TDD Implementation Skill

Enforce a strict test-driven development cycle: Red → Green → Refactor → Commit.

Steps

1. Understand the Requirement

Read the task description carefully. Identify:

• What behavior needs to exist (inputs, outputs, side effects)
• Where it belongs in the codebase (which workspace, which module)
• Acceptance criteria (what “done” looks like)

If the requirement is ambiguous, ask the user for clarification before writing any code.

2. Find the Right Test File

Locate or create the test file following project conventions:

• Colocated tests: src/foo.ts → src/foo.test.ts
• Test directory: src/routes/bar.ts → src/tests/routes/bar.test.ts
• Monorepo: Check each workspace’s vitest/jest config for test file patterns

If no test file exists, create one with proper imports and describe() block.

3. Verify Mock Setup (Bootstrap Phase)

Before writing any tests, validate that your mocks will work correctly:

1. Check test runner config for mockReset/mockClear/restoreMocks settings:

grep -rn 'mockReset\|mockClear\|restoreMocks' vitest.config.* jest.config.*

If mockReset: true is set, mocks are reset between tests — you MUST reconfigure return values in beforeEach, not at module scope.

2. Write ONE minimal test that imports the module under test and verifies mocks resolve correctly:

import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";

const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
  myDep: vi.fn(),
}));

vi.mock("../path/to/dependency", () => ({
  myDep: (...args: unknown[]) => mocks.myDep(...args),
}));

describe("bootstrap", () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    mocks.myDep.mockResolvedValue({ ok: true });
  });

  it("mock resolves correctly", async () => {
    const { myDep } = await import("../path/to/dependency");
    expect(await myDep()).toEqual({ ok: true });
  });
});

3. Run it and confirm it passes:

npx vitest run <test-file> --reporter=verbose

4. Only then proceed to write the full test suite following that proven mock pattern.

Why this matters: vi.hoisted() moves mock declarations above vi.mock() hoisting, avoiding temporal dead zone issues. Validating one mock round-trip before writing 20 tests saves significant debugging time.

4. Write Failing Tests FIRST (Red Phase)

Remove the bootstrap test once you’ve confirmed the mock pattern works.

Write test cases that describe the expected behavior. Include:

• Happy path: Normal operation with valid inputs
• Edge cases: Empty inputs, boundary values, missing optional fields
• Error cases: Invalid inputs, unauthorized access, missing resources

npx vitest run <test-file> --reporter=verbose

Checkpoint: All new tests MUST fail. If any pass, the tests are not testing new behavior — revise them.

5. Implement Minimum Code (Green Phase)

Write the minimum code to make all tests pass. Do NOT:

• Add features not covered by tests
• Optimize prematurely
• Add error handling for untested scenarios
• Refactor existing code (that’s the next step)

npx vitest run <test-file> --reporter=verbose

Checkpoint: All tests (new and existing) MUST pass.

6. Run the FULL Test Suite

Never skip this step:

npx vitest run --reporter=verbose

If any tests outside your file fail:

1. Determine if your change caused the regression
2. If yes → fix it before proceeding
3. If no (pre-existing failure) → note it but continue

7. Refactor (Optional)

If the implementation can be cleaner, refactor now while tests are green:

• Extract helpers for repeated logic
• Improve naming
• Simplify conditionals

Re-run the full suite after any refactor.

8. Quality Gates

Run lint and type checks on affected workspaces:

npx eslint <changed-files>
npx tsc --noEmit

Fix any issues before committing.

9. Commit

Stage only the files you changed and commit:

type(scope): description

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS: Optional description of what to implement via TDD
  • Example: /tdd add rate limiting to the search endpoint
  • If empty, ask the user what to implement

Key Rules

1. Never write implementation before tests — this is the whole point of TDD
2. Never skip step 3 — validate your mock pattern with ONE test before writing 20
3. Never skip step 6 — the full suite must pass, not just your file
4. Tests should fail for the RIGHT reason — a test that fails because of a missing import isn’t a valid “red” test
5. One logical change per cycle — don’t batch multiple features into one TDD cycle
6. When tests fail after refactor, question the TESTS first — they may have bad assumptions

Mock Patterns Reference

Forwarding Pattern (survives mockReset)

const mockFn = vi.fn();
vi.mock("./dep", () => ({
  dep: (...args: unknown[]) => mockFn(...args),
}));
beforeEach(() => {
  mockFn.mockResolvedValue(defaultResult);
});

Counter-Based Sequencing (multi-query operations)

let callCount = 0;
mockExecute.mockImplementation(async () => {
  callCount++;
  if (callCount === 1) return insertResult;
  if (callCount === 2) return selectResult;
});

globalThis Registry (TDZ workaround)

vi.mock("./dep", () => {
  if (!(globalThis as any).__mocks) (globalThis as any).__mocks = {};
  const m = { dep: vi.fn() };
  (globalThis as any).__mocks.dep = m;
  return { dep: (...a: unknown[]) => m.dep(...a) };
});
// In tests: const mocks = (globalThis as any).__mocks;