Unit & Integration Testing

Quick Reference

bench --site test_site run-tests

bench --site test_site run-tests --app myapp

bench --site test_site run-tests --doctype "Sales Order"

bench --site test_site run-tests --doctype "Sales Order" --test test_submit

bench --site test_site run-tests --module "myapp.mymodule.doctype.mydt.test_mydt"

bench --site test_site run-tests --doctype "Task" --profile

bench --site test_site run-tests --failfast

bench --site test_site run-tests --junit-xml-output /path/report.xml

bench --site test_site run-tests --skip-test-records --skip-before-tests

from frappe.tests.utils import FrappeTestCase

from frappe.tests.classes import UnitTestCase

from frappe.tests.classes import IntegrationTestCase

Decision Tree: Which Test Base Class?

Need to test a function or method in isolation?
├─ YES → Does it require database access?
│   ├─ NO → UnitTestCase (v15+) or FrappeTestCase (v14)
│   └─ YES → IntegrationTestCase (v15+) or FrappeTestCase (v14)
└─ NO → Need to test document lifecycle (create/submit/cancel)?
    ├─ YES → IntegrationTestCase (v15+) or FrappeTestCase (v14)
    └─ NO → Need to test permissions or user context?
        ├─ YES → IntegrationTestCase (v15+) or FrappeTestCase (v14)
        └─ NO → UnitTestCase (v15+) or FrappeTestCase (v14)

Version note: In v14,

FrappeTestCase

UnitTestCase

IntegrationTestCase

Test Base Classes

FrappeTestCase (v14: still works in v15+ as compatibility wrapper)

from frappe.tests.utils import FrappeTestCase

class TestMyDoctype(FrappeTestCase):
    def test_something(self):
        doc = frappe.get_doc({"doctype": "My Doctype", "field": "value"})
        doc.insert()
        self.assertEqual(doc.field, "value")

Behavior: Resets

frappe.local.flags

super().setUpClass()

setUpClass

UnitTestCase (v15+): No Database Access

from frappe.tests.classes import UnitTestCase

class TestMyUtils(UnitTestCase):
    def test_calculation(self):
        result = my_calculation(10, 20)
        self.assertEqual(result, 30)

    def test_html_output(self):
        html = generate_html()
        self.assertEqual(self.normalize_html(html), self.normalize_html(expected))

Behavior: Sets

frappe.set_user("Administrator")

setUpClass

normalize_html()

normalize_sql()

assertDocumentEqual()

assertQueryEqual()

assertSequenceSubset()

IntegrationTestCase (v15+): Full Database Access

from frappe.tests.classes import IntegrationTestCase

class TestSalesOrder(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_submit_order(self):
        so = frappe.get_doc({
            "doctype": "Sales Order",
            "customer": "_Test Customer",
            "items": [{"item_code": "_Test Item", "qty": 1, "rate": 100}]
        }).insert()
        so.submit()
        self.assertEqual(so.docstatus, 1)

Behavior: Extends

UnitTestCase

frappe.init()

make_test_records()

primary_connection()

secondary_connection()

maxDiff = 10_000

Test File Structure

ALWAYS place test files in the doctype directory following this naming convention:

myapp/
└── mymodule/
    └── doctype/
        └── my_doctype/
            ├── my_doctype.py          # DocType controller
            ├── my_doctype.json        # DocType definition
            ├── test_my_doctype.py     # Test file (MUST start with test_)
            └── test_records.json      # Optional: test fixtures

Rules:

• ALWAYS prefix test files with

  test_

  — the test runner ignores files without this prefix
• ALWAYS use

  test_{doctype_in_snake_case}.py

  for doctype tests
• NEVER place test files outside the doctype directory for doctype-specific tests
• Non-doctype tests can live in any module, but MUST follow the

  test_*.py

  naming

Test Fixtures

Method 1: test_records.json (Static Fixtures)

Create a

test_records.json

[
    {
        "doctype": "My Doctype",
        "field1": "_Test Value 1",
        "field2": 100
    },
    {
        "doctype": "My Doctype",
        "field1": "_Test Value 2",
        "field2": 200
    }
]

Rules:

• ALWAYS prefix test data values with

  _Test

  to distinguish from production data
• The test runner auto-loads these before running tests for the doctype
• Link field dependencies are resolved automatically — the runner builds records for linked DocTypes first

Method 2: _test_records List (In-Module Fixtures)

_test_records = [
    {"doctype": "My Doctype", "field1": "_Test Value 1"},
    {"doctype": "My Doctype", "field1": "_Test Value 2"},
]

