clearml-mcp / rules

---
description: "testing philosophy and behavioral testing approach"
globs: "tests/**/*.py"
---

# Testing Philosophy: Behavioral/Black-Box Testing

## Core Principle
This project uses **behavioral (black-box) testing** instead of white-box testing. Tests focus on **public API behavior** and **expected outcomes**, not internal implementation details.

## Testing Approach

### ✅ DO: Test Public API Behavior
- Test all public functions and their expected behaviors
- Focus on input/output relationships
- Test error conditions and edge cases
- Verify the complete user-facing contract
- Test with realistic data scenarios

### ❌ DON'T: Test Internal Implementation
- Avoid testing private methods directly
- Don't test internal data structures
- Don't mock internal implementation details
- Don't test "how" the code works, test "what" it does

## Coverage Standards
- **Target**: 65%+ coverage ([pyproject.toml](mdc:pyproject.toml) `fail_under = 65`)
- **Current**: 69% coverage achieved through comprehensive behavioral tests
- Coverage should come from testing **all public API paths**, not from testing internals

## Test Structure
Tests are organized in [tests/test_clearml_mcp.py](mdc:tests/test_clearml_mcp.py) with:
- Comprehensive mocking of external dependencies (ClearML API)
- Behavioral verification of all public functions
- Edge case and error condition testing
- Real-world usage scenario simulation

## Key Testing Files
- Main test suite: [tests/test_clearml_mcp.py](mdc:tests/test_clearml_mcp.py)
- Coverage configuration: [pyproject.toml](mdc:pyproject.toml) `[tool.coverage.*]`
- CI testing: [.github/workflows/ci.yml](mdc:.github/workflows/ci.yml)

This approach ensures tests remain stable when refactoring internal implementations while maintaining comprehensive verification of the public API contract.