<div align="center">
<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TrustBound/dream/main/ricky_and_lucy.png" alt="Dream Logo" width="180">
<h1>Dream Test</h1>
<p><strong>A testing framework for Gleam that gets out of your way.</strong></p>
<a href="https://hex.pm/packages/dream_test">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/hexpm/v/dream_test?color=8e4bff&label=hex" alt="Hex.pm">
</a>
<a href="https://hexdocs.pm/dream_test/">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-hexdocs-8e4bff" alt="Documentation">
</a>
<a href="https://github.com/TrustBound/dream_test/blob/main/LICENSE">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue" alt="License">
</a>
</div>
<br>
```gleam
import dream_test/unit.{describe, it}
import dream_test/assertions/should.{should, equal, be_ok, or_fail_with}
pub fn tests() {
describe("User authentication", [
it("accepts valid credentials", fn() {
authenticate("alice", "correct-password")
|> should()
|> be_ok()
|> or_fail_with("Valid credentials should authenticate")
}),
it("rejects invalid passwords", fn() {
authenticate("alice", "wrong-password")
|> should()
|> equal(Error("Invalid credentials"))
|> or_fail_with("Wrong password should fail")
}),
])
}
```
```
User authentication
✓ accepts valid credentials
✓ rejects invalid passwords
2 tests, 0 failures
```
---
## Installation
```toml
# gleam.toml
[dev-dependencies]
dream_test = "~> 1.0"
```
---
## Why Dream Test?
| Feature | What you get |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Parallel by default** | Tests run concurrently across all cores—100 tests finish ~4x faster on 4 cores |
| **Crash-proof** | Each test runs in an isolated BEAM process; one crash doesn't kill the suite |
| **Timeout-protected** | Hanging tests get killed automatically; no more stuck CI pipelines |
| **Lifecycle hooks** | `before_all`, `before_each`, `after_each`, `after_all` for setup/teardown |
| **Gleam-native** | Pipe-first assertions that feel natural; no macros, no reflection, no magic |
| **Familiar syntax** | If you've used Jest, RSpec, or Mocha, you already know the basics |
| **Type-safe** | Your tests are just Gleam code; the compiler catches mistakes early |
| **Self-hosting** | Dream Test tests itself; we eat our own cooking |
---
## Quick Start
### 1. Write tests with `describe` and `it`
```gleam
// test/my_app_test.gleam
import dream_test/unit.{describe, it, to_test_cases}
import dream_test/runner.{run_all}
import dream_test/reporter/bdd.{report}
import dream_test/assertions/should.{should, equal, be_some, or_fail_with}
import gleam/io
pub fn main() {
tests()
|> to_test_cases("my_app_test")
|> run_all()
|> report(io.println)
}
pub fn tests() {
describe("String utilities", [
it("trims whitespace", fn() {
" hello "
|> string.trim()
|> should()
|> equal("hello")
|> or_fail_with("Should remove surrounding whitespace")
}),
it("finds substrings", fn() {
"hello world"
|> string.find("world")
|> should()
|> be_some()
|> or_fail_with("Should find 'world' in string")
}),
])
}
```
### 2. Run with gleam test
```sh
gleam test
```
### 3. See readable output
```
String utilities
✓ trims whitespace
✓ finds substrings
2 tests, 0 failures
```
---
## The Assertion Pattern
Every assertion follows the same pattern:
```gleam
value |> should() |> matcher() |> or_fail_with("message")
```
### Chaining matchers
Matchers can be chained. Each one passes its unwrapped value to the next:
```gleam
// Unwrap Some, then check the value
Some(42)
|> should()
|> be_some()
|> equal(42)
|> or_fail_with("Should contain 42")
// Unwrap Ok, then check the value
Ok("hello")
|> should()
|> be_ok()
|> equal("hello")
|> or_fail_with("Should be Ok with 'hello'")
```
### Available matchers
| Category | Matchers |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Equality** | `equal`, `not_equal` |
| **Boolean** | `be_true`, `be_false` |
| **Option** | `be_some`, `be_none` |
| **Result** | `be_ok`, `be_error` |
| **Collections** | `contain`, `not_contain`, `have_length`, `be_empty` |
| **Comparison** | `be_greater_than`, `be_less_than`, `be_at_least`, `be_at_most`, `be_between`, `be_in_range` |
| **String** | `start_with`, `end_with`, `contain_string` |
### Explicit failures
When you need to fail unconditionally:
```gleam
import dream_test/assertions/should.{fail_with}
case result {
Ok(_) -> fail_with("Should have returned an error")
Error(_) -> handle_expected_error()
}
```
---
## Lifecycle Hooks
Setup and teardown logic for your tests. Dream_test supports four lifecycle hooks
that let you run code before and after tests.
