What is the primary goal of the Testing Anti-Patterns skill?

The primary goal is to ensure tests verify real behavior rather than mock behavior, while keeping production code free of test-only methods and utilities.

Can this skill help with mock-related test failures?

Yes, it uses gate functions to ensure you fully understand a dependency's side effects before mocking it, preventing tests that pass for the wrong reasons.

How does this skill handle 'test-only' methods in production?

It identifies when a method is only used for testing purposes and guides the developer to move that logic into dedicated test-utility modules instead of the production class.

Is this skill compatible with Test Driven Development (TDD)?

Absolutely; it is built on TDD principles, using the 'test-first' workflow to confirm that tests actually fail against real code before any implementation or mocking begins.

Why does it discourage partial mocks?

Partial mocks hide structural assumptions and can lead to silent failures when downstream code attempts to access fields that were omitted from the mock but exist in the real API.

Testing Anti-Patterns

Name: Testing Anti-Patterns
Author: flora131

byflora131

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Security & Testing

Eliminates brittle tests and production code pollution by enforcing rigorous testing standards and TDD principles.

About

The Testing Anti-Patterns skill provides Claude with a specialized framework to identify and prevent common software testing mistakes during the development process. By enforcing the 'Iron Laws' of testing—such as avoiding the testing of mock behavior and preventing the addition of test-only methods to production classes—this skill ensures that your test suite remains resilient and your production code stays clean. It utilizes 'Gate Functions' to help developers pause and evaluate whether a mock is truly necessary or if a dependency is fully understood, leading to more reliable, maintainable, and meaningful verification of software behavior.

Key Features

Provides Gate Functions to validate architectural decisions before implementation
Enforces Iron Laws to prevent testing mock behavior and production pollution
Identifies incomplete or partial mocks that cause silent integration failures
Promotes strict TDD cycles to ensure tests verify real-world behavior
Guides developers in moving test-specific logic to dedicated utility modules
56 GitHub stars

Use Cases

Refactoring existing test suites to remove brittle mocks and false positives
Implementing new features using high-quality, dependency-aware unit tests
Cleaning production classes by moving test-only methods to external utilities

About

Key Features

Provides Gate Functions to validate architectural decisions before implementation
Enforces Iron Laws to prevent testing mock behavior and production pollution
Identifies incomplete or partial mocks that cause silent integration failures
Promotes strict TDD cycles to ensure tests verify real-world behavior
Guides developers in moving test-specific logic to dedicated utility modules
56 GitHub stars

Use Cases

Refactoring existing test suites to remove brittle mocks and false positives
Implementing new features using high-quality, dependency-aware unit tests
Cleaning production classes by moving test-only methods to external utilities