TDD Full Coverage

Overview

Test-Driven Development with full code coverage.

Core principle: If you didn't watch the test fail, you don't know if it tests the right thing.

Announce at start: "I'm using TDD to implement this feature."

The Iron Law

NO PRODUCTION CODE WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST

Wrote code before a test? Delete it. Start over.

Red-Green-Refactor Cycle

    ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │                                             │
    ▼                                             │
┌───────┐     ┌───────┐     ┌──────────┐         │
│  RED  │────►│ GREEN │────►│ REFACTOR │─────────┘
└───────┘     └───────┘     └──────────┘
  Write         Write          Clean
  failing       minimal        up code
  test          code           (stay green)

RED: Write Failing Test

Write ONE test for ONE behavior.

// Test one specific thing
test('rejects empty email', async () => {
  const result = await validateEmail('');
  expect(result.valid).toBe(false);
  expect(result.error).toBe('Email is required');
});

Verify RED: Watch It Fail

MANDATORY. Never skip.

pnpm test --grep "rejects empty email"

Confirm:

• Test FAILS (not errors)
• Fails for EXPECTED reason (feature missing, not typo)
• Error message is what you expect

If test passes → You're testing existing behavior. Fix the test.

GREEN: Minimal Code

Write the SIMPLEST code to pass the test.

function validateEmail(email: string): ValidationResult {
  if (!email) {
    return { valid: false, error: 'Email is required' };
  }
  return { valid: true };
}

Don't add:

• Error handling for cases you haven't tested
• Configuration options you don't need yet
• Optimizations

Verify GREEN: Watch It Pass

MANDATORY.

pnpm test --grep "rejects empty email"

Confirm:

• Test PASSES
• All other tests still pass
• No errors or warnings

REFACTOR: Clean Up

After green, improve code quality:

• Remove duplication
• Improve names
• Extract helpers

Keep tests green during refactoring.

Repeat

Write next failing test for next behavior.

Coverage Requirements

Target: 100% for New Code

# Check coverage
pnpm test --coverage

# Verify new code is covered
# Lines: 100%
# Branches: 100%
# Functions: 100%
# Statements: 100%

What 100% Means

Acceptable Exceptions

These MAY have lower coverage (discuss with team):

• Configuration files
• Type definitions only
• Auto-generated code
• Third-party integration code (mock at boundary)

Document exceptions in coverage config:

// jest.config.js
module.exports = {
  coverageThreshold: {
    global: {
      branches: 100,
      functions: 100,
      lines: 100,
      statements: 100,
    },
  },
  coveragePathIgnorePatterns: [
    '/node_modules/',
    '/generated/',
    'config.ts',
  ],
};

Integration Testing Against Local Services

Core principle: Unit tests with mocks are necessary but not sufficient. You MUST ALSO test against real services.

The Two-Layer Testing Requirement

Both layers are REQUIRED. Unit tests alone miss real-world failures. Integration tests alone are too slow for TDD.

The Problem We're Solving

We've experienced 80% failure rates with ORM migrations because:

• Unit tests with mocks pass
• Real database rejects the migration
• CI discovers the bug instead of local testing

Mocks don't catch: Schema mismatches, constraint violations, migration failures, connection issues, transaction behavior.

When Integration Tests Are Required

Local Service Testing Protocol

After completing TDD cycle (unit tests with mocks):

1. Ensure services are running (docker-compose up -d)
2. Run integration tests against real services
3. Verify migrations apply (pnpm migrate)
4. Verify in local environment before pushing

Example: Database Testing

// LAYER 1: Unit tests with mocks (TDD cycle)
describe('UserRepository (unit)', () => {
  const mockDb = { query: jest.fn() };

  it('calls correct SQL for findById', async () => {
    mockDb.query.mockResolvedValue([{ id: 1, email: '[email protected]' }]);
    const user = await userRepo.findById(1);
    expect(mockDb.query).toHaveBeenCalledWith('SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = $1', [1]);
  });
});

// LAYER 2: Integration tests with real postgres (ALSO required)
describe('UserRepository (integration)', () => {
  beforeAll(async () => {
    await db.migrate.latest();
  });

  it('actually persists and retrieves users', async () => {
    await userRepo.create({ email: '[email protected]' });
    const user = await userRepo.findByEmail('[email protected]');
    expect(user).toBeDefined();
    expect(user.email).toBe('[email protected]');
  });

  it('enforces unique email constraint', async () => {
    await userRepo.create({ email: '[email protected]' });
    // Real postgres will throw - mocks won't catch this
    await expect(
      userRepo.create({ email: '[email protected]' })
    ).rejects.toThrow(/unique constraint/);
  });
});

Skill: local-service-testing

Test Quality

Good Tests

// GOOD: Clear name, tests one thing
test('calculates tax for positive amount', () => {
  const result = calculateTax(100, 0.08);
  expect(result).toBe(8);
});

test('returns zero tax for zero amount', () => {
  const result = calculateTax(0, 0.08);
  expect(result).toBe(0);
});

test('throws for negative amount', () => {
  expect(() => calculateTax(-100, 0.08)).toThrow('Amount must be positive');
});

Bad Tests

// BAD: Tests multiple things
test('calculateTax works', () => {
  expect(calculateTax(100, 0.08)).toBe(8);
  expect(calculateTax(0, 0.08)).toBe(0);
  expect(() => calculateTax(-100, 0.08)).toThrow();
});

// BAD: Tests mock, not real code
test('calls the tax service', () => {
  const mockTaxService = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(8);
  const result = calculateTax(100, 0.08);
  expect(mockTaxService).toHaveBeenCalled();  // Testing mock, not behavior
});

Testing Patterns

Arrange-Act-Assert

test('description', () => {
  // Arrange - set up test data
  const user = createTestUser({ email: '[email protected]' });
  const input = { userId: user.id, action: 'update' };

  // Act - perform the action
  const result = processAction(input);

  // Assert - verify the outcome
  expect(result.success).toBe(true);
  expect(result.timestamp).toBeDefined();
});

Testing Errors

test('throws for invalid input', () => {
  expect(() => validateInput(null)).toThrow(ValidationError);
  expect(() => validateInput(null)).toThrow('Input is required');
});

test('async throws for invalid input', async () => {
  await expect(asyncValidate(null)).rejects.toThrow(ValidationError);
});

Testing Side Effects

test('logs error on failure', async () => {
  const logSpy = jest.spyOn(logger, 'error');

  await processWithFailure();

  expect(logSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
    expect.stringContaining('Failed to process')
  );
});

Mocking Guidelines

When to Mock

Mock at Boundaries

// GOOD: Mock the external boundary
const fetchMock = jest.spyOn(global, 'fetch').mockResolvedValue(
  new Response(JSON.stringify({ data: 'test' }))
);

// BAD: Mock internal implementation
const internalMock = jest.spyOn(utils, 'internalHelper');

Debugging Test Failures

Checklist

Before completing a feature:

• [ ] Every function has at least one test
• [ ] Watched each test fail before implementing
• [ ] Each failure was for expected reason
• [ ] Wrote minimal code to pass
• [ ] All tests pass
• [ ] Coverage is 100% for new code
• [ ] No skipped tests
• [ ] Tests are isolated (no order dependency)
• [ ] Error cases are tested
• [ ] Integration tests ran against local services (not mocks)
• [ ] All service-dependent code verified locally

Integration

This skill is called by:

• issue-driven-development - Step 7, 8, 11

This skill uses:

• strict-typing - Tests should be typed
• inline-documentation - Document test utilities

This skill ensures:

• Verified behavior
• Regression prevention
• Refactoring safety
• Documentation through tests