Structure tests

The Ballerina Test Framework follows a general, organized structure that allows testing code under various conditions by making use of resources and configurations.

Test source files

Unit tests bound to a module need to be placed in a subfolder called tests within the module. In a standard Ballerina package, a module is mapped to a test suite. All tests within a module’s tests subdirectory are considered to be part of the same test suite. The test source files could have any name. The test functions are just Ballerina functions, which use a special annotation to mark the function as a test. Test functions must be specified with the @test:Config{} annotation and there is no restriction on the test function name.

The functions, services, and global variables defined in a module are accessible from within the test files. Hence, you cannot redefine a symbol in the test files if it is already declared in the module. On the other hand, symbols defined in the test files will not be visible inside the module source files.

Test resources

The resources subdirectory found within the tests directory is meant to contain any files or resources that are exclusively required for testing. You can access the resource files either using the absolute path or using the path relative to the package root.

Test configurations

Configurations for testing can be provided using configurable variables. The values for configurable variables can be provided in a file named Config.toml located in the tests directory.

For information on using configurable variables, see Configurable variables.

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