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Mutation Testing Skill for Claude

Validate test effectiveness with mutation testing using Stryker (TypeScript/JavaScript with Vitest or bun test via @hughescr/stryker-bun-runner) and mutmut (Python). Find weak tests that pass despite code mutations. Use to improve test quality.

1k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
1
files
instructions only
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
202
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/secondsky/claude-skills --skill mutation-testing

The instruction itself

24 sections, as written by the author

Mutation Testing

Expert knowledge for mutation testing - validating that your tests actually catch bugs by introducing deliberate code mutations.

Core Concept

  • Mutants: Small code changes introduced automatically
  • Killed: Test fails with mutation (good - test caught the bug)
  • Survived: Test passes with mutation (bad - weak test)
  • Score: Percentage of mutants killed (aim for 80%+)

TypeScript/JavaScript (Stryker)

Vitest Runner

Installation
# Using Bun
bun add -d @stryker-mutator/core @stryker-mutator/vitest-runner

# Using npm
npm install -D @stryker-mutator/core @stryker-mutator/vitest-runner
Configuration
// stryker.config.mjs
export default {
  packageManager: 'bun',
  reporters: ['html', 'clear-text', 'progress'],
  testRunner: 'vitest',
  coverageAnalysis: 'perTest',
  mutate: ['src/**/*.ts', '!src/**/*.test.ts'],
  thresholds: { high: 80, low: 60, break: 60 },
  incremental: true,
}

Bun Native Runner (bun test)

Use when projects use bun test directly (not Vitest).

Requirements
  • Bun >= 1.3.7 (needs TestReporter WebSocket events from Bun PR #25986)
  • @stryker-mutator/core ^9.0.0
Installation
bun add -D @hughescr/stryker-bun-runner @stryker-mutator/core
Configuration
// stryker.conf.mjs
export default {
  testRunner: 'bun',
  coverageAnalysis: 'perTest',
  mutate: ['src/**/*.ts', '!src/**/*.test.ts'],
  thresholds: { high: 80, low: 60, break: 60 },
  incremental: true,
  bun: {
    inspectorTimeout: 5000,  // WebSocket Inspector connection timeout (ms)
    // bunPath: '/path/to/bun',  // only if custom Bun install
    // timeout: 30000,           // test timeout (ms)
    // env: { DEBUG: 'true' },
    // bunArgs: ['--bail'],
  },
}
Key Behaviors
  • Sequential execution: Runs tests with --concurrency=1 for accurate per-test coverage. Slower than parallel but required for correct test-to-mutant correlation.
  • Concurrent test patching: Automatically patches describe.concurrent(), test.concurrent(), it.concurrent() to run sequentially during mutation testing — no code changes needed.
  • Inspector Protocol: Uses Bun's WebSocket Inspector API to discover tests and correlate coverage.

Running Stryker

# Run mutation testing
bunx stryker run

# Incremental mode (only changed files)
bunx stryker run --incremental

# Specific files
bunx stryker run --mutate "src/utils/**/*.ts"

# Open HTML report
open reports/mutation/html/index.html

Example: Weak Test

// Source code
function calculateDiscount(price: number, percentage: number): number {
  return price - (price * percentage / 100)
}

// ❌ WEAK: Test passes even if we mutate calculation
test('applies discount', () => {
  expect(calculateDiscount(100, 10)).toBeDefined() // Too weak!
})

// ✅ STRONG: Test catches mutation
test('applies discount correctly', () => {
  expect(calculateDiscount(100, 10)).toBe(90)
  expect(calculateDiscount(100, 20)).toBe(80)
  expect(calculateDiscount(50, 10)).toBe(45)
})

Python (mutmut)

Installation

uv add --dev mutmut

Running mutmut

# Run mutation testing
uv run mutmut run

# Show results
uv run mutmut results

# Show specific mutant
uv run mutmut show 1

# Generate HTML report
uv run mutmut html
open html/index.html

Common Mutation Types

// Arithmetic Operator
// Original: a + b → a - b, a * b, a / b

// Relational Operator
// Original: a > b → a >= b, a < b, a <= b

// Logical Operator
// Original: a && b → a || b

// Boolean Literal
// Original: true → false

Mutation Score Targets

| Score | Quality | Action |

|-------|---------|--------|

| 90%+ | Excellent | Maintain quality |

| 80-89% | Good | Small improvements |

| 70-79% | Acceptable | Focus on weak areas |

| < 60% | Poor | Major improvements needed |

Improving Weak Tests

Pattern: Insufficient Assertions

// Before: Mutation survives
test('calculates sum', () => {
  expect(sum([1, 2, 3])).toBeGreaterThan(0) // Weak!
})

// After: Mutation killed
test('calculates sum correctly', () => {
  expect(sum([1, 2, 3])).toBe(6)
  expect(sum([0, 0, 0])).toBe(0)
  expect(sum([])).toBe(0)
})

Pattern: Boundary Conditions

// After: Tests boundaries
test('validates age boundaries', () => {
  expect(isValidAge(18)).toBe(true)   // Min valid
  expect(isValidAge(17)).toBe(false)  // Just below
  expect(isValidAge(100)).toBe(true)  // Max valid
  expect(isValidAge(101)).toBe(false) // Just above
})

Best Practices

  • Start with core business logic modules
  • Ensure 80%+ coverage before mutation testing
  • Run incrementally (only changed files)
  • Focus on important files first
  • Don't expect 100% mutation score (equivalent mutants exist)

Workflow

# 1. Ensure good coverage first
bun test --coverage
# Target: 80%+ coverage

# 2. Run mutation testing
bunx stryker run

# 3. Check report
open reports/mutation/html/index.html

# 4. Fix survived mutants
# 5. Re-run incrementally
bunx stryker run --incremental
# or: npx stryker run --incremental

See Also

  • vitest-testing - Unit testing framework
  • test-quality-analysis - Detecting test smells

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How to use it

Copy the folder

Take secondsky/mutation-testing from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

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Install what it needs

The instructions reference npm, npx. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.