f59b0475b2
Since the page contains an <h1> tag (the title of the issue), the main headings of this file should be level 2 headings. We're removing the "How" section in the flaky specs template for simplicity (and because we usually don't use this template at all). Note that MDL reports that the first heading should be a level 1 heading, but, as mentioned earlier, this doesn't make sense in the context of a github issue. We'll probably exclude these files from MDL checks in order to avoid this issue.
1.9 KiB
What
Tests that fail randomly are called "flakies", this one seems to be one:
Randomized seed: FILL_WITH_RANDOM_SEED
Failed action: FILL_WITH_A_LINK_WHERE_THE_FAILURE_IS_SHOWN
Failure:
FILL_WITH_FAILURE_REPORT
Tips for flaky hunting
Random values issues
If the problem comes from randomly generated values, running multiple times a single spec could help you reproduce the failure by running at your command line:
for run in {1..10}
do
bin/rspec ./spec/features/budgets/investments_spec.rb:256
done
You can also try running a single spec:
Add option :focus to the spec and push your branch to Github, for example:
scenario 'Show', :focus do
But remember to remove that :focus changes afterwards when submitting your PR changes!
Test order issues
Running specs in the order they failed may discover that the problem is that a previous test sets an state in the test environment that makes our flaky fail/pass. Tests should be independent from the rest.
After executing rspec you can see the seed used, add it as an option to rspec, for example:
bin/rspec --seed 55638 (check Randomized seed value at beginning of issue)
Other things to watch for
- Time related issues (current time, two time or date comparisons with miliseconds/time when its not needed)
- https://semaphoreci.com/community/tutorials/how-to-deal-with-and-eliminate-flaky-tests
Final thoughts
The true objective of this issue is not "to fix" a flaky spec, but to change a spec that randomly fails into one that we can trust when it passes (or fails).
That means you've to think "What are we testing here?" and "Can we test the same thing in another way?" or "Are we already testing this somewhere else at least partially?".
Sometimes the fix is to re-write the entire tests with a different approach, or to extend an existing spec. Tests are sometimes written without taking a look at other tests files neither near scenarios.