Run tests

Xmake provides a built-in xmake test command for running unit tests and test cases. Starting from version 2.8.5, you can configure test cases through add_tests on targets that need testing, and then automatically execute all tests.

This provides great convenience for automated testing, and even if a target is set to set_default(false), xmake will still automatically compile it when executing tests and then run all tests.

For running regular target programs, see Run Targets.

Command format

$ xmake test [options] [target/testname]

Basic usage

Configure test cases

First, we need to configure test cases for the target using add_tests:

add_rules("mode.debug", "mode.release")

for _, file in ipairs(os.files("src/test_*.cpp")) do
    local name = path.basename(file)
    target(name)
        set_kind("binary")
        set_default(false)
        add_files("src/" .. name .. ".cpp")
        add_tests("default")
        add_tests("args", {runargs = {"foo", "bar"}})
        add_tests("pass_output", {trim_output = true, runargs = "foo", pass_outputs = "hello foo"})
        add_tests("fail_output", {fail_outputs = {"hello2 .*", "hello xmake"}})
end

Detailed API

For complete parameters and usage of add_tests, please refer to: add_tests API documentation

Run all tests

Simply execute xmake test to run all configured test cases:

$ xmake test
running tests ...
[  2%]: test_1/args        .................................... passed 7.000s
[  5%]: test_1/default     .................................... passed 5.000s
[  8%]: test_1/fail_output .................................... passed 5.000s
[ 11%]: test_1/pass_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 13%]: test_2/args        .................................... passed 7.000s
[ 16%]: test_2/default     .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 19%]: test_2/fail_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 22%]: test_2/pass_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 25%]: test_3/args        .................................... passed 7.000s
[ 27%]: test_3/default     .................................... passed 7.000s
[ 30%]: test_3/fail_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 33%]: test_3/pass_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 36%]: test_4/args        .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 38%]: test_4/default     .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 41%]: test_4/fail_output .................................... passed 5.000s
[ 44%]: test_4/pass_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 47%]: test_5/args        .................................... passed 5.000s
[ 50%]: test_5/default     .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 52%]: test_5/fail_output .................................... failed 6.000s
[ 55%]: test_5/pass_output .................................... failed 5.000s
[ 58%]: test_6/args        .................................... passed 7.000s
[ 61%]: test_6/default     .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 63%]: test_6/fail_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 66%]: test_6/pass_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 69%]: test_7/args        .................................... failed 6.000s
[ 72%]: test_7/default     .................................... failed 7.000s
[ 75%]: test_7/fail_output .................................... failed 6.000s
[ 77%]: test_7/pass_output .................................... failed 5.000s
[ 80%]: test_8/args        .................................... passed 7.000s
[ 83%]: test_8/default     .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 86%]: test_8/fail_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 88%]: test_8/pass_output .................................... failed 5.000s
[ 91%]: test_9/args        .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 94%]: test_9/default     .................................... passed 6.000s
[ 97%]: test_9/fail_output .................................... passed 6.000s
[100%]: test_9/pass_output .................................... passed 6.000s

80% tests passed, 7 tests failed out of 36, spent 0.242s

Run specific test targets

You can specify to run a specific test:

$ xmake test targetname/testname

Or run all tests of a target or batch tests by pattern matching:

$ xmake test targetname/*
$ xmake test targetname/foo*

You can also run tests with the same name for all targets:

$ xmake test */testname

Test configuration options

add_tests supports the following configuration parameters:

Parameter	Description
runargs	Test run argument string or array
runenvs	Test run environment variable table
timeout	Test timeout in seconds
trim_output	Whether to trim output whitespace
pass_outputs	Expected output patterns for test to pass
fail_outputs	Output patterns that should cause test to fail
build_should_pass	Test should build successfully
build_should_fail	Test should fail to build
files	Additional test files to compile
defines	Additional defines for test compilation
realtime_output	Show test output in real-time

Example configurations

Test with arguments

target("mytest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_tests("with_args", {runargs = {"--verbose", "--mode=test"}})

Related APIs

• set_runargs: Set target run arguments
• set_rundir: Set run working directory
• add_runenvs: Add run environment variables

Test with expected output

target("mytest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_tests("output_test", {pass_outputs = ".*success.*", trim_output = true})

Test with timeout

target("mytest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_tests("timeout_test", {timeout = 5}) -- 5 seconds timeout

Test with environment variables

target("mytest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_tests("env_test", {runenvs = {TEST_MODE = "1", DEBUG = "true"}})

Related APIs

• add_runenvs: Add run environment variables
• set_runenv: Set run environment variable

Test build failure

target("compile_fail_test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/invalid.cpp")
    add_tests("should_fail", {build_should_fail = true})

Related APIs

• set_default: Set target default build
• set_kind: Set target type

Add extra code files

add_tests supports adding extra code files for compilation through the files parameter, which is very useful for unit testing:

target("mytest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_tests("test_with_stub", {
        files = "tests/stub_*.cpp",  -- Add extra test files
        defines = "TEST_MODE",
        remove_files = "src/main.cpp"  -- Remove unwanted files
    })

