Bats Testing Patterns

Comprehensive guidance for writing comprehensive unit tests for shell scripts using Bats (Bash Automated Testing System), including test patterns, fixtures, and best practices for production-grade shell testing.

When to Use This Skill

Writing unit tests for shell scripts
Implementing test-driven development (TDD) for scripts
Setting up automated testing in CI/CD pipelines
Testing edge cases and error conditions
Validating behavior across different shell environments
Building maintainable test suites for scripts
Creating fixtures for complex test scenarios
Testing multiple shell dialects (bash, sh, dash)

Bats Fundamentals

What is Bats?

Bats (Bash Automated Testing System) is a TAP (Test Anything Protocol) compliant testing framework for shell scripts that provides:

Simple, natural test syntax
TAP output format compatible with CI systems
Fixtures and setup/teardown support
Assertion helpers
Parallel test execution

Installation

# macOS with Homebrew
brew install bats-core

# Ubuntu/Debian
git clone https://github.com/bats-core/bats-core.git
cd bats-core
./install.sh /usr/local

# From npm (Node.js)
npm install --global bats

# Verify installation
bats --version

File Structure

project/
├── bin/
│   ├── script.sh
│   └── helper.sh
├── tests/
│   ├── test_script.bats
│   ├── test_helper.sh
│   ├── fixtures/
│   │   ├── input.txt
│   │   └── expected_output.txt
│   └── helpers/
│       └── mocks.bash
└── README.md

Basic Test Structure

Simple Test File

#!/usr/bin/env bats

# Load test helper if present
load test_helper

# Setup runs before each test
setup() {
    export TMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
}

# Teardown runs after each test
teardown() {
    rm -rf "$TMPDIR"
}

# Test: simple assertion
@test "Function returns 0 on success" {
    run my_function "input"
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

# Test: output verification
@test "Function outputs correct result" {
    run my_function "test"
    [ "$output" = "expected output" ]
}

# Test: error handling
@test "Function returns 1 on missing argument" {
    run my_function
    [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
}

Assertion Patterns

Exit Code Assertions

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "Command succeeds" {
    run true
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

@test "Command fails as expected" {
    run false
    [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
}

@test "Command returns specific exit code" {
    run my_function --invalid
    [ "$status" -eq 127 ]
}

@test "Can capture command result" {
    run echo "hello"
    [ $status -eq 0 ]
    [ "$output" = "hello" ]
}

Output Assertions

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "Output matches string" {
    result=$(echo "hello world")
    [ "$result" = "hello world" ]
}

@test "Output contains substring" {
    result=$(echo "hello world")
    [[ "$result" == *"world"* ]]
}

@test "Output matches pattern" {
    result=$(date +%Y)
    [[ "$result" =~ ^[0-9]{4}$ ]]
}

@test "Multi-line output" {
    run printf "line1\nline2\nline3"
    [ "$output" = "line1
line2
line3" ]
}

@test "Lines variable contains output" {
    run printf "line1\nline2\nline3"
    [ "${lines[0]}" = "line1" ]
    [ "${lines[1]}" = "line2" ]
    [ "${lines[2]}" = "line3" ]
}

File Assertions

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "File is created" {
    [ ! -f "$TMPDIR/output.txt" ]
    my_function > "$TMPDIR/output.txt"
    [ -f "$TMPDIR/output.txt" ]
}

@test "File contents match expected" {
    my_function > "$TMPDIR/output.txt"
    [ "$(cat "$TMPDIR/output.txt")" = "expected content" ]
}

@test "File is readable" {
    touch "$TMPDIR/test.txt"
    [ -r "$TMPDIR/test.txt" ]
}

@test "File has correct permissions" {
    touch "$TMPDIR/test.txt"
    chmod 644 "$TMPDIR/test.txt"
    [ "$(stat -f %OLp "$TMPDIR/test.txt")" = "644" ]
}

@test "File size is correct" {
    echo -n "12345" > "$TMPDIR/test.txt"
    [ "$(wc -c < "$TMPDIR/test.txt")" -eq 5 ]
}

