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testthat

INFRA · APIS
Velocity0.0

Unit testing framework for R packages

github.com/r-lib/testthat ↗

testthat now ships a reporter built for the coding agent running the tests.

testingcoding-agentsopentelemetrydeprecationsr-language
◆Current state
testthat is at 3.3.2, which added LlmReporter(), a reporter designed for LLM coding agents and used automatically inside Claude Code, Cursor and Gemini CLI, with AGENT=1 to opt any other agent in. The same release emits OpenTelemetry traces when tracing is enabled. It follows 3.3.0, a large lifecycle release that required R 4.1, made local_mock() and with_mock() defunct, and rewrote every expect_ failure message to state what was expected, what arrived and how they differ.
◆Where it's heading
Both threads point the same way: making test output legible to something other than a human reading a console. The 3.3.0 message rewrite made failures self-describing, and LlmReporter() plus OpenTelemetry take that to machine consumers — an agent parsing results and a tracing backend collecting them. The deprecation clean-out running underneath is the usual cost of getting there.
◆Prediction
With a reporter now shipped for coding agents and tracing behind optional packages, the next release most likely refines that reporter's output format rather than adding another consumer.

◆Recent moves

  1. 7mo ago

    testthat 3.3.2

    ⚡ SPARK

    testthat starts treating coding agents as a first-class consumer of test results, with a dedicated reporter that activates automatically inside the major agent tools. OpenTelemetry tracing lands in the same release, extending the machine-readable-output thread.

    View source ↗
  2. 8mo ago

    Fixes shinytest2 screenshot snapshots on CI

    A single fix for shinytest2 screenshot snapshots failing on CI. Narrow and mechanical.

    View source ↗
  3. 9mo ago

    All failure messages rewritten; local_mock() now defunct

    Every expect_ function's failure message is rewritten to state what was expected, what was received and how they differ, and input types are checked consistently. R 4.1 becomes the floor, local_mock() and with_mock() become defunct because R 4.5.0 no longer permits the technique, and several long-deprecated functions are removed. The stored body is cut at 8000 characters.

    View source ↗
  4. 1y ago

    Fixes expect_no_error() and skip() outside a test

    Two bug fixes: expect_no_error(1) wrongly failing, and skip() erroring outside an active test. Small corrections.

    View source ↗
  5. 1y ago

    expect_s7_class() and new failure-testing expectations

    Adds expect_s7_class() for the new S7 object system plus expect_no_failure(), expect_no_success() and expect_snapshot_failure(). Failure messages start reporting the expected condition class — an early step toward the 3.3.0 rewrite.

    View source ↗
  6. 2y ago

    R-devel format fix and a more reliable offline check

    A maintenance release: a format-string fix for R-devel, local_mocked_bindings() extended to any object, and skip_if_offline() switched to Apple's connectivity host for reliability.

    View source ↗