Use cases

• Unit testing: Add test code files without modifying original source code
• Stub code: Provide mock implementations for testing
• Conditional compilation: Add test-specific macro definitions via defines
• File replacement: Remove unwanted files using remove_files (e.g., main.cpp)

Taking doctest as an example, you can externally unit test without modifying any main.cpp:

target("doctest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    for _, testfile in ipairs(os.files("tests/*.cpp")) do
        add_tests(path.basename(testfile), {
            files = testfile,
            remove_files = "src/main.cpp",
            languages = "c++11",
            defines = "DOCTEST_CONFIG_IMPLEMENT_WITH_MAIN"
        })
    end
end

Integrating Third-party Testing Frameworks

xmake test can integrate well with third-party testing frameworks like doctest, gtest, etc., to achieve more powerful testing capabilities.

doctest Integration Example

add_rules("mode.debug", "mode.release")
add_requires("doctest")

target("doctest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    for _, testfile in ipairs(os.files("tests/*.cpp")) do
        add_tests(path.basename(testfile), {
            files = testfile,
            remove_files = "src/main.cpp",
            languages = "c++11",
            packages = "doctest",  -- Integrate doctest package
            defines = "DOCTEST_CONFIG_IMPLEMENT_WITH_MAIN"
        })
    end

Test file example (tests/test_1.cpp):

#include "doctest/doctest.h"

static int factorial(int number) {
    return number <= 1 ? number : factorial(number - 1) * number;
}

TEST_CASE("testing the factorial function") {
    CHECK(factorial(1) == 1);
    CHECK(factorial(2) == 2);
    CHECK(factorial(3) == 6);
    CHECK(factorial(10) == 3628800);
}

gtest Integration Example

add_rules("mode.debug", "mode.release")
add_requires("gtest")

target("mytest")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    for _, testfile in ipairs(os.files("tests/*.cpp")) do
        add_tests(path.basename(testfile), {
            files = testfile,
            remove_files = "src/main.cpp",
            packages = "gtest",  -- Integrate gtest package
            defines = "TEST_MAIN"
        })
    end

Framework Advantages

• doctest: Lightweight, header-only, easy to integrate
• gtest: Feature-rich, maintained by Google, active community
• Catch2: Modern C++ style, powerful features

Dynamic Library Testing

You can also test dynamic libraries:

target("mylib")
    set_kind("shared")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")

target("mylib_test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_deps("mylib")
    add_files("tests/*.cpp")
    add_packages("gtest")
    add_tests("default")

## Verbose output

Use `-v` to get verbose output:

```sh
$ xmake test -v

Use -vD to view detailed test failure error messages:

$ xmake test -vD

The -vD parameter displays more detailed log output, including output file paths and error information for each test:

report of tests:
[  2%]: test_10/compile_fail .... passed 0.001s
[  4%]: test_11/compile_pass .... failed 0.001s
errors: build/.gens/test_11/macosx/x86_64/release/tests/test_11/compile_pass.errors.log
[  7%]: test_1/args ............. passed 0.045s
stdout: build/.gens/test_1/macosx/x86_64/release/tests/test_1/args.stdout.log
[  9%]: test_1/default .......... passed 0.046s
stdout: build/.gens/test_1/macosx/x86_64/release/tests/test_1/default.stdout.log
[ 11%]: test_1/fail_output ...... passed 0.046s
stdout: build/.gens/test_1/macosx/x86_64/release/tests/test_1/fail_output.stdout.log
[ 14%]: test_1/pass_output ...... passed 0.047s
stdout: build/.gens/test_1/macosx/x86_64/release/tests/test_1/pass_output.stdout.log
...
[100%]: test_timeout/run_timeout  failed 1.007s
errors: build/.gens/test_timeout/macosx/x86_64/release/tests/test_timeout/run_timeout.errors.log

Detailed summary:
Failed tests:
 - test_11/compile_pass
 - test_5/fail_output
 - test_5/pass_output
 - test_7/args
 - test_7/default
 - test_7/fail_output
 - test_7/pass_output
 - test_8/pass_output
 - test_timeout/run_timeout

78% tests passed, 9 test(s) failed out of 42, spent 1.212s

Log file description

When using -vD, xmake generates the following log files:

• stdout logs: build/.gens/{target}/tests/{testname}.stdout.log - Standard output of tests
• errors logs: build/.gens/{target}/tests/{testname}.errors.log - Error output of tests
• build error logs: Detailed error information when compilation fails

These log files are very useful for debugging test failure issues, allowing you to view specific output content and error information.

Group testing

You can group tests using pattern matching:

# Run all tests starting with "unit_"
$ xmake test */unit_*

# Run all tests for targets starting with "test_"
$ xmake test test_*/*

# Run specific test across all targets
$ xmake test */default

Continuous integration

For CI/CD environments, you can use the following patterns:

# Run tests and exit with error code on failure
$ xmake test

# Run tests with detailed output for CI logs
$ xmake test -v

# Run specific test groups
$ xmake test unit_tests/*
$ xmake test integration_tests/*

The test command will return a non-zero exit code if any tests fail, making it suitable for CI pipelines.