policyengine/policyengine-test-writing

PolicyEngine Test Writing

Standard conventions for writing tests in PolicyEngine frontend apps, APIs, SDKs, and standalone tools. These rules apply to every language and framework (Vitest, pytest, etc.) unless a project-specific override exists.

Country model packages — use different conventions

Do NOT apply this skill to country model packages (policyengine-us, policyengine-uk, policyengine-canada, etc.). Those repos use YAML-based tests with entirely different structure, naming, and tooling. For country packages, use these instead:

• policyengine-testing-patterns-skill (skills/technical-patterns/policyengine-testing-patterns-skill/SKILL.md) — YAML test structure, naming conventions (variable_name.yaml, integration.yaml), period handling, error margins, and quality standards
• test-creator agent (agents/country-models/test-creator.md) — Automated agent that creates comprehensive YAML integration tests for government benefit program implementations

Country model tests are .yaml files that live alongside the variables they test, not .test.ts or .test.py files in a separate tests/ directory.

Core Principles

1. Given-When-Then Naming

Every test name follows the pattern test__given_X_condition__then_Y_occurs:

// TypeScript / Vitest
test("test__given_valid_income__then_tax_is_calculated", () => { ... });
test("test__given_negative_income__then_error_is_thrown", () => { ... });
test("test__given_zero_children__then_ctc_is_zero", () => { ... });

# Python / pytest
def test__given_valid_income__then_tax_is_calculated():
    ...
def test__given_negative_income__then_error_is_thrown():
    ...

Inside the test body, organize code into three clearly commented sections:

test("test__given_user_clicks_submit__then_form_is_submitted", async () => {
  // Given
  const user = userEvent.setup();
  const onSubmit = vi.fn();
  render(<Form onSubmit={onSubmit} />);

  // When
  await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /submit/i }));

  // Then
  expect(onSubmit).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
});

2. One Test File Per Source File

Each source file gets exactly one corresponding test file named test_FILENAME:

| Source file | Test file | |---|---| | utils/formatCurrency.ts | tests/unit/utils/test_formatCurrency.test.ts | | components/MetricCard.tsx | tests/unit/components/test_MetricCard.test.tsx | | lib/api/client.ts | tests/unit/lib/api/test_client.test.ts | | services/simulation.py | tests/unit/services/test_simulation.py |

The test file mirrors the source directory structure under a tests/ root.

3. Fixtures Live Separately

All mocks, setup code, patches, constants, and test data must be extracted to a fixture file with the same name in a fixtures/ directory:

tests/
├── fixtures/
│   ├── utils/
│   │   └── test_formatCurrency.ts    ← mocks, constants, helpers
│   ├── components/
│   │   └── test_MetricCard.ts
│   └── lib/
│       └── api/
│           └── test_client.ts
├── unit/
│   ├── utils/
│   │   └── test_formatCurrency.test.ts   ← imports from fixtures
│   ├── components/
│   │   └── test_MetricCard.test.tsx
│   └── lib/
│       └── api/
│           └── test_client.test.ts

What goes in fixtures:

• Mock data objects and factory functions
• Descriptive constants (no magic numbers in tests)
• vi.fn() / MagicMock setup helpers
• Patch targets and mock response builders
• Shared beforeEach / afterEach setup functions

What stays in the test file:

• describe / test blocks
• The Given-When-Then logic
• expect / assert statements

Import everything from the fixture:

import {
  VALID_HOUSEHOLD,
  EMPTY_HOUSEHOLD,
  mockApiSuccess,
  mockApiError,
  EXPECTED_TAX_AMOUNT,
} from "@/tests/fixtures/lib/api/test_client";

4. Test Edge Cases and Failure Paths

Every test file must cover, at minimum:

• Happy path: Normal inputs produce expected outputs
• Boundary values: Zero, empty string, empty array, min/max values
• Error cases: Invalid inputs, network failures, missing data
• Null/undefined: What happens with missing or nullable fields
• Type coercion traps: String "0" vs number 0, empty object vs null

Structure the describe block to make coverage obvious:

describe("calculateTax", () => {
  // Happy path
  test("test__given_valid_income__then_correct_tax_returned", () => { ... });
  test("test__given_income_at_bracket_boundary__then_correct_bracket_applied", () => { ... });

  // Edge cases
  test("test__given_zero_income__then_zero_tax", () => { ... });
  test("test__given_negative_income__then_throws_error", () => { ... });

  // Error handling
  test("test__given_api_timeout__then_error_propagated", () => { ... });
  test("test__given_malformed_response__then_fallback_used", () => { ... });
});

5. Run Only What Changed

After writing or modifying test files, run only those specific tests — never the entire suite:

# TypeScript / Vitest — run specific test file(s)
bunx vitest run tests/unit/utils/test_formatCurrency.test.ts

# Python / pytest — run specific test file(s)
pytest tests/unit/variables/test_income.py -v

After tests pass, run formatters and typecheckers only on modified files:

# TypeScript — typecheck and lint only changed files
bunx tsc --noEmit
bunx eslint tests/unit/utils/test_formatCurrency.test.ts tests/fixtures/utils/test_formatCurrency.ts

# Python — format and lint only changed files
black tests/unit/variables/test_income.py tests/fixtures/variables/test_income.py
ruff check tests/unit/variables/test_income.py tests/fixtures/variables/test_income.py

Never run the full test suite or full linter unless explicitly asked. Large codebases take minutes to lint/test; running everything wastes time and produces noise unrelated to the changes.

Framework-Specific Notes

Vitest (TypeScript / React)

import { describe, test, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";

• Use vi.fn() for mocks, vi.mock() for module mocks
• Use vi.clearAllMocks() in beforeEach
• For React components, prefer accessibility selectors (getByRole, getByLabelText) over test IDs
• Use userEvent.setup() for user interactions (not fireEvent)
• Use waitFor for async state updates

pytest (Python)

import pytest
from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch

• Use @pytest.fixture for setup, import from fixture files
• Use @pytest.mark.parametrize for data-driven tests
• Use pytest.raises(ExceptionType) for error assertions
• Mark slow tests with @pytest.mark.slow

What to Test

• Public API surface (exported functions, component props, class methods)
• State transitions and side effects
• Data transformations and calculations
• Error handling and recovery paths
• Boundary conditions and edge cases

What NOT to Test

• Third-party library internals (Recharts rendering, Mantine components, pandas operations)
• Private implementation details that may change
• CSS/styling (unless testing conditional class application)
• Simple pass-through getters with no logic

Detailed Reference

For fixture best practices, mock patterns, and accessibility selector priority, consult:

• references/fixture-patterns.md — Comprehensive fixture organization and mock examples