dotnet-test

Analyze assertion quality, depth, variety, and false confidence in existing tests. ALWAYS USE when asked about weak, shallow, trivial, always-true, self-referential, assertion-free, presence/truthiness-only, or insufficiently diverse assertions, including MSTest, Jest, pytest, and Go. DO NOT USE for direct fixes: writing-mstest-tests owns supplied MSTest assertions; code-testing-agent owns new cases. Use test-gap-analysis when asked whether tests would catch a production change, and test-anti-patterns for general severity-ranked audits.

ALWAYS USE whenever asked to write, add, or generate unit tests for existing code, including one helper, function, class, or missing regression case as well as project-wide suites. Also use for "cover this untested method", scaffolding tests where none exist, sparse workspaces, classic packages.config MSTest, and extending healthy suites. Focused requests use a proportional direct workflow; broad requests use the full pipeline. DO NOT USE for only running/diagnosing tests, coverage/audits, a test blocked on a missing production seam (testability-obstacle), or correcting supplied MSTest assertions, attributes, lifecycle, or configuration without designing new cases (writing-mstest-tests).

Provides file paths to language-specific extension files for the code-testing pipeline. Call this skill to discover available extension guidance files (e.g., dotnet.md for .NET, cpp.md for C++). Do not use directly — invoked by code-testing agents and skills that need language-specific references.

Activation requires either supplied .NET coverage reports/percentages/line, branch, or condition metrics, or an explicit request to collect .NET coverage for analysis. USE FOR: interpreting that evidence, including Cobertura data, partial conditions, plateaus, target arithmetic, project-wide coverage-backed CRAP, and coverage-backed refactoring safety. Analyze supplied reports directly without rerunning tests or installing tools. DO NOT USE FOR: requests with neither coverage evidence nor explicit coverage-collection intent, including hypothetical change-survival questions (use test-gap-analysis); CRAP or refactoring safety for one named target (use crap-score); or requests owned by test-tagging, find-untested-sources, test-anti-patterns, run-tests, or code-testing-agent.

Calculates CRAP (Change Risk Anti-Patterns) for a named .NET method, class, or file. USE FOR: explicit CRAP calculation or coverage-and-complexity risk within that named target, including which tests to prioritize. DO NOT USE FOR: project-wide coverage/CRAP, plateaus, or project-wide blockers/priorities (coverage-analysis); behavioral/pseudo-mutation gaps (test-gap-analysis); writing tests; test runs without CRAP context.

ACTIVATION PREREQUISITE: the request or discovered target must explicitly identify C#, .NET, `.cs`, or `.csproj`; otherwise stay dormant without invoking this skill. USE FOR: locating System.DateTime.Now/UtcNow, System.IO.File/Directory, System.Environment, HttpClient, Console, or Process usage in C#; auditing C# code for hard-to-test framework dependencies; or verifying those C# calls are already abstracted. DO NOT USE FOR: any target lacking the activation prerequisite; generating wrappers (use generate-testability-wrappers); migrating code (use migrate-static-to-wrapper); or general code review.

Reference-only filter syntax for VSTest and MTP with MSTest, NUnit, xUnit v3, and TUnit. Load only after the platform/framework is known and a consumer needs to create or translate a filter. Do not load for unfiltered runs or platform detection. Used by run-tests and mtp-hot-reload; never invoke directly.

MANDATORY for static source-to-test pairing: find or list source files/modules without corresponding tests, or suggest test locations from repository structure. Invoke even for a tiny package; do not substitute manual globbing. Uses Roslyn for C#/.NET and tree-sitter for Python, TS/JS, Go, Java, Rust, Ruby, Kotlin, Swift, PowerShell, and C++. DO NOT USE FOR: real line/branch/Cobertura data, coverage-backed test priorities, CRAP risk, or grading existing tests.

DO NOT USE when the target already consumes an injected interface or built-in abstraction such as IFileSystem or TimeProvider, even if the request says "generate a wrapper"; no new wrapper is needed. Use only when C# source calls an ambient/static dependency and no injectable seam exists: first-time TimeProvider, IHttpClientFactory, or System.IO.Abstractions adoption; minimal Environment/Console/Process wrappers; IProcessRunner; DI registration; or an ambient seam that preserves a static API. Exclude static detection (detect-static-dependencies), migration to an existing/registered abstraction (migrate-static-to-wrapper), one blocked behavior plus deterministic tests (testability-obstacle), and general interface design.

