Testing

Testing an ape project is important and easy.

Test Structure

Tests must be located in a project’s tests/ directory. Each test file must start with test_ and have the .py extension, such as test_my_contract.py. Each test method within the file must also start with test_. The following is an example test:

def test_add():
    assert 1 + 1 == 2

Test Pattern

Tests are generally divisible into three parts:

Set-up
Invocation
Assertion

In the example above, we created a fixture that deploys our smart-contract. This is an example of a ‘setup’ phase. Next, we need to call a method on our contract. Let’s assume there is a method called is_owner() that returns True when it is the owner of the contract making the transaction.

This is an example of how that test may look:

def test_is_owner(my_contract, owner, other):
    my_contract.set_owner(sender=owner)
    assert owner == my_contract.owner()

    other_is_owner = my_contract.foo(sender=other)
    assert not other_is_owner

Note

Ape has built-in test and fixture isolation for all pytest scopes. To disable isolation add the --disable-isolation flag when running ape test

Fixtures

Fixtures are any type of reusable instances of something with configurable scopes. pytest handles passing fixtures into each test method as test-time. To learn more about fixtures

Define fixtures for static data used by tests. This data can be accessed by all tests in the suite unless specified otherwise. This could be data as well as helpers of modules which will be passed to all tests.

A common place to define fixtures are in the conftest.py which should be saved under the test directory:

conftest.py is used to import external plugins or modules. By defining the following global variable, pytest will load the module and make it available for its test.

You can define your own fixtures or use existing ones. The ape-test plugin comes with fixtures you will likely want to use:

accounts fixture

You have access to test accounts. These accounts are automatically funded, and you can use them to transact in your tests. Access each test account by index from the accounts fixture:

def test_my_method(accounts):
    owner = accounts[0]
    other = accounts[1]

For code readability and sustainability, create your own fixtures using the accounts fixture:

import pytest


@pytest.fixture
def owner(accounts):
    return accounts[0]


@pytest.fixture
def other(accounts):
    return accounts[1]


def test_my_method(owner, other):
    ...

You can configure your accounts by changing the mnemonic or number_of_accounts settings in the test section of your ape-config.yaml file:

test:
  mnemonic: test test test test test test test test test test test junk
  number_of_accounts: 5

If you are using a fork-provider, such as Hardhat, you can use impersonated accounts by accessing random addresses off the fixture:

@pytest.fixture
def vitalik(accounts):
    return accounts["0xab5801a7d398351b8be11c439e05c5b3259aec9b"]

Using a fork-provider such as Hardhat, when using a contract instance as the sender in a transaction, it will be automatically impersonated:

def test_my_method(project, accounts):
    contract = project.MyContract.deploy(sender=accounts[0])
    other_contract = project.OtherContract.deploy(sender=accounts[0])
    contract.my_method(sender=other_contract)

project fixture

You also have access to the project you are testing. You will need this to deploy your contracts in your tests.

import pytest


@pytest.fixture
def owner(accounts):
    return accounts[0]


@pytest.fixture
def my_contract(project, owner):
    # ^ use the 'project' fixture from the 'ape-test' plugin
    return owner.deploy(project.MyContract)

Ape testing commands

ape test

To run a particular test:

ape test test_my_contract

Use ape test -I to open the interactive mode at the point of exception. This allows the user to inspect the point of failure in your tests.

ape test test_my_contract -I -s

Test Providers

Out-of-the-box, your tests run using the eth-tester provider, which comes bundled with ape. If you have geth installed, you can use the ape-geth plugin that also comes with ape.

ape test --network ethereum:local:geth

Each testing plugin should work the same way. You will have access to the same test accounts.

Another option for testing providers is the ape-hardhat plugin, which does not come with ape but can be installed by including it in the plugins list in your ape-config.yaml file or manually installing it using the command:

ape plugins install hardhat

Advanced Testing Tips

If you want to use sample projects, follow this link to Ape Academy.

project                     # The root project directory
└── tests/                  # Project tests folder, ran using the 'ape test' command to run all tests within the folder.
    └── conftest.py         # A file to define global variable for testing 
    └── test_accounts.py    # A test file, if you want to ONLY run one test file you can use 'ape test test_accounts.py' command
    └── test_mint.py        # A test file

Here is a sample of test function from a sample NFT

def test_account_balance(owner, receiver, buyers, nft)):
    # ^ use the 'project' fixture from the 'ape-test' plugin
    quantity = 1
    nft.mint(quantity, ["0"], value=nft.PRICE() * quantity, sender=receiver)
    actual = project.balanceOf(owner)
    expect = quantity
    assert actual == expect