Setup and Teardown Patterns

Basic Setup and Teardown

#!/usr/bin/env bats

setup() {
    # Create test directory
    TEST_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
    export TEST_DIR

    # Source script under test
    source "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh"
}

teardown() {
    # Clean up temporary directory
    rm -rf "$TEST_DIR"
}

@test "Test using TEST_DIR" {
    touch "$TEST_DIR/file.txt"
    [ -f "$TEST_DIR/file.txt" ]
}

Setup with Resources

#!/usr/bin/env bats

setup() {
    # Create directory structure
    mkdir -p "$TMPDIR/data/input"
    mkdir -p "$TMPDIR/data/output"

    # Create test fixtures
    echo "line1" > "$TMPDIR/data/input/file1.txt"
    echo "line2" > "$TMPDIR/data/input/file2.txt"

    # Initialize environment
    export DATA_DIR="$TMPDIR/data"
    export INPUT_DIR="$DATA_DIR/input"
    export OUTPUT_DIR="$DATA_DIR/output"
}

teardown() {
    rm -rf "$TMPDIR/data"
}

@test "Processes input files" {
    run my_process_script "$INPUT_DIR" "$OUTPUT_DIR"
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
    [ -f "$OUTPUT_DIR/file1.txt" ]
}

Global Setup/Teardown

#!/usr/bin/env bats

# Load shared setup from test_helper.sh
load test_helper

# setup_file runs once before all tests
setup_file() {
    export SHARED_RESOURCE=$(mktemp -d)
    echo "Expensive setup" > "$SHARED_RESOURCE/data.txt"
}

# teardown_file runs once after all tests
teardown_file() {
    rm -rf "$SHARED_RESOURCE"
}

@test "First test uses shared resource" {
    [ -f "$SHARED_RESOURCE/data.txt" ]
}

@test "Second test uses shared resource" {
    [ -d "$SHARED_RESOURCE" ]
}

Mocking and Stubbing Patterns

Function Mocking

#!/usr/bin/env bats

# Mock external command
my_external_tool() {
    echo "mocked output"
    return 0
}

@test "Function uses mocked tool" {
    export -f my_external_tool
    run my_function
    [[ "$output" == *"mocked output"* ]]
}

Command Stubbing

#!/usr/bin/env bats

setup() {
    # Create stub directory
    STUBS_DIR="$TMPDIR/stubs"
    mkdir -p "$STUBS_DIR"

    # Add to PATH
    export PATH="$STUBS_DIR:$PATH"
}

create_stub() {
    local cmd="$1"
    local output="$2"
    local code="${3:-0}"

    cat > "$STUBS_DIR/$cmd" <<EOF
#!/bin/bash
echo "$output"
exit $code
EOF
    chmod +x "$STUBS_DIR/$cmd"
}

@test "Function works with stubbed curl" {
    create_stub curl "{ \"status\": \"ok\" }" 0
    run my_api_function
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

Variable Stubbing

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "Function handles environment override" {
    export MY_SETTING="override_value"
    run my_function
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
    [[ "$output" == *"override_value"* ]]
}

@test "Function uses default when var unset" {
    unset MY_SETTING
    run my_function
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
    [[ "$output" == *"default"* ]]
}

Fixture Management

Using Fixture Files

#!/usr/bin/env bats

# Fixture directory: tests/fixtures/

setup() {
    FIXTURES_DIR="${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/fixtures"
    WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
    export WORK_DIR
}

teardown() {
    rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"
}

@test "Process fixture file" {
    # Copy fixture to work directory
    cp "$FIXTURES_DIR/input.txt" "$WORK_DIR/input.txt"

    # Run function
    run my_process_function "$WORK_DIR/input.txt"

    # Compare output
    diff "$WORK_DIR/output.txt" "$FIXTURES_DIR/expected_output.txt"
}

Dynamic Fixture Generation

#!/usr/bin/env bats

generate_fixture() {
    local lines="$1"
    local file="$2"

    for i in $(seq 1 "$lines"); do
        echo "Line $i content" >> "$file"
    done
}

