golang-testing

TDD workflow in Go follows the RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle: write a failing test first, run go test to observe the failure, implement minimal code to pass, and then refactor safely. This approach ensures reliable, maintainable tests and dependable code iteration.

Go 1.18+ supports native fuzzing for property-based input testing. You can implement fuzzing patterns alongside benchmarks to measure performance and automatically generate random inputs to discover edge cases and unexpected panics in your Go functions.

The best way to mock dependencies when testing Go HTTP handlers is by isolating them with interfaces. Define interfaces for your dependencies, create mock implementations in your test files, and use subtests to organize related HTTP handler test cases systematically.

To enforce test coverage targets in CI with GitHub Actions for a Go project, configure coverage profiling outputs and set quality gates. Use go test with coverage flags to generate profiles, then integrate the coverage report into your GitHub Actions workflow to enforce minimum thresholds.

Use golden file comparisons in Go testing when validating complex outputs that are too verbose for standard assertions. You write the actual output to a golden file on the first run, then subsequent test runs compare new outputs against this file to detect unexpected changes.