Master Bash Automated Testing System (Bats) for comprehensive shell script testing. Use when writing tests for shell scripts, CI/CD pipelines, or requiring test-driven development of shell utilities.
npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill bats-testing-patterns
Comprehensive guidance for writing comprehensive unit tests for shell scripts using Bats (Bash Automated Testing System), including test patterns, fixtures, and best practices for production-grade shell testing.
Detailed pattern documentation lives in references/details.md. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient.
#!/usr/bin/env bats
@test "Function fails with missing file" {
run my_function "/nonexistent/file.txt"
[ "$status" -ne 0 ]
[[ "$output" == *"not found"* ]]
}
@test "Function fails with invalid input" {
run my_function ""
[ "$status" -ne 0 ]
}
@test "Function fails with permission denied" {
touch "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"
chmod 000 "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"
run my_function "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"
[ "$status" -ne 0 ]
chmod 644 "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt" # Cleanup
}
@test "Function provides helpful error message" {
run my_function --invalid-option
[ "$status" -ne 0 ]
[[ "$output" == *"Usage:"* ]]
}
#!/usr/bin/env bats
setup() {
# Check for required tools
if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
skip "jq is not installed"
fi
export SCRIPT="${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh"
}
@test "JSON parsing works" {
skip_if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null
run my_json_parser '{"key": "value"}'
[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}
#!/usr/bin/env bats
@test "Script works in bash" {
bash "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh" arg1
}
@test "Script works in sh (POSIX)" {
sh "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh" arg1
}
@test "Script works in dash" {
if command -v dash &>/dev/null; then
dash "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh" arg1
else
skip "dash not installed"
fi
}
#!/usr/bin/env bats
@test "Multiple independent operations" {
run bash -c 'for i in {1..10}; do
my_operation "$i" &
done
wait'
[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}
@test "Concurrent file operations" {
for i in {1..5}; do
my_function "$TMPDIR/file$i" &
done
wait
[ -f "$TMPDIR/file1" ]
[ -f "$TMPDIR/file5" ]
}
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Source script under test
export SCRIPT_DIR="${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME%/*}/bin"
# Common test utilities
assert_file_exists() {
if [ ! -f "$1" ]; then
echo "Expected file to exist: $1"
return 1
fi
}
assert_file_equals() {
local file="$1"
local expected="$2"
if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
echo "File does not exist: $file"
return 1
fi
local actual=$(cat "$file")
if [ "$actual" != "$expected" ]; then
echo "File contents do not match"
echo "Expected: $expected"
echo "Actual: $actual"
return 1
fi
}
# Create temporary test directory
setup_test_dir() {
export TEST_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
}
cleanup_test_dir() {
rm -rf "$TEST_DIR"
}
name: Tests
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Install Bats
run: |
npm install --global bats
- name: Run Tests
run: |
bats tests/*.bats
- name: Run Tests with Tap Reporter
run: |
bats tests/*.bats --tap | tee test_output.tap
.PHONY: test test-verbose test-tap
test:
bats tests/*.bats
test-verbose:
bats tests/*.bats --verbose
test-tap:
bats tests/*.bats --tap
test-parallel:
bats tests/*.bats --parallel 4
coverage: test
# Optional: Generate coverage reports
10. Document complex test setup - Explain unusual patterns
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Take wshobson/bats-testing-patterns from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
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same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.
The instructions reference npm.
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