Testing Architecture

Overview

HVE Core uses Pester 5.x for PowerShell testing with a mirror directory structure that maps production scripts to their corresponding test files. The test infrastructure supports isolated unit testing through mock utilities and enforces an 80% code coverage threshold.

Directory Structure

Test files follow a mirror pattern where each script directory has a corresponding tests/ subdirectory:

scripts/
├── collections/
│   └── *.ps1
├── evals/
│   └── *.ps1
├── extension/
│   ├── Package-Extension.ps1
│   └── Prepare-Extension.ps1
├── lib/
│   └── Get-VerifiedDownload.ps1
├── linting/
│   └── *.ps1
├── plugins/
│   └── *.ps1
├── security/
│   └── *.ps1
└── tests/
    ├── collections/
    ├── evals/
    ├── extension/
    ├── lib/
    ├── linting/
    ├── plugins/
    ├── security/
    ├── Fixtures/
    ├── Mocks/
    │   └── GitMocks.psm1
    └── pester.config.ps1

Test files use the .Tests.ps1 suffix convention, enabling automatic discovery by Pester.

Pester Configuration

The configuration file at scripts/tests/pester.config.ps1 defines test execution behavior:

# Key configuration settings
$configuration.Run.TestExtension = '.Tests.ps1'
$configuration.Filter.ExcludeTag = @('Integration', 'Slow')
$configuration.CodeCoverage.CoveragePercentTarget = 80

Coverage Configuration

Code coverage analyzes scripts in production directories while excluding test files:

Setting	Value
Coverage target	80% minimum
Output format	JaCoCo XML
Output path	logs/coverage.xml
Excluded patterns	*.Tests.ps1

Coverage directories include linting/, security/, lib/, extension/, collections/, and tests/, plus skill scripts under .github/skills/ (resolved separately further down in the config).

When code coverage is enabled, the pester-tests.yml workflow enforces the coverage target through its Coverage Threshold Check step. The step sources both the measured percentage (CoveragePercent) and the target (CoverageTarget) from logs/pester-summary.json, which is the authoritative summary written by Invoke-PesterTests.ps1. The target originates in pester.config.ps1 as the single source of truth. The job fails when the measured coverage falls below the 80% target, unless soft-fail mode is enabled.

Test Output

Output Type	Format	Path
Test results	NUnitXml	logs/pester-results.xml
Coverage report	JaCoCo	logs/coverage.xml

When code coverage is enabled, Invoke-PesterTests.ps1 also records the coverage measurement in logs/pester-summary.json:

Field	Description
CoveragePercent	Measured code coverage percentage, rounded to two decimal places
CoverageTarget	Configured coverage target (CoveragePercentTarget), rounded to two decimals

Test Utilities

LintingHelpers Module

The LintingHelpers.psm1 module provides shared functions for linting scripts and tests:

Function	Purpose
Get-ChangedFilesFromGit	Detects changed files using merge-base with fallback strategies
Get-FilesRecursive	Finds files via git ls-files with Get-ChildItem fallback
Get-GitIgnorePatterns	Parses .gitignore into PowerShell wildcard patterns
Write-GitHubAnnotation	Writes GitHub Actions annotations for errors and warnings
Set-GitHubOutput	Sets GitHub Actions output variables
Set-GitHubEnv	Sets GitHub Actions environment variables

GitMocks Module

The GitMocks.psm1 module provides reusable mock helpers for Git CLI and GitHub Actions testing.

Environment Management

Function	Purpose
Save-GitHubEnvironment	Saves current GitHub Actions environment variables
Restore-GitHubEnvironment	Restores saved environment state
Initialize-MockGitHubEnvironment	Creates mock GitHub Actions environment with temp files
Clear-MockGitHubEnvironment	Removes GitHub Actions environment variables
Remove-MockGitHubFiles	Cleans up temp files from mock initialization

Git Mocks

Function	Purpose
Initialize-GitMocks	Sets up standard git command mocks for a module
Set-GitMockChangedFiles	Updates files returned by git diff mock
Set-GitMockMergeBaseFailure	Simulates merge-base failure for fallback testing

Test Data

Function	Purpose
New-MockFileList	Generates mock file paths for testing
Get-MockGitDiffScenario	Returns predefined scenarios for git diff testing

Environment Save/Restore Pattern

Tests that modify environment variables follow this pattern:

BeforeAll {
    Import-Module "$PSScriptRoot/../Mocks/GitMocks.psm1" -Force
}

BeforeEach {
    Save-GitHubEnvironment
    $script:MockFiles = Initialize-MockGitHubEnvironment
}

AfterEach {
    Remove-MockGitHubFiles -MockFiles $script:MockFiles
    Restore-GitHubEnvironment
}

Running Tests

npm Scripts

Command	Description
npm run test:ps	Run all PowerShell Pester tests
npm run test:py	Run all Python tests via pytest

Direct Pester Invocation

Run tests with default configuration:

Invoke-Pester -Configuration (& ./scripts/tests/pester.config.ps1)

Run tests with code coverage:

Invoke-Pester -Configuration (& ./scripts/tests/pester.config.ps1 -CodeCoverage)

Run tests in CI mode with exit codes and NUnit output:

Invoke-Pester -Configuration (& ./scripts/tests/pester.config.ps1 -CI -CodeCoverage)

Run a specific test file:

Invoke-Pester -Path ./scripts/tests/linting/Invoke-PSScriptAnalyzer.Tests.ps1

Test Utility Scripts

Two wrapper scripts in scripts/tests/ streamline test execution:

• Invoke-PesterTests.ps1 orchestrates full test runs with configuration loading, code coverage, CI output formatting, and result file generation. The npm run test:ps command calls this script.
• Get-ChangedTestFiles.ps1 identifies test files affected by recent changes, enabling targeted test runs during development or in pull request workflows.

See scripts/tests/README.md for parameters and usage details.

Skills Testing

Skill scripts use a co-located test pattern instead of the mirror directory structure used by scripts/. Each skill contains its own tests/ subdirectory:

.github/skills/<skill-name>/
├── scripts/
│   ├── convert.ps1
│   └── convert.sh
└── tests/
    └── convert.Tests.ps1

Coverage Integration

The Pester configuration at scripts/tests/pester.config.ps1 resolves skill scripts from the repository root for code coverage analysis. When you include a skill tests/ directory in an Invoke-Pester -Path argument or test run configuration, Pester discovers the skill test files through the .Tests.ps1 naming convention.

Coverage path resolution for skills uses the repository root rather than $scriptRoot (which points to scripts/):

$repoRoot = Split-Path $scriptRoot -Parent
$skillScripts = Get-ChildItem -Path (Join-Path $repoRoot '.github/skills') `
    -Include '*.ps1', '*.psm1' -Recurse -File -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
    Where-Object { $_.FullName -notmatch '\.Tests\.ps1$' }

Packaging Exclusion

Co-located tests/ directories are excluded from the VSIX extension package by Package-Extension.ps1. After copying a skill directory, the packaging script removes any tests/ subdirectories from the destination.

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