Method 3: Programmatic Fixtures (Recommended for Complex Data)

def create_test_data():
    if frappe.flags.test_data_created:
        return
    frappe.set_user("Administrator")
    frappe.get_doc({
        "doctype": "My Doctype",
        "field1": "_Test Value",
    }).insert()
    frappe.flags.test_data_created = True

class TestMyDoctype(IntegrationTestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        create_test_data()

ALWAYS use

frappe.flags

Testing Patterns

Testing Document Lifecycle

class TestInvoice(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_full_lifecycle(self):
        # Create
        doc = frappe.get_doc({"doctype": "Sales Invoice", ...}).insert()
        self.assertEqual(doc.docstatus, 0)  # Draft

        # Submit
        doc.submit()
        self.assertEqual(doc.docstatus, 1)  # Submitted

        # Cancel
        doc.cancel()
        self.assertEqual(doc.docstatus, 2)  # Cancelled

Testing Permissions

class TestPermissions(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_user_cannot_read_private(self):
        frappe.set_user("test1@example.com")
        doc = frappe.get_doc("Event", {"subject": "_Test Private Event"})
        self.assertFalse(frappe.has_permission("Event", doc=doc))

    def tearDown(self):
        # ALWAYS reset user in tearDown
        frappe.set_user("Administrator")

Testing with User Context (v15+ Context Manager)

class TestAccess(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_restricted_access(self):
        with self.set_user("test1@example.com"):
            self.assertRaises(
                frappe.PermissionError,
                frappe.get_doc, "Salary Slip", "SAL-001"
            )
        # User automatically restored after context manager exits

Testing Whitelisted Methods

class TestAPI(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_whitelisted_method(self):
        frappe.set_user("test1@example.com")
        result = frappe.call("myapp.api.get_dashboard_data", filters={})
        self.assertIsInstance(result, dict)
        self.assertIn("total", result)

Mocking External Services

from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock

class TestIntegration(IntegrationTestCase):
    @patch("myapp.integrations.stripe.requests.post")
    def test_payment_gateway(self, mock_post):
        mock_post.return_value = MagicMock(
            status_code=200,
            json=lambda: {"status": "success", "id": "ch_123"}
        )
        result = process_payment(amount=1000, currency="USD")
        self.assertEqual(result["status"], "success")
        mock_post.assert_called_once()

Testing with Settings Changes

class TestFeature(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_with_modified_settings(self):
        with self.change_settings("Selling Settings", {"so_required": 1}):
            # Settings temporarily changed
            self.assertRaises(frappe.ValidationError, create_delivery_note)
        # Settings automatically reverted

Testing with Hook Overrides

class TestHooks(IntegrationTestCase):
    def test_custom_hook(self):
        with self.patch_hooks({"on_submit": ["myapp.hooks.custom_on_submit"]}):
            doc = create_and_submit_doc()
            # Verify hook was executed

Context Managers Reference

set_user(user)

change_settings(dt, **kw)

patch_hooks(overrides)

freeze_time(time)

debug_on(*exceptions)

timeout(seconds)

enable_safe_exec()

switch_site(site)

assertQueryCount(n)

assertRedisCallCounts(**kw)

assertRowsRead(n)

Database State Management

• IntegrationTestCase: ALWAYS rolls back database after each test — no cleanup needed
• UnitTestCase: No database connection — NEVER use

  frappe.db

  calls
• Each test gets a clean state: transactions start in

  setUp

  and rollback in

  tearDown

• NEVER call

  frappe.db.commit()

  in tests — this breaks test isolation
• Use

  frappe.flags.in_test

  to check if code is running under the test runner

Detecting Test Mode

if frappe.flags.in_test:
    # Skip external API calls, emails, etc.
    return mock_response()

NEVER use

frappe.flags.in_test

Common Pitfalls

1. NEVER forget

   super().setUpClass()

   — omitting this breaks fixture loading and user setup
2. NEVER call

   frappe.db.commit()

   in tests — this persists data across tests and breaks isolation
3. ALWAYS reset user in

   tearDown

   if you called

   frappe.set_user()

   directly (v14 pattern)
4. ALWAYS prefix test data with

   _Test

   — makes cleanup and identification easy
5. NEVER rely on test execution order — each test MUST be independent
6. ALWAYS use

   frappe.flags

   to guard fixture creation — prevents duplicate inserts

See Also

• references/examples.md — Complete test examples
• references/anti-patterns.md — Common mistakes and fixes
• references/fixtures.md — Fixture patterns in depth
• references/api-reference.md — Full API reference for test utilities
• frappe-testing-cicd — CI/CD pipeline setup