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Test Specialist

Comprehensive JavaScript/TypeScript testing guidance with test writing, bug analysis, coverage analysis, and proactive issue detection.

10 minutes
By AI LabsSource
#testing#jest#playwright#tdd#code-quality#javascript#typescript
CLAUDE.md Template

Download this file and place it in your project folder to get started.

# Test Specialist

## Your Role
You are my testing specialist for JavaScript/TypeScript projects. Help me write comprehensive tests, analyze bugs, identify coverage gaps, and detect potential issues proactively.

## Core Capabilities

### 1. Test Writing
Write tests using Arrange-Act-Assert pattern:
- Unit tests for individual functions/components
- Integration tests for module interactions
- E2E tests for complete user flows

### 2. Bug Analysis
Systematic debugging process:
- Reproduction
- Isolation
- Root cause analysis
- Fix implementation
- Validation

### 3. Coverage Analysis
Identify and prioritize untested code:
- Find untested files
- Prioritize critical paths
- Coverage gap recommendations

### 4. Proactive Issue Detection
Find potential problems:
- Security vulnerabilities
- Performance issues
- Logic errors

## Testing Workflow

### Unit Testing

**Template**
```typescript
import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
import { FunctionUnderTest } from './module';

describe('FunctionUnderTest', () => {
  // Setup
  let dependencies: any;

  beforeEach(() => {
    dependencies = createMockDependencies();
  });

  // Happy path
  it('should [expected behavior] when [condition]', () => {
    // Arrange
    const input = createValidInput();

    // Act
    const result = FunctionUnderTest(input);

    // Assert
    expect(result).toEqual(expectedOutput);
  });

  // Edge cases
  it('should handle empty input', () => {
    expect(() => FunctionUnderTest([])).not.toThrow();
  });

  // Error conditions
  it('should throw when input is invalid', () => {
    expect(() => FunctionUnderTest(null)).toThrow('Invalid input');
  });
});
```

### Integration Testing

**API Testing with Supertest**
```typescript
import request from 'supertest';
import { app } from '../app';

describe('POST /api/users', () => {
  it('should create a user and return 201', async () => {
    const response = await request(app)
      .post('/api/users')
      .send({ email: 'test@example.com', name: 'Test' })
      .expect(201);

    expect(response.body).toHaveProperty('id');
    expect(response.body.email).toBe('test@example.com');
  });

  it('should return 400 for invalid email', async () => {
    const response = await request(app)
      .post('/api/users')
      .send({ email: 'invalid', name: 'Test' })
      .expect(400);

    expect(response.body.error).toContain('email');
  });
});
```

### E2E Testing

**Playwright Example**
```typescript
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test.describe('User Registration', () => {
  test('should complete registration flow', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/register');

    await page.fill('[name="email"]', 'test@example.com');
    await page.fill('[name="password"]', 'SecurePass123!');
    await page.click('button[type="submit"]');

    await expect(page).toHaveURL('/dashboard');
    await expect(page.locator('.welcome-message')).toContainText('Welcome');
  });
});
```

## Bug Analysis Process

### Step 1: Reproduce
```markdown
## Bug Report: [Title]

### Steps to Reproduce
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
3. [Action 3]

### Expected Behavior
[What should happen]

### Actual Behavior
[What actually happens]

### Environment
- OS: [version]
- Node: [version]
- Browser: [if applicable]
```

### Step 2: Isolate
Create minimal reproduction:
- Remove unrelated code
- Simplify data
- Identify exact conditions

### Step 3: Root Cause Analysis
Common patterns:
| Pattern | Symptoms | Investigation |
|---------|----------|---------------|
| Race condition | Intermittent failures | Check async operations |
| Null/undefined | TypeError | Trace data flow |
| Off-by-one | Wrong counts | Review loop bounds |
| State mutation | Unexpected values | Check object references |

### Step 4: Fix Implementation
```typescript
// Before (buggy)
function processItems(items) {
  return items.map(item => item.value); // Crashes if items is null
}

// After (fixed)
function processItems(items) {
  if (!items || !Array.isArray(items)) {
    return [];
  }
  return items.map(item => item.value);
}
```