Grade specified test methods individually and produce a concise PR-ready table with each fully qualified test name, an A-F grade, score band, and one-line note. USE FOR per-test feedback on a curated list such as new or modified tests in a pull request, not a suite-wide audit. Polyglot: .NET, Python, TS/JS, Java, Go, Ruby, Rust, Swift, Kotlin, PowerShell, C++. Inputs may be test methods, method bodies, or file-and-line spans. DO NOT USE FOR: full suite audits (use test-quality-auditor agent or test-anti-patterns), writing new tests (use code-testing-generator agent or writing-mstest-tests), fixing failures, or measuring code coverage.

ALWAYS USE when asked to migrate, replace, or make testable existing C# static calls with a named wrapper or built-in abstraction: DateTime.UtcNow/Now or DateTimeOffset.UtcNow to TimeProvider/IClock, File.* to IFileSystem or an existing store such as ITextFileStore, and Environment.* to an existing reader such as IEnvironmentReader. Covers scoped files/projects, constructor injection, replacing temp-file or process-environment tests with fakes, "already registered" abstractions, and static classes whose callers/signatures must stay unchanged. Preserves DateTimeKind and call count. DO NOT USE for finding statics (detect-static-dependencies), choosing/designing a new wrapper (generate-testability-wrappers), behavior tests with no chosen seam (testability-obstacle), or test-framework migration.

Set up or recover MTP hot reload for a long-lived console-host edit/re-run loop in a Microsoft Testing Platform project. Use for explicit MTP console requests such as "enable hot reload", "dotnet run to rerun on edit", or unsupported/rude edits. Covers setup, run/watch, restarts, filters, and the VSTest no-mutation fallback. For one-time runs, exact commands, filter errors, TRX/dumps, or merely a failing test, use run-tests. Do not use when Test Explorer or an IDE should rerun tests without an MTP console host. Excludes editor integration, CI, and writing/debugging tests.

Identify a .NET project's test platform, framework, command mode, and SDK-style vs classic project system. Use only for "which test platform/framework?", "VSTest or MTP?", or "what runner does this project use?", including bridge settings, UseVSTest opt-outs, and incompatible or conflicting VSTest/MTP configuration. Resolves global.json, project, packages.config, Directory.Build.props, and Directory.Packages.props precedence for MSTest/xUnit/NUnit/TUnit. DO NOT USE when the user asks to run/filter tests or for commands, flags, TRX/dumps, or test-command/filter errors; use run-tests directly. Do not use for hot reload or migration.

ALWAYS USE before running .NET tests or answering with a test command or flags. Trigger on "run the tests", "exact dotnet test command", one test/class/category/trait/target framework, combined filters, `--filter-query`, `--no-build`, `--diag`, diagnostic logs, TRX, coverage collection, crash/hang dumps, filter errors, or unrecognized options. Chooses repository-compatible classic, VSTest, bridged MTP, or native MTP syntax for MSTest/xUnit/NUnit/TUnit. DO NOT USE for platform identification alone (platform-detection), writing or debugging test code, interpreting an existing coverage report, CI investigation, migration, or a persistent hot reload/watch loop.

MUST USE when an existing .NET test project was excluded from a .slnf/CI solution filter, disappeared from .sln/.slnx discovery, or lost its production ProjectReference; also for requests to set up, create, reuse, add, register, include, or repair a test project. Handles "tests pass directly but CI discovers zero", exact solution wiring, xUnit/NUnit/MSTest, and central packages. DO NOT USE to only author tests in an already-wired project (code-testing-agent), run tests, migrate, or correct MSTest syntax/configuration without changing project or CI files (writing-mstest-tests).

Provides file paths to language-specific reference files for the test ANALYSIS skills (assertion-quality, test-anti-patterns, test-gap-analysis, test-smell-detection, test-tagging). Call this skill to discover available extension files (e.g., dotnet.md for .NET/MSTest/xUnit/NUnit/TUnit, python.md for pytest/unittest, typescript.md for Jest/Vitest/Mocha, java.md for JUnit/TestNG, etc.). Do not use directly — invoked by the test-quality-auditor agent and polyglot analysis skills that need framework-specific lookup tables (test markers, assertion APIs, skip annotations, sleep patterns, mystery guest indicators, integration markers, setup/teardown, tag-support capability).