@test "Handle large input file" {
    generate_fixture 1000 "$TMPDIR/large.txt"
    run my_function "$TMPDIR/large.txt"
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
    [ "$(wc -l < "$TMPDIR/large.txt")" -eq 1000 ]
}

Advanced Patterns

Testing Error Conditions

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "Function fails with missing file" {
    run my_function "/nonexistent/file.txt"
    [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
    [[ "$output" == *"not found"* ]]
}

@test "Function fails with invalid input" {
    run my_function ""
    [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
}

@test "Function fails with permission denied" {
    touch "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"
    chmod 000 "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"
    run my_function "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"
    [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
    chmod 644 "$TMPDIR/readonly.txt"  # Cleanup
}

@test "Function provides helpful error message" {
    run my_function --invalid-option
    [ "$status" -ne 0 ]
    [[ "$output" == *"Usage:"* ]]
}

Testing with Dependencies

#!/usr/bin/env bats

setup() {
    # Check for required tools
    if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
        skip "jq is not installed"
    fi

    export SCRIPT="${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh"
}

@test "JSON parsing works" {
    skip_if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null
    run my_json_parser '{"key": "value"}'
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

Testing Shell Compatibility

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "Script works in bash" {
    bash "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh" arg1
}

@test "Script works in sh (POSIX)" {
    sh "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh" arg1
}

@test "Script works in dash" {
    if command -v dash &>/dev/null; then
        dash "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/../bin/script.sh" arg1
    else
        skip "dash not installed"
    fi
}

Parallel Execution

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "Multiple independent operations" {
    run bash -c 'for i in {1..10}; do
        my_operation "$i" &
    done
    wait'
    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
}

@test "Concurrent file operations" {
    for i in {1..5}; do
        my_function "$TMPDIR/file$i" &
    done
    wait
    [ -f "$TMPDIR/file1" ]
    [ -f "$TMPDIR/file5" ]
}

Test Helper Pattern

test_helper.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Source script under test
export SCRIPT_DIR="${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME%/*}/bin"

# Common test utilities
assert_file_exists() {
    if [ ! -f "$1" ]; then
        echo "Expected file to exist: $1"
        return 1
    fi
}

assert_file_equals() {
    local file="$1"
    local expected="$2"

    if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
        echo "File does not exist: $file"
        return 1
    fi

    local actual=$(cat "$file")
    if [ "$actual" != "$expected" ]; then
        echo "File contents do not match"
        echo "Expected: $expected"
        echo "Actual: $actual"
        return 1
    fi
}

# Create temporary test directory
setup_test_dir() {
    export TEST_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
}

cleanup_test_dir() {
    rm -rf "$TEST_DIR"
}

Integration with CI/CD

GitHub Actions Workflow

name: Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Install Bats
        run: |
          npm install --global bats

      - name: Run Tests
        run: |
          bats tests/*.bats

      - name: Run Tests with Tap Reporter
        run: |
          bats tests/*.bats --tap | tee test_output.tap

Makefile Integration

.PHONY: test test-verbose test-tap

test:
	bats tests/*.bats

test-verbose:
	bats tests/*.bats --verbose

test-tap:
	bats tests/*.bats --tap

test-parallel:
	bats tests/*.bats --parallel 4

coverage: test
	# Optional: Generate coverage reports

Best Practices

Test one thing per test - Single responsibility principle
Use descriptive test names - Clearly states what is being tested
Clean up after tests - Always remove temporary files in teardown
Test both success and failure paths - Don't just test happy path
Mock external dependencies - Isolate unit under test
Use fixtures for complex data - Makes tests more readable
Run tests in CI/CD - Catch regressions early
Test across shell dialects - Ensure portability
Keep tests fast - Run in parallel when possible
Document complex test setup - Explain unusual patterns

Resources

Bats GitHub: https://github.com/bats-core/bats-core
Bats Documentation: https://bats-core.readthedocs.io/
TAP Protocol: https://testanything.org/
Test-Driven Development: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-driven_development

bats-testing-patterns