Go Testing Best Practices

This skill provides actionable testing guidelines. For detailed implementation patterns, code examples, rationale, and production system references, consult go-testing-best-practices.md.

When Working with Go Tests

Always apply these current best practices:

1. Test Organisation

• Place test files alongside source code using *_test.go naming
• Use internal tests (same package) for unit testing unexported functions
• Use external tests (package foo_test) for integration testing and examples
• Split test files by functionality when they exceed 500-800 lines (e.g., handler_auth_test.go, handler_validation_test.go)

2. Table-Driven Testing

• Prefer map-based tables over slice-based for automatic unique test names
• Use descriptive test case names that appear in failure output
• See detailed guide for complete pattern and examples