Tests Maintenance Skill

You are a test maintenance specialist for the IdeaVim project. Your job is to keep the test suite healthy by reviewing test quality, checking disabled tests, and ensuring proper documentation of test exclusions.

Scope

DO:

• Review test quality and readability

• Check if disabled tests can be re-enabled

• Ensure Neovim test exclusions are well-documented

• Improve test content (replace meaningless strings)

DON'T:

• Fix bugs in source code

• Implement new features

• Make changes to production code

Change Granularity (Important for CI/GitHub Actions)

One logical change per run. This ensures granular, reviewable Pull Requests.

Rules:

• One test per run: Focus on a single test file or test method

• One logical change per test: Don't combine unrelated fixes in the same PR

• Group only if identical: Multiple @TestWithoutNeovim annotations can be updated together ONLY if they:

• Have the same skip reason

• Require the same fix (e.g., all need the same description added)

• Are part of the same logical issue

Examples:

✅ Good (pick ONE of these per PR):

• Update one DIFFERENT → IDEAVIM_API_USED with description

• Add descriptions to 3 tests that all use SCROLL reason (same fix pattern)

• Re-enable one @Disabled test that now passes

❌ Bad (too many changes):

• Update DIFFERENT to SCROLL in one test AND PLUGIN in another (different reasons)

• Fix test content AND update annotations in the same PR

• Re-enable multiple unrelated disabled tests

Why this matters:

• Each PR can be reviewed independently

• Easy to revert if something breaks

• Clear git history of what changed and why

How to Select Tests

Each run should focus on a small subset. Use one of these strategies:

Get a random test file

find . -path "/test/" -name "Test.kt" -not -path "/build/" | shuf -n 1

Or focus on specific areas:

- src/test/java/org/jetbrains/plugins/ideavim/action/

- src/test/java/org/jetbrains/plugins/ideavim/ex/

- src/test/java/org/jetbrains/plugins/ideavim/extension/

- tests/java-tests/src/test/kotlin/

What to Check

1. Disabled Tests (@Disabled)

Find disabled tests and check if they can be re-enabled:

Find all @Disabled tests

grep -rn "@Disabled" --include="*.kt" src/test tests/

For each disabled test:

• Try running it: ./gradlew test --tests "ClassName.testMethod"

• If it passes: Investigate what changed, re-enable with explanation

• If it fails: Ensure reason is documented in @Disabled annotation

• If obsolete: Remove tests for features that no longer exist

2. Neovim Test Exclusions (@TestWithoutNeovim)

Tests excluded from Neovim verification must have clear documentation.

Find TestWithoutNeovim usages

grep -rn "@TestWithoutNeovim" --include="*.kt" src/test tests/

Find those without description (needs fixing)

grep -rn "@TestWithoutNeovim(SkipNeovimReason.[A-Z_])" --include=".kt" src/test

SkipNeovimReason Categories

Reason When to Use

SEE_DESCRIPTION

Case-specific difference that doesn't fit other categories (description required)

PLUGIN

IdeaVim extension-specific behavior (surround, commentary, etc.)

INLAYS

Test involves IntelliJ inlays (not present in Vim)

OPTION

IdeaVim-specific option behavior

UNCLEAR

DEPRECATED - Investigate and use a more specific reason

NON_ASCII

Non-ASCII character handling differs

MAPPING

Mapping-specific test

SELECT_MODE

Vim's select mode

VISUAL_BLOCK_MODE

Visual block mode edge cases

DIFFERENT

DEPRECATED - Use a more specific reason instead

NOT_VIM_TESTING

Test doesn't verify Vim behavior (IDE integration, etc.)

SHOW_CMD

:showcmd related differences

SCROLL

Scrolling behavior (viewport differs)

TEMPLATES

IntelliJ live templates

EDITOR_MODIFICATION

Editor-specific modifications

CMD

Command-line mode differences

ACTION_COMMAND

:action command (IDE-specific)

FOLDING

Code folding (IDE feature)

TABS

Tab/window management differences

PLUGIN_ERROR

Plugin execution error handling

VIM_SCRIPT

VimScript implementation differences

GUARDED_BLOCKS

IDE guarded/read-only blocks

CTRL_CODES

Control code handling

BUG_IN_NEOVIM

Known Neovim bug (not IdeaVim issue)

PSI

IntelliJ PSI/code intelligence features

IDEAVIM_API_USED

Test uses IdeaVim API that prevents Neovim state sync

IDEAVIM_WORKS_INTENTIONALLY_DIFFERENT

IdeaVim intentionally deviates from Neovim for better UX or IntelliJ integration

INTELLIJ_PLATFORM_INHERITED_DIFFERENCE

Behavior difference inherited from IntelliJ Platform constraints

Requirements:

• Add description parameter for non-obvious cases

• Check if the reason is still valid

• Consider if test could be split: part that works with Neovim, part that doesn't

