails for the right reason
2. Implement minimal code to make it pass
3. Refactor for clarity

Q: Quality score is low despite having tests A: Check for these common issues:

• Missing BDD patterns (Given/When/Then)
• Vague assertions like assert result is not None
• Tests without documentation
• Long, complex tests (>50 lines)

Q: Generated tests don't match my code structure A: The scripts analyze AST patterns and may need guidance:

• Use --style flag to match your preferred BDD style
• Check that source files have proper function/class definitions
• Review the generated scaffolding and customize as needed

Q: Mutation testing takes too long A: Mutation testing is resource-intensive:

• Use --quick-mutation flag for subset testing
• Focus on critical modules first
• Run overnight for comprehensive analysis

Q: Can't find tests for my file A: The analyzer uses naming conventions:

• Source: my_module.py → Test: test_my_module.py
• Check that test files follow pytest naming patterns
• Ensure test directory structure is standard

Performance Tips

• Large codebases: Use --target to focus on specific directories
• CI integration: Run validation in parallel with other checks
• Memory usage: Process files in batches for very large projects

Getting Help

1. Check script outputs for detailed error messages
2. Use --verbose flag for more information
3. Review the validation report for specific recommendations
4. Start with small modules to understand patterns before scaling