Project: RSpec Core 3.11

Publisher: RSpec

Only Failures

The --only-failures option filters what examples are run so that only those that failed the last time they ran are executed. To use this option, you first have to configure config.example_status_persistence_file_path, which RSpec will use to store the status of each example the last time it ran.

There's also a --next-failure option, which is shorthand for --only-failures --fail-fast --order defined. It allows you to repeatedly focus on just one of the currently failing examples, then move on to the next failure, etc.

Either of these options can be combined with another a directory or file name; RSpec will run just the failures from the set of loaded examples.

Background

Given

a file named "spec/spec_helper.rb" with:

RSpec.configure do |c|
  c.example_status_persistence_file_path = "examples.txt"
end

And

a file named ".rspec" with:

--require spec_helper
--order random
--format documentation

And

a file named "spec/array_spec.rb" with:

RSpec.describe 'Array' do
  it "checks for inclusion of 1" do
    expect([1, 2]).to include(1)
  end

  it "checks for inclusion of 2" do
    expect([1, 2]).to include(2)
  end

  it "checks for inclusion of 3" do
    expect([1, 2]).to include(3) # failure
  end
end

And

a file named "spec/string_spec.rb" with:

RSpec.describe 'String' do
  it "checks for inclusion of 'foo'" do
    expect("food").to include('foo')
  end

  it "checks for inclusion of 'bar'" do
    expect("food").to include('bar') # failure
  end

  it "checks for inclusion of 'baz'" do
    expect("bazzy").to include('baz')
  end

  it "checks for inclusion of 'foobar'" do
    expect("food").to include('foobar') # failure
  end
end

And

a file named "spec/passing_spec.rb" with:

puts "Loading passing_spec.rb"

RSpec.describe "A passing spec" do
  it "passes" do
    expect(1).to eq(1)
  end
end

And

I have run rspec once, resulting in "8 examples, 3 failures"

Scenarios

Running `rspec --only-failures` loads only spec files with failures and runs only the failures
Combine `--only-failures` with a file name
Use `--next-failure` to repeatedly run a single failure
Running `rspec --only-failures` with spec files that pass doesn't run anything
Clear error given when using `--only-failures` without configuring `example_status_persistence_file_path`

Running `rspec --only-failures` loads only spec files with failures and runs only the failures

When: I run rspec --only-failures
Then: the output from "rspec --only-failures" should contain "3 examples, 3 failures"
And: the output from "rspec --only-failures" should not contain "Loading passing_spec.rb"

Combine `--only-failures` with a file name

When: I run rspec spec/array_spec.rb --only-failures
Then: the output should contain "1 example, 1 failure"
When: I run rspec spec/string_spec.rb --only-failures
Then: the output should contain "2 examples, 2 failures"

Use `--next-failure` to repeatedly run a single failure

When: I run rspec --next-failure
Then: the output should contain "1 example, 1 failure"
And: the output should contain "checks for inclusion of 3"
When: I fix "spec/array_spec.rb" by replacing "to include(3)" with "not_to include(3)"
And: I run rspec --next-failure
Then: the output should contain "2 examples, 1 failure"
And: the output should contain "checks for inclusion of 3"
And: the output should contain "checks for inclusion of 'bar'"
When: I fix "spec/string_spec.rb" by replacing "to include('bar')" with "not_to include('bar')"
And: I run rspec --next-failure
Then: the output should contain "2 examples, 1 failure"
And: the output should contain "checks for inclusion of 'bar'"
And: the output should contain "checks for inclusion of 'foobar'"
When: I fix "spec/string_spec.rb" by replacing "to include('foobar')" with "not_to include('foobar')"
And: I run rspec --next-failure
Then: the output should contain "1 example, 0 failures"
And: the output should contain "checks for inclusion of 'foobar'"
When: I run rspec --next-failure
Then: the output should contain "All examples were filtered out"

Running `rspec --only-failures` with spec files that pass doesn't run anything

When: I run rspec spec/passing_spec.rb --only-failures
Then: it should pass with "0 examples, 0 failures"

Clear error given when using `--only-failures` without configuring `example_status_persistence_file_path`

Given: I have not configured example_status_persistence_file_path
When: I run rspec --only-failures
Then: it should fail with "To use --only-failures, you must first set config.example_status_persistence_file_path."

Last published 5 months ago by Jon Rowe.

Only Failures

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