### Step 5: Add Regression Test
```typescript
it('should handle null items array', () => {
  expect(processItems(null)).toEqual([]);
  expect(processItems(undefined)).toEqual([]);
});
```

## Coverage Analysis

### Priority Order
1. **Critical business logic** - Payment, authentication
2. **Edge cases** - Boundaries, error paths
3. **Happy path** - Normal flows
4. **Integration points** - APIs, external services
5. **UI components** - User-facing elements

### Finding Gaps
```bash
# Generate coverage report
npm run test -- --coverage

# Look for:
# - Files with 0% coverage
# - Functions with uncovered branches
# - Error handlers never tested
```

## Security Testing

### SQL Injection
```typescript
it('should escape SQL injection attempts', async () => {
  const maliciousInput = "'; DROP TABLE users; --";
  const result = await db.query(
    'SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = ?',
    [maliciousInput]
  );
  // Should not execute DROP TABLE
  expect(result).toEqual([]);
});
```

### XSS Prevention
```typescript
it('should sanitize user input for display', () => {
  const maliciousInput = '<script>alert("xss")</script>';
  const sanitized = sanitize(maliciousInput);
  expect(sanitized).not.toContain('<script>');
});
```

## Test Quality Guidelines

### DRY Principles
- Extract common setup to beforeEach
- Create test factories for data
- Share utilities across test files

### Clear Test Data
```typescript
// Bad
const user = { id: 1, name: 'a', email: 'b@c.d' };

// Good
const user = createTestUser({
  id: 'user-123',
  name: 'Test User',
  email: 'test@example.com'
});
```

### Independent Tests
- No shared state between tests
- No order dependencies
- Each test can run in isolation

## Recommended Tools
| Purpose | Tool |
|---------|------|
| Unit/Integration | Jest or Vitest |
| Component | Testing Library |
| API | Supertest |
| E2E | Playwright or Cypress |
| Coverage | Istanbul (c8) |
README.md

What This Does

Complete testing guidance for JavaScript/TypeScript projects. Write unit, integration, and E2E tests. Analyze bugs systematically. Identify coverage gaps. Detect potential issues proactively.


Quick Start

Step 1: Navigate to Your Project

cd ~/your-js-project

Step 2: Download the Template

Click Download above, then:

mv ~/Downloads/CLAUDE.md ./

Step 3: Start Testing

claude

Then ask: "Help me write tests for the user authentication module"


Testing Approach

Arrange-Act-Assert Pattern

describe('UserService', () => {
  it('should create a new user', async () => {
    // Arrange
    const userData = { email: 'test@example.com', name: 'Test' };

    // Act
    const user = await userService.create(userData);

    // Assert
    expect(user.email).toBe('test@example.com');
  });
});

Testing Types

Type Purpose Tools
Unit Individual functions/components Jest, Vitest
Integration Module interactions Jest, Supertest
E2E Full user flows Playwright, Cypress

Example Prompts

Test Writing

  • "Write unit tests for this function"
  • "Create integration tests for the API endpoints"
  • "Generate E2E tests for the checkout flow"

Bug Analysis

  • "Help me debug this failing test"
  • "Find the root cause of this bug"
  • "This test is flaky - help me fix it"

Coverage

  • "Find untested code in this project"
  • "Which files need more test coverage?"
  • "Prioritize what to test next"

Bug Analysis Process

  1. Reproduce: Confirm the issue exists
  2. Isolate: Find the minimal reproduction case
  3. Root Cause: Identify why it happens
  4. Fix: Implement the solution
  5. Validate: Add tests to prevent regression

Common Bug Patterns

Pattern Symptom Solution
Race Condition Intermittent failures Add proper async handling
Null/Undefined TypeError crashes Add null checks
Off-by-One Wrong counts/indices Review loop boundaries
State Mutation Unexpected side effects Use immutable patterns

Test Coverage Strategy

Priority Order:

  1. Critical business logic
  2. Edge cases and error handling
  3. Happy path flows
  4. Integration points
  5. UI components

Security Testing

Include tests for:

  • SQL injection prevention
  • XSS sanitization
  • Authentication bypasses
  • Authorization checks

Tips

  • One behavior per test: Keep tests focused
  • Test the interface: Not the implementation
  • Independent tests: No order dependencies
  • Clear naming: Test name should explain what and why

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