Unit Tests Agent Skill

Use when running unit tests in the VS Code repo. Covers the runTests tool, scripts/test.sh (macOS/Linux) and scripts/test.bat (Windows), and their supported arguments for filtering, globbing, and debugging tests.

940 tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

188278

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/vscode --skill unit-tests

What it tells the agent to use

found in the instruction text

Bash runs shell commands — read the instruction before connecting

The instruction itself

12 sections, as written by the author

Running Unit Tests

Preferred: Use the `runTests` tool

If the runTests tool is available, prefer it over running shell commands. It provides structured output with detailed pass/fail information and supports filtering by file and test name.

Pass absolute paths to test files via the files parameter.
Pass test names via the testNames parameter to filter which tests run.
Set mode="coverage" to collect coverage.

Example (conceptual): run tests in src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts with test name filter "should split lines".

Fallback: Shell scripts

When the runTests tool is not available (e.g. in CLI environments), use the platform-appropriate script from the repo root:

macOS / Linux: ./scripts/test.sh [options]
Windows: .\scripts\test.bat [options]

These scripts download Electron if needed and launch the Mocha test runner.

Commonly used options

Bare file paths - Run tests from specific files

Pass source file paths directly as positional arguments. The test runner automatically treats bare .ts/.js positional arguments as --run values.

./scripts/test.sh src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts

.\scripts\test.bat src\vs\editor\test\common\model.test.ts

Multiple files:

./scripts/test.sh src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts src/vs/editor/test/common/range.test.ts

`--run <file>` - Run tests from a specific file (explicit form)

Accepts a source file path (starting with src/). The runner strips the src/ prefix and the .ts/.js extension automatically to resolve the compiled module.

./scripts/test.sh --run src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts

Multiple files can be specified by repeating --run:

./scripts/test.sh --run src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts --run src/vs/editor/test/common/range.test.ts

`--grep <pattern>` (aliases: `-g`, `-f`) - Filter tests by name

Runs only tests whose full title matches the pattern (passed to Mocha's --grep).

./scripts/test.sh --grep "should split lines"

Combine with --run to filter tests within a specific file:

./scripts/test.sh --run src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts --grep "should split lines"

`--runGlob <pattern>` (aliases: `--glob`, `--runGrep`) - Run tests matching a glob

Runs all test files matching a glob pattern against the compiled output directory. Useful for running all tests under a feature area.

./scripts/test.sh --runGlob "**/editor/test/**/*.test.js"

Note: the glob runs against compiled .js files in the output directory, not source .ts files.

`--coverage` - Generate a coverage report

./scripts/test.sh --run src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts --coverage

`--timeout <ms>` - Set test timeout

Override the default Mocha timeout for long-running tests.

./scripts/test.sh --run src/vs/editor/test/common/model.test.ts --timeout 10000

Integration tests

Integration tests (files ending in .integrationTest.ts or located in extensions/) are not run by scripts/test.sh. Use scripts/test-integration.sh (or scripts/test-integration.bat) instead. See the integration-tests skill for details.

Compilation requirement

Tests run against compiled JavaScript output. Ensure the VS Code - Build watch task is running or that compilation has completed before running tests. Test failures caused by stale output are a common pitfall.

Other skills for the same job

different authors, same section of the catalogue

Webapp Testing

by anthropics

vendor ×12

Toolkit for interacting with and testing local web applications using Playwright. Supports verifying frontend functionality, debugging UI behavior, capturing browser screenshots, and viewing browser logs.

6k tokens scripts

Finishing A Development Branch

by ZhanlinCui

×7

Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup

1k tokens

Test Driven Development

by w95

×7

Use when implementing any feature or bugfix, before writing implementation code

Use when encountering any bug, test failure, or unexpected behavior, before proposing fixes

10k tokens scripts

Verification Before Completion

by ZhanlinCui

×6

Use when about to claim work is complete, fixed, or passing, before committing or creating PRs - requires running verification commands and confirming output before making any success claims; evidence before assertions always

Expert guidance for systematic backtesting of trading strategies. Use when developing, testing, stress-testing, or validating quantitative trading strategies. Covers "beating ideas to death" methodology, parameter robustness testing, slippage modeling, bias prevention, and interpreting backtest results. Applicable when user asks about backtesting, strategy validation, robustness testing, avoiding overfitting, or systematic trading development.

Cloud laboratory platform for automated protein testing and validation. Use when designing proteins and needing experimental validation including binding assays, expression testing, thermostability measurements, enzyme activity assays, or protein sequence optimization. Also use for submitting experiments via API, tracking experiment status, downloading results, optimizing protein sequences for better expression using computational tools (NetSolP, SoluProt, SolubleMPNN, ESM), or managing protein design workflows with wet-lab validation.

This skill should be used for time series machine learning tasks including classification, regression, clustering, forecasting, anomaly detection, segmentation, and similarity search. Use when working with temporal data, sequential patterns, or time-indexed observations requiring specialized algorithms beyond standard ML approaches. Particularly suited for univariate and multivariate time series analysis with scikit-learn compatible APIs.

19k tokens

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take microsoft/unit-tests from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.