Test Runner docs could use more information on the concept of a Suite

Open Beginner friendly
#60,758 5 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Assessment

Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Newbie friendliness
70/100
Issue type
Documentation
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
javascript
Domain
documentation

Research direction

Start with the Test Runner documentation at the affected URL, especially the Subtests section and its references to suites. Compare the suite and nested-test examples from the issue, then document what a Node.js suite is and how its behavior differs from tests with subtests; done means readers encounter this explanation before the Subtests section.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

doc test_runner
Affected URL(s)

https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v24.x/api/test.html

Description of the problem

The test runner docs could use more information regarding suites. Suites do behave subtly differently to a test with subtests. Documenting these difference