DART Testing

Load this skill when writing or debugging tests.

Quick Commands

pixi run test         # Quick test run
pixi run test-all     # Full validation
pixi run -e cuda test-all # CUDA-enabled full validation on Linux CUDA hosts
pixi run test-unit    # Unit tests
pixi run test-py      # Python tests

Full Documentation

For complete testing guide: docs/onboarding/testing.md

For CI/CD troubleshooting: docs/onboarding/ci-cd.md

Test Organization

• Unit tests: tests/unit/
• Integration tests: tests/integration/
• Regression tests: Near the code they test

Writing Tests

1. Follow existing patterns in the test directory
2. Use GoogleTest framework
3. Name tests descriptively: TEST(ClassName, MethodName_Condition_ExpectedResult)

CI Validation

Before submitting PR:

pixi run lint         # Must pass
pixi run test-all     # Must pass
pixi run -e cuda test-all # Must pass on Linux CUDA hosts

Debugging Test Failures

# Run the smallest existing Pixi test task that covers the failure
pixi run test-unit

# Get CI logs
gh run view <RUN_ID> --log-failed

Simulation And Visual End-to-End Checks

When a failure or change depends on 3D structure or behavior, also load dart-verify-sim: text-first oracle, then an assessed headless capture with claim-relevant debug layers, or a concrete reason when visual corroboration is unavailable or not applicable.

Gotchas

• pixi run build builds libraries only, NOT the unit-test binaries. If you run ctest without building the test target first, you may execute stale binaries that silently pass. Use the guarded runner tasks (for example pixi run test-simulation, which builds dart_simulation_tests first) instead of a raw ctest -L <label> against a stale binary.
• pixi run test-all is the default-environment full gate. On Linux hosts with a visible NVIDIA CUDA runtime, also run pixi run -e cuda test-all; the CUDA run preserves the cuda Pixi environment and executes the CUDA CTest + benchmark smoke path when the runtime is detected.
• The CUDA Pixi config auto-detects visible GPU compute capabilities for DART_CUDA_ARCHITECTURES; unsupported PTX/toolchain errors usually mean the generated CUDA architecture flags need to be checked before blaming test code.