Audit a test file or suite; produce a severity-ranked diagnostic report. ALWAYS USE for tests that verify nothing, missing/tautological assertions, swallowed/broad exceptions, flaky/order-dependent tests, duplication, or magic values. Polyglot. DO NOT USE for direct edits: writing-mstest-tests owns supplied MSTest assertions/attributes/lifecycle; code-testing-agent owns new tests. Exclude running tests, migration, assertion metrics (assertion-quality), raw .NET coverage collection (run-tests), non-.NET coverage collection/analysis (native tooling), project-wide .NET coverage/CRAP (coverage-analysis), named-target .NET CRAP (crap-score), behavioral/pseudo-mutation gaps (test-gap-analysis), test-mix/ happy-vs-error classification and trait distributions (test-tagging), or the testsmells.org catalog (test-smell-detection).

Pseudo-mutation analysis ONLY: answer whether tests would catch a bug if production code changed, which meaningful changes would still pass, or which caller-visible mutations existing assertions would miss; verify candidates when requested, then optionally close verified gaps. Activate for behavioral blind spots or missing edge cases tied to production behavior. Polyglot. DO NOT USE FOR: suite organization, taxonomy, metadata, or distribution reports (test-tagging); .NET line-vs-branch or Cobertura interpretation, arithmetic, plateaus, project-wide coverage gaps, or coverage-backed test/CRAP priorities (coverage-analysis; use native coverage tooling outside .NET); named-target CRAP (crap-score); new suites (code-testing-agent); assertion/smell audits; or mutation tools.

Audits existing tests in any language using formal, research-backed test smell names and the testsmells.org 19-smell academic taxonomy. Use when the caller asks for an academic or citable test-smell review, named smell categories, or a formal severity-ranked smell assessment. Covers Assertion Roulette, Conditional Test Logic, Mystery Guest, Eager Test, Sleepy Test, Unknown Test, Sensitive Equality, and the rest of the catalog across .NET, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, Go, Ruby, Rust, Swift, Kotlin, PowerShell, and C++. DO NOT USE FOR a quick pragmatic test review (use test-anti-patterns), writing or running tests, framework migration, coverage, or assertion-diversity metrics.

Classifies existing tests by standard traits and reports their distribution. USE FOR: tagging all tests with category attributes, categorizing/tagging/ labeling each test, compare happy vs error paths, audit the test mix, describe coverage shape by test type, or tag then verify the project builds. Read bodies when names mislead. Apply canonical attributes; otherwise report only. DO NOT USE FOR: requests owned by test-anti-patterns, coverage-analysis, crap-score, test-gap-analysis, code-testing-agent, or migration skills.

MUST USE for C#/.NET deterministic tests that require the smallest production seam for DateTime/Task.Delay/File/Environment/Guid/Random, static API preservation, nested/parallel overrides, or no real I/O. USE ONLY when the target workspace contains C# source plus a .csproj or .sln. DO NOT USE for audits, bulk migration, code that already has an injectable seam, or an explicit migration to a user-named existing abstraction (migrate-static-to-wrapper). Use instead of general test generation when the requested test is impossible without a production edit and seam selection is still open.

ALWAYS USE when asked to fix, rewrite, update, improve, modernize, show corrected code for, or explain existing MSTest tests or MSTest-specific configuration. Use for "review" when corrected code or edits are wanted, even for one pasted assertion or passing tests with bad failure output. Covers expected/actual labels; generic Boolean, collection, string, numeric, null, identity, exception, hard-cast, and object[] checks; TestContext/lifecycle; timeout/cancellation; OS/CI conditions, retry, cleanup, parallelization, MSTest.Sdk project setup, and MSTESTxxxx. Honor the installed MSTest version. DO NOT USE to design new test cases (code-testing-agent), perform report-only audits, create project files rather than explain MSTest setup, run tests, migrate frameworks, or handle non-MSTest/non-.NET code.