Overview
Core Philosophy
What It Is
Quick Start
Quick Checklist for First Time Use
detailed Test Update
Targeted Test Updates
TDD for New Features
Using the Scripts Directly
When to Use It
Workflow Integration
Phase 1: Discovery
Phase 2: Strategy
Phase 3: Implementation
Phase 4: Validation
Quality Assurance
Examples
BDD-Style Test Generation
Test Enhancement
Integration with Existing Skills
Success Metrics
Troubleshooting FAQ
Common Issues
Performance Tips
Getting Help

Test Updates and Maintenance

Overview

detailed test management system that applies TDD/BDD principles to maintain, generate, and enhance tests across codebases. This skill practices what it preaches - it uses TDD principles for its own development and serves as a living example of best practices.

Core Philosophy

RED-GREEN-REFACTOR: Strict adherence to TDD cycle
Behavior-First: BDD patterns that describe what code should do
Meta Dogfooding: The skill's own tests demonstrate the principles it teaches
Quality Gates: detailed validation before considering tests complete

What It Is

A modular test management system that:

Discovers what needs testing or updating
Generates tests following TDD principles
Enhances existing tests with BDD patterns
Validate test quality through multiple lenses

Quick Start

Quick Checklist for First Time Use

validate pytest is installed (
```
pip install pytest
```
)
Have your source code in
```
src/
```
or similar directory
Create a
```
tests/
```
directory if it doesn't exist
Run
```
Skill(sanctum:git-workspace-review)
```
first to understand changes

Start with

Skill(test-updates) --target <specific-module>

for focused updates

detailed Test Update

bash

# Run full test update workflow
Skill(test-updates)

Verification: Run

pytest -v

to verify tests pass.

Targeted Test Updates

bash

# Update tests for specific paths
Skill(test-updates) --target src/sanctum/agents
Skill(test-updates) --target tests/test_commit_messages.py

Verification: Run

pytest -v

to verify tests pass.

TDD for New Features

bash

# Apply TDD to new code
Skill(test-updates) --tdd-only --target new_feature.py

Verification: Run

pytest -v

to verify tests pass.

Using the Scripts Directly

Human-Readable Output:

bash

# Analyze test coverage gaps
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/test_analyzer.py --scan src/

# Generate test scaffolding
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/test_generator.py \
    --source src/my_module.py --style pytest_bdd

# Check test quality
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/quality_checker.py \
    --validate tests/test_my_module.py

Verification: Run

pytest -v

to verify tests pass.

Programmatic Output (for Claude Code):

bash

# Get JSON output for programmatic parsing - test_analyzer
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/test_analyzer.py \
    --scan src/ --output-json

# Returns:
# {
#   "success": true,
#   "data": {
#     "source_files": ["src/module.py", ...],
#     "test_files": ["tests/test_module.py", ...],
#     "uncovered_files": ["module_without_tests", ...],
#     "coverage_gaps": [{"file": "...", "reason": "..."}]
#   }
# }

# Get JSON output - test_generator
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/test_generator.py \
    --source src/my_module.py --output-json

# Returns:
# {
#   "success": true,
#   "data": {
#     "test_file": "path/to/test_my_module.py",
#     "source_file": "src/my_module.py",
#     "style": "pytest_bdd",
#     "fixtures_included": true,
#     "edge_cases_included": true,
#     "error_cases_included": true
#   }
# }

# Get JSON output - quality_checker
python plugins/sanctum/skills/test-updates/scripts/quality_checker.py \
    --validate tests/test_my_module.py --output-json

# Returns:
# {
#   "success": true,
#   "data": {
#     "static_analysis": {...},
#     "dynamic_validation": {...},
#     "metrics": {...},
#     "quality_score": 85,
#     "quality_level": "QualityLevel.GOOD",
#     "recommendations": [...]
#   }
# }

Verification: Run

pytest -v

to verify tests pass.