```gleam
import dream_test/unit.{describe, it, before_each, after_each, before_all, after_all}
import dream_test/types.{AssertionOk}
describe("Database tests", [
before_all(fn() {
start_database()
AssertionOk
}),
before_each(fn() {
begin_transaction()
AssertionOk
}),
it("creates a user", fn() { ... }),
it("deletes a user", fn() { ... }),
after_each(fn() {
rollback_transaction()
AssertionOk
}),
after_all(fn() {
stop_database()
AssertionOk
}),
])
```
### Hook Types
| Hook | Runs | Use case |
| ------------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| `before_all` | Once before all tests in group | Start services, create temp files |
| `before_each` | Before each test | Reset state, begin transaction |
| `after_each` | After each test (even on failure) | Rollback, cleanup temp data |
| `after_all` | Once after all tests in group | Stop services, remove temp files |
### Two Execution Modes
Choose the mode based on which hooks you need:
| Mode | Function | Hooks supported |
| ----- | ----------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| Flat | `to_test_cases` → `run_all` | `before_each`, `after_each` |
| Suite | `to_test_suite` → `run_suite` | All four hooks |
**Flat mode** — simpler, faster; use when you only need per-test setup:
```gleam
import dream_test/unit.{describe, it, before_each, to_test_cases}
import dream_test/runner.{run_all}
tests()
|> to_test_cases("my_test")
|> run_all()
|> report(io.print)
```
**Suite mode** — preserves group structure; use when you need once-per-group setup:
```gleam
import dream_test/unit.{describe, it, before_all, after_all, to_test_suite}
import dream_test/runner.{run_suite}
tests()
|> to_test_suite("my_test")
|> run_suite()
|> report(io.print)
```
### Hook Inheritance
Nested `describe` blocks inherit parent hooks. Hooks run outer-to-inner for
setup, inner-to-outer for teardown:
```gleam
describe("Outer", [
before_each(fn() { io.println("1. outer setup"); AssertionOk }),
after_each(fn() { io.println("4. outer teardown"); AssertionOk }),
describe("Inner", [
before_each(fn() { io.println("2. inner setup"); AssertionOk }),
after_each(fn() { io.println("3. inner teardown"); AssertionOk }),
it("test", fn() { ... }),
]),
])
// Output: 1. outer setup → 2. inner setup → (test) → 3. inner teardown → 4. outer teardown
```
### Hook Failure Behavior
If a hook fails, Dream Test handles it gracefully:
| Failure in | Result |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| `before_all` | All tests in group marked `SetupFailed`, skipped |
| `before_each` | That test marked `SetupFailed`, skipped |
| `after_each` | Test result preserved; hook failure recorded |
| `after_all` | Hook failure recorded; all test results preserved |
```gleam
describe("Handles failures", [
before_all(fn() {
case connect_to_database() {
Ok(_) -> AssertionOk
Error(e) -> fail_with("Database connection failed: " <> e)
}
}),
// If before_all fails, these tests are marked SetupFailed (not run)
it("test1", fn() { ... }),
it("test2", fn() { ... }),
])
```
---
## BEAM-Powered Test Isolation
Every test runs in its own BEAM process:
| Feature | What it means |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Crash isolation** | A `panic` in one test doesn't affect others |
| **Timeout handling** | Slow tests get killed; suite keeps running |
| **Parallel execution** | Tests run concurrently (configurable) |
| **Automatic cleanup** | Resources linked to the test process are freed automatically |
```gleam
// This test crashes, but others keep running
it("handles edge case", fn() {
panic as "oops" // Other tests still execute and report
})
// This test hangs, but gets killed after timeout
it("fetches data", fn() {
infinite_loop() // Killed after 5 seconds (default)
})
```
### Configuring execution
```gleam
import dream_test/runner.{run_all_with_config, RunnerConfig}
// Custom settings
let config = RunnerConfig(
max_concurrency: 8, // Run up to 8 tests at once
default_timeout_ms: 10_000, // 10 second timeout per test
)
test_cases
|> run_all_with_config(config)
|> report(io.println)
```
---
## How It Works
Dream_test uses an explicit pipeline—no hidden globals, no magic test discovery.
### Flat Mode (most common)
```
describe/it → to_test_cases → run_all → report
(DSL) (flatten) (execute) (format)
```
1. **Define** tests with `describe`/`it` — builds a test tree
2. **Convert** with `to_test_cases` — flattens to runnable cases
3. **Run** with `run_all` — executes in parallel with isolation
4. **Report** with your choice of formatter — outputs results
### Suite Mode (for `before_all`/`after_all`)
```
describe/it → to_test_suite → run_suite → report
(DSL) (preserve) (execute) (format)
```
Suite mode preserves the group hierarchy so hooks can run at group boundaries.
### Under the Hood
Each test runs in its own BEAM process:
```mermaid
flowchart TB
runner[Test Runner]
runner --> t1[Test 1]
runner --> t2[Test 2]
runner --> t3[Test 3]
runner --> t4[Test 4]
t1 --> collect[Collect Results]
t2 --> collect
t3 --> collect
t4 --> collect
collect --> report[Report]
```
Benefits:
- A crashing test doesn't affect others
- Timeouts are enforced via process killing
- Resources linked to test processes are cleaned up automatically
---
## Documentation
| Document | Audience |
| --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| **[Hexdocs](https://hexdocs.pm/dream_test/)** | API reference with examples |
| **[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)** | How to contribute |
| **[STANDARDS.md](STANDARDS.md)** | Coding conventions |
---
## Status
**Stable** — v1.0 release. API is stable and ready for production use.
| Feature | Status |
| -------------------------- | --------- |
| Core DSL (`describe`/`it`) | ✅ Stable |
| Lifecycle hooks | ✅ Stable |
| Assertions (`should.*`) | ✅ Stable |
| BDD Reporter | ✅ Stable |
| Parallel execution | ✅ Stable |
| Process isolation | ✅ Stable |
| Crash handling | ✅ Stable |
| Timeout handling | ✅ Stable |
| Polling helpers | ✅ Stable |
---
## Contributing
```sh
git clone https://github.com/TrustBound/dream_test
cd dream_test
make all # build, test, format
```
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for development workflow and guidelines.
---
## License
MIT — see [LICENSE.md](LICENSE.md)
---
<div align="center">
<sub>Part of the <a href="https://github.com/TrustBound/dream">Dream</a> ecosystem for Gleam</sub>
<br>
<sub>Built in Gleam, on the BEAM, by the Dream Team ❤️</sub>
</div>
