integration-test-design

Integration Test Design

Tests that verify components work together correctly.

Context

You are designing integration tests. These test real interactions with databases, APIs, or file systems.

Domain Context

• Real Dependencies: Use real database, HTTP server, file system (or test containers)
• Contracts: Verify that components' assumptions about each other are correct
• Fewer Tests: Integration tests are slower; test key flows, not all paths
• Setup Cost: Creating realistic data is expensive; consider test factories
• Flakiness Risk: Real I/O introduces timing, concurrency issues

Instructions

1. Identify Interactions: Which components must work together?
2. Start with Real Dependencies: Use test containers (Docker) for databases, caches
3. Create Test Factories: Build realistic data efficiently
4. Test Key Flows: Happy path + one or two error scenarios
5. Verify Contracts: Does the consumer of an API get what it expects?
6. Handle Cleanup: Reset state between tests to avoid flakiness
7. Accept Slowness: Slower is OK; integration tests are fewer and farther between

Anti-Patterns

• Too many integration tests; they're slow, use resources, and should be rare
• Mocking the database in integration tests; defeats the purpose
• Shared test state; tests interfere with each other
• Ignoring cleanup; leftover data causes flaky tests
• Testing all code paths in integration tests; unit tests cover logic, integration tests cover plumbing

Further Reading

• Martin Fowler, Microservice Testing, on integration testing
• Sam Newman, Building Microservices, on testing strategies