When To Use It

Use this skill when you need to:

Update tests after code changes
Generate tests for new features
Improve existing test quality
validate detailed test coverage

Perfect for:

Pre-commit test validation
CI/CD pipeline integration
Refactoring with test safety
Onboarding new developers

When NOT To Use

Auditing test suites - use pensive:test-review
Writing production code
- focus on implementation first
Auditing test suites - use pensive:test-review
Writing production code
- focus on implementation first

Workflow Integration

Phase 1: Discovery

Scan codebase for test gaps
Analyze recent changes
Identify broken or outdated tests

See

modules/test-discovery.md

for detection patterns.

Phase 2: Strategy

Choose appropriate BDD style (see
```
modules/bdd-patterns.md
```
)
Plan test structure
Define quality criteria

Phase 3: Implementation

Write failing tests (RED) - see
```
modules/tdd-workflow.md
```
Implement minimal passing code (GREEN)
Refactor for clarity (REFACTOR)

See

modules/test-generation.md

for generation templates.

Phase 4: Validation

Static analysis and linting
Dynamic test execution
Coverage and quality metrics

See

modules/quality-validation.md

for validation criteria.

Quality Assurance

The skill applies multiple quality checks:

Static: Linting, type checking, pattern validation
Dynamic: Test execution in sandboxed environments
Metrics: Coverage, mutation score, complexity analysis
Review: Structured checklists for peer validation

Examples

BDD-Style Test Generation

See

modules/bdd-patterns.md

for additional patterns.

python

class TestGitWorkflow:
    """BDD-style tests for Git workflow operations."""

    def test_commit_workflow_with_staged_changes(self):
        """
        GIVEN a Git repository with staged changes
        WHEN the user runs the commit workflow
        THEN it should create a commit with proper message format
        AND all tests should pass
        """
        # Test implementation following TDD principles
        pass

Verification: Run

pytest -v

to verify tests pass.

Test Enhancement

Add edge cases and error scenarios
Include performance benchmarks
Add mutation testing for robustness

See

modules/test-enhancement.md

for enhancement strategies.

Integration with Existing Skills

git-workspace-review: Get context of changes
file-analysis: Understand code structure
test-driven-development: Apply strict TDD discipline
skills-eval: Validate quality and compliance

Success Metrics

Test coverage > 85%
All tests follow BDD patterns
Zero broken tests in CI
Mutation score > 80%

Troubleshooting FAQ

Common Issues

Q: Tests are failing after generation A: This is expected! The skill follows TDD principles - generated tests are designed to fail first. Follow the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle:

Run the test and confirm it fails for the right reason
Implement minimal code to make it pass
Refactor for clarity

Q: Quality score is low despite having tests A: Check for these common issues:

Missing BDD patterns (Given/When/Then)
Vague assertions like
```
assert result is not None
```
Tests without documentation
Long, complex tests (>50 lines)

Q: Generated tests don't match my code structure A: The scripts analyze AST patterns and may need guidance:

Use
```
--style
```
flag to match your preferred BDD style
Check that source files have proper function/class definitions
Review the generated scaffolding and customize as needed

Q: Mutation testing takes too long A: Mutation testing is resource-intensive:

Use
```
--quick-mutation
```
flag for subset testing
Focus on critical modules first
Run overnight for detailed analysis

Q: Can't find tests for my file A: The analyzer uses naming conventions:

Source:
```
my_module.py
```
→ Test:
```
test_my_module.py
```
Check that test files follow pytest naming patterns
validate test directory structure is standard

Performance Tips

Large codebases: Use
```
--target
```
to focus on specific directories
CI integration: Run validation in parallel with other checks
Memory usage: Process files in batches for very large projects

Getting Help

Check script outputs for detailed error messages
Use
```
--verbose
```
flag for more information
Review the validation report for specific recommendations
Start with small modules to understand patterns before scaling

test-updates

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Table of Contents

Test Updates and Maintenance

Overview

Core Philosophy

What It Is

Quick Start

Quick Checklist for First Time Use

detailed Test Update

Targeted Test Updates

TDD for New Features

Using the Scripts Directly

When To Use It

When NOT To Use

Workflow Integration

Phase 1: Discovery

Phase 2: Strategy

Phase 3: Implementation

Phase 4: Validation

Quality Assurance

Examples

BDD-Style Test Generation

Test Enhancement

Integration with Existing Skills

Success Metrics

Troubleshooting FAQ

Common Issues

Performance Tips

Getting Help