NIC Testing Patterns

Build and Test Commands

Always use make test over raw go test. Run make test-update-snaps when template output changes.

Note: Helm tests use the //go:build helmunit build tag -- they are only compiled and run when -tags=helmunit is passed (included in make test).

Go Unit Tests

Table-Driven Tests (primary pattern)

func TestValidateMyPolicy(t *testing.T) {
    t.Parallel()
    tests := []struct {
        policy *v1.Policy
        isPlus bool
        msg    string
    }{
        { /* valid case */ },
        { /* edge case */ },
    }
    for _, test := range tests {
        err := ValidatePolicy(test.policy, test.isPlus, false, false)
        if err != nil {
            t.Errorf("ValidatePolicy returned error %v for case: %s", err, test.msg)
        }
    }
}

Naming Convention

Two conventions are in use -- both are acceptable:

Policy/transport tests (policy_test.go, transportserver_test.go):

• TestValidate<Thing>_PassesOnValidInput
• TestValidate<Thing>_FailsOnInvalidInput

VirtualServer/general tests (virtualserver_test.go and most other files):

• TestValidate<Thing> (valid input, often with subtests)
• TestValidate<Thing>Fails (invalid input)
• TestGenerate<Feature>

Snapshot Tests (template output)

Every test file that uses snaps.MatchSnapshot must have a TestMain that cleans up stale snapshots:

func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
    snaps.Clean(m, snaps.CleanOpts{Sort: true})
}

Example snapshot test:

func TestVirtualServerForNginx(t *testing.T) {
    t.Parallel()
    executor := newTmplExecutorNGINX(t)
    data, err := executor.ExecuteVirtualServerTemplate(&virtualServerCfg)
    require.NoError(t, err)
    snaps.MatchSnapshot(t, string(data))
}

Helper Conventions

• Always call t.Parallel() at the start
• Use t.Helper() in helper functions
• Use github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp for deep struct comparison
• Use github.com/gkampitakis/go-snaps/snaps for snapshot tests

Helm Tests

Location: charts/tests/

• helmunit_test.go -- Helm snapshot tests using terratest + go-snaps
• testdata/ -- values.yaml overrides per test scenario

Add a test values file in charts/tests/testdata/<feature>.yaml and a corresponding test case in helmunit_test.go.

Python Integration Tests

Location: tests/suite/

Test Class Pattern

@pytest.mark.policies
@pytest.mark.policies_myfeature
@pytest.mark.parametrize(
    "crd_ingress_controller, virtual_server_setup",
    [({"type": "complete", "extra_args": [...]},
      {"example": "virtual-server", "app_type": "simple"})],
    indirect=True,
)
class TestMyFeaturePolicies:
    def test_basic_functionality(self, kube_apis, crd_ingress_controller,
                                  virtual_server_setup, test_namespace):
        # 1. Create policy from YAML
        pol_name = create_policy_from_yaml(
            kube_apis.custom_objects, yaml_src, test_namespace
        )
        wait_before_test()
        # 2. Patch VS to reference policy
        patch_virtual_server_from_yaml(...)
        # 3. Assert HTTP responses
        resp = requests.get(url, headers={"host": vs_host})
        assert resp.status_code == 200
        assert "Expected-Header" in resp.headers
        # 4. Cleanup
        delete_policy(kube_apis.custom_objects, pol_name, test_namespace)
        patch_virtual_server_from_yaml(...)  # restore original

Fixtures and Utilities

• Common fixtures: kube_apis, crd_ingress_controller, virtual_server_setup, test_namespace
• Fixtures: tests/suite/fixtures/ (setup/teardown lifecycle)
• Utilities: tests/suite/utils/ (create_policy_from_yaml, patch_virtual_server_from_yaml, delete_policy, wait_before_test)
• Prefer event/status-based waits over fixed sleeps when possible

File Naming

• test_<feature>_policies_vs.py -- VirtualServer policy tests
• test_<feature>_policies_vsr.py -- VirtualServerRoute policy tests
• test_<feature>_policies_ingress.py -- Ingress policy tests

Test Data

Store YAML manifests in tests/data/<feature>/.

Gotchas

• Always run make test-update-snaps after changing any .tmpl file -- snapshot tests will fail otherwise
• Never run raw go test -- use make test which includes required build tags
• Snapshot golden files are in __snapshots__/ directories -- commit the regenerated files
• Every snapshot test file requires a TestMain with snaps.Clean(m, snaps.CleanOpts{Sort: true}) -- omitting it causes stale snapshots to accumulate
• Python tests use indirect=True parametrize for IC + VS setup -- do not remove this