testing-r-packages

name testing-r-packages description Best practices for writing R package tests using testthat version 3+. Use when writing, organizing, or improving tests for R packages. Covers test structure, expectations, fixtures, snapshots, mocking, and modern testthat 3 patterns including self-sufficient tests, proper cleanup with withr, and snapshot testing. metadata {"author":"Garrick Aden-Buie (@gadenbuie)","version":"1.1"} license MIT Testing R Packages with testthat Modern best practices for R package testing using testthat 3+. Initial Setup Initialize testing with testthat 3rd edition: usethis :: use_testthat ( 3 ) This creates tests/testthat/ directory, adds testthat to DESCRIPTION Suggests with Config/testthat/edition: 3 , and creates tests/testthat.R . File Organization Mirror package structure: Code in R/foofy.R → tests in tests/testthat/test-foofy.R Use usethis::use_r("foofy") and usethis::use_test("foofy") to create paired files Special files: helper-*.R - Helper functions and custom expectations, sourced before tests setup-*.R - Run during R CMD check only, not during load_all() fixtures/ - Static test data files accessed via test_path() Test Structure Tests follow a three-level hierarchy: File → Test → Expectation Standard Syntax test_that ( "descriptive behavior" , { result <- my_function ( input ) expect_equal ( result , expected_value ) } ) Test descriptions should read naturally and describe behavior, not implementation. BDD Syntax (describe/it) For behavior-driven development, use describe() and it() : describe ( "matrix()" , { it ( "can be multiplied by a scalar" , { m1 <- matrix ( 1 : 4 , 2 , 2 ) m2 <- m1 * 2 expect_equal ( matrix ( 1 : 4 * 2 , 2 , 2 ) , m2 ) } ) it ( "can be transposed" , { m <- matrix ( 1 : 4 , 2 , 2 ) expect_equal ( t ( m ) , matrix ( c ( 1 , 3 , 2 , 4 ) , 2 , 2 ) ) } ) } ) Key features: describe() groups related specifications for a component it() defines individual specifications (like test_that() ) Supports nesting for hierarchical organization it() without code creates pending test placeholders Use describe() to verify you implement the right things, use test_that() to ensure you do things right. See references/bdd.md for comprehensive BDD patterns, nested specifications, and test-first workflows. Running Tests Three scales of testing: Micro (interactive development): devtools :: load_all ( ) expect_equal ( foofy ( ... ) , expected ) Mezzo (single file): testthat :: test_file ( "tests/testthat/test-foofy.R" ) # RStudio: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T Macro (full suite): devtools :: test ( ) # Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T devtools :: check ( ) # Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + E Core Expectations Equality expect_equal ( 10 , 10 + 1e-7 ) # Allows numeric tolerance expect_identical ( 10L , 10L ) # Exact match required expect_all_equal ( x , expected ) # Every element matches (v3.3.0+) Errors, Warnings, Messages expect_error ( 1 / "a" ) expect_error ( bad_call ( ) , class = "specific_error_class" ) expect_no_error ( valid_call ( ) ) expect_warning ( deprecated_func ( ) ) expect_no_warning ( safe_func ( ) ) expect_message ( informative_func ( ) ) expect_no_message ( quiet_func ( ) ) Pattern Matching expect_match ( "Testing is fun!" , "Testing" ) expect_match ( text , "pattern" , ignore.case = TRUE ) Structure and Type expect_length ( vector , 10 ) expect_type ( obj , "list" ) expect_s3_class ( model , "lm" ) expect_s4_class ( obj , "MyS4Class" ) expect_r6_class ( obj , "MyR6Class" ) # v3.3.0+ expect_shape ( matrix , c ( 10 , 5 ) ) # v3.3.0+ Sets and Collections expect_setequal ( x , y ) # Same elements, any order expect_contains ( fruits , "apple" ) # Subset check (v3.2.0+) expect_in ( "apple" , fruits ) # Element in set (v3.2.0+) expect_disjoint ( set1 , set2 ) # No overlap (v3.3.0+) Logical expect_true ( condition ) expect_false ( condition ) expect_all_true ( vector > 0 ) # All elements TRUE (v3.3.0+) expect_all_false ( vector < 0 ) # All elements FALSE (v3.3.0+) Design Principles 1. Self-Sufficient Tests Each test should contain all setup, execution, and teardown code: # Good: self-contained test_that ( "foofy() works" , { data <- data.frame ( x = 1 : 3 , y = letters [ 1 : 3 ] ) result <- foofy ( data ) expect_equal ( result $ x , 1 : 3 ) } ) # Bad: relies on ambient state dat <- data.frame ( x = 1 : 3 , y = letters [ 1 : 3 ] ) test_that ( "foofy() works" , { result <- foofy ( dat ) # Where did 'dat' come from? expect_equal ( result $ x , 1 : 3 ) } ) 2. Self-Contained Tests (Cleanup Side Effects) Use withr to manage state changes: test_that ( "function respects options" , { withr :: local_options ( my_option = "test_value" ) withr :: local_envvar ( MY_VAR = "test" ) withr :: local_package ( "jsonlite" ) result <- my_function ( ) expect_equal ( result $ setting , "test_value" ) # Automatic cleanup after test } ) Common withr functions: local_options() - Temporarily set options local_envvar() - Temporarily set environment variables local_tempfile() - Create temp file with automatic cleanup local_tempdir() - Create temp directory with automatic cleanup local_package() - Temporarily attach package 3. Plan for Test Failure Write tests assuming they will fail and need debugging: Tests should run independently in fresh R sessions Avoid hidden dependencies on earlier tests Make test logic explicit and obvious 4. Repetition is Acceptable Repeat setup code in tests rather than factoring it out. Test clarity is more important than avoiding duplication. 5. Use devtools::load_all() Workflow During development: Use devtools::load_all() instead of library() Makes all functions available (including unexported) Automatically attaches testthat Eliminates need for library() calls in tests Snapshot Testing For complex output that's difficult to verify programmatically, use snapshot tests. See references/snapshots.md for complete guide. Basic pattern: test_that ( "error message is helpful" , { expect_snapshot ( error = TRUE , validate_input ( NULL ) ) } ) Snapshots stored in tests/testthat/_snaps/ . Workflow: devtools :: test ( ) # Creates new snapshots testthat :: snapshot_review ( 'name' ) # Review changes testthat :: snapshot_accept ( 'name' ) # Accept changes Test Fixtures and Data Three approaches for test data: 1. Constructor functions - Create data on-demand: new_sample_data <- function ( n = 10 ) { data.frame ( id = seq_len ( n ) , value = rnorm ( n ) ) } 2. Local functions with cleanup - Handle side effects: local_temp_csv <- function ( data , env = parent.frame ( ) ) { path <- withr :: local_tempfile ( fileext = ".csv" , .local_envir = env ) write.csv ( data , path , row.names = FALSE ) path } 3. Static fixture files - Store in fixtures/ directory: data <- readRDS ( test_path ( "fixtures" , "sample_data.rds" ) ) See references/fixtures.md for detailed fixture patterns. Mocking Replace external dependencies during testing using local_mocked_bindings() . See references/mocking.md for comprehensive mocking strategies. Basic pattern: test_that ( "function works with mocked dependency" , { local_mocked_bindings ( external_api = function ( ... ) list ( status = "success" , data = "mocked" ) ) result <- my_function_that_calls_api ( ) expect_equal ( result $ status , "success" ) } ) Common Patterns Testing Errors with Specific Classes test_that ( "validation catches errors" , { expect_error ( validate_input ( "wrong_type" ) , class = "vctrs_error_cast" ) } ) Testing with Temporary Files test_that ( "file processing works" , { temp_file <- withr :: local_tempfile ( lines = c ( "line1" , "line2" , "line3" ) ) result <- process_file ( temp_file ) expect_equal ( length ( result ) , 3 ) } ) Testing with Modified Options test_that ( "output respects width" , { withr :: local_options ( width = 40 ) output <- capture_output ( print ( my_object ) ) expect_lte ( max ( nchar ( strsplit ( output , "\n" ) [[ 1 ] ] ) ) , 40 ) } ) Testing Multiple Related Cases test_that ( "str_trunc() handles all directions" , { trunc <- function ( direction ) { str_trunc ( "This string is moderately long" , direction , width = 20 ) } expect_equal ( trunc ( "right" ) , "This string is mo..." ) expect_equal ( trunc ( "left" ) , "...erately long" ) expect_equal ( trunc ( "center" ) , "This stri...ely long" ) } ) Custom Expectations in Helper Files # In tests/testthat/helper-expectations.R expect_valid_user <- function ( user ) { expect_type ( user , "list" ) expect_named ( user , c ( "id" , "name" , "email" ) ) expect_type ( user $ id , "integer" ) expect_match ( user $ email , "@" ) } # In test file test_that ( "user creation works" , { user <- create_user ( "test@example.com" ) expect_valid_user ( user ) } ) File System Discipline Always write to temp directory: # Good output <- withr :: local_tempfile ( fileext = ".csv" ) write.csv ( data , output ) # Bad - writes to package directory write.csv ( data , "output.csv" ) Access test fixtures with test_path() : # Good - works in all contexts data <- readRDS ( test_path ( "fixtures" , "data.rds" ) ) # Bad - relative paths break data <- readRDS ( "fixtures/data.rds" ) Advanced Topics For advanced testing scenarios, see: references/bdd.md - BDD-style testing with describe/it, nested specifications, test-first workflows references/snapshots.md - Snapshot testing, transforms, variants references/mocking.md - Mocking strategies, webfakes, httptest2 references/fixtures.md - Fixture patterns, database fixtures, helper files references/advanced.md - Skipping tests, secrets management, CRAN requirements, custom expectations, parallel testing