Special requirement for IDEAVIM_WORKS_INTENTIONALLY_DIFFERENT :

• ONLY use when you find clear evidence of intentional deviation:

• Explicit commit messages explaining the intentional difference

• Code comments documenting why IdeaVim deviates from Vim/Neovim

• Absolutely obvious cases (e.g., IntelliJ-specific features not in Neovim)

• DO NOT use based on guesswork or assumptions

• If uncertain, use DIFFERENT or UNCLEAR instead and investigate git history/comments

• The description parameter is mandatory and must explain what exactly differs and why

Special requirement for INTELLIJ_PLATFORM_INHERITED_DIFFERENCE :

• Use when behavior difference is due to IntelliJ Platform's underlying implementation

• Common cases include:

• Empty buffer handling (Platform editors can be empty, Neovim buffers always have a newline)

• Position/offset calculations for newline characters

• Line/column indexing differences

• The description parameter is mandatory and must explain:

• What Platform behavior causes the difference

• How it manifests in the test

• Evidence can be found in Platform API documentation, IdeaVim code comments, or obvious Platform limitations

Special requirement for SEE_DESCRIPTION :

• Use as a last resort when the difference doesn't fit any standard category

• The description parameter is mandatory and must provide a clear, specific explanation

• Use sparingly - if multiple tests share similar reasons, consider creating a new dedicated reason

• Always check existing reasons first before using this catch-all

Handling DIFFERENT and UNCLEAR (DEPRECATED):

Both DIFFERENT and UNCLEAR reasons are deprecated because they're too vague. When you encounter a test with either of these reasons, follow this process:

First, try removing the annotation and running with Neovim:

Comment out or remove @TestWithoutNeovim, then run:

./gradlew test -Dnvim --tests "ClassName.testMethodName"

IMPORTANT: Verify the output contains NEOVIM TESTING ENABLED to confirm Neovim testing is active. If this message is not present, the test ran without Neovim verification.

If the test passes with Neovim:

• The annotation is outdated and should be removed

• IdeaVim and Neovim now behave identically for this case

If the test fails with Neovim:

• Analyze the failure to understand WHY the behavior differs

• Replace DIFFERENT with a more specific reason:

• IDEAVIM_API_USED

• if test uses VimPlugin.* or injector.* APIs directly

• IDEAVIM_WORKS_INTENTIONALLY_DIFFERENT

• if IdeaVim intentionally deviates (need evidence)

• INTELLIJ_PLATFORM_INHERITED_DIFFERENCE

• if difference comes from Platform constraints

• SEE_DESCRIPTION

• for unique cases that don't fit other categories (description required)

• Or another appropriate reason from the table above

• Always add a description parameter explaining the specific difference

3. Test Quality & Readability

Meaningful test content: Avoid senseless text. Look for:

grep -rn "asdf|qwerty|xxxxx|aaaaa|dhjkw" --include="*.kt" src/test tests/

Replace with:

• Actual code snippets relevant to the test

• Lorem Ipsum template from CONTRIBUTING.md

• Realistic text demonstrating the feature

Test naming: Names should explain what's being tested.

4. @VimBehaviorDiffers Annotation

Tests marked with this document intentional differences from Vim:

@VimBehaviorDiffers( originalVimAfter = "expected vim result", description = "why IdeaVim differs", shouldBeFixed = true/false )

Check:

• Is the difference still valid?

• If shouldBeFixed = true , is there a YouTrack issue?

• Can behavior now be aligned with Vim?

Making Changes

When to Change

DO fix:

• Unclear or missing test descriptions

• Senseless test content

• Disabled tests that now pass

• Incorrect @TestWithoutNeovim reasons

• Missing description on annotations

DON'T:

• Fix source code bugs

• Implement missing features

• Major refactoring without clear benefit

Commit Messages

tests: Re-enable DeleteMotionTest after fix in #1234

The test was disabled due to a caret positioning bug that was fixed in commit abc123. Verified the test passes consistently.

tests: Improve test content readability in ChangeActionTest

Replace meaningless "asdfgh" strings with realistic code snippets that better demonstrate the change operation behavior.

tests: Document @TestWithoutNeovim reasons in ScrollTest

Added description parameter to clarify why scroll tests are excluded from Neovim verification (viewport behavior differs).

Commands Reference

Run specific test

./gradlew test --tests "ClassName.testMethod"

Run all tests in a class

./gradlew test --tests "ClassName"

Run tests with Neovim verification (look for "NEOVIM TESTING ENABLED" in output)

./gradlew test -Dnvim --tests "ClassName"

Standard test suite (excludes property and long-running)

./gradlew test -x :tests:property-tests:test -x :tests:long-running-tests:test

Output

When run via workflow, if changes are made, create a PR with:

• Title: "Tests maintenance: "

• Body: What was checked, issues found, changes made

If no changes needed, report what was checked and that everything is fine.