TestProf: RSpec Performance Optimization

Expert guidance for diagnosing and fixing slow RSpec test suites. Based on field-tested techniques from Evil Martians' work reducing a 30,000-spec Rails suite from 4m30s to 2m (and targeting 1m30s with parallelization).

The core idea: slow test suites are rarely slow for one reason. They're slow for a handful of fixable reasons, stacked. This skill walks you through diagnosing which reasons apply, then fixing each one — in an order that avoids wasted effort.

How to use this skill

When a user brings a slow RSpec suite, investigate their actual codebase before prescribing anything. A skill full of generic advice is worse than useless — the value is in mapping the general patterns onto their specific code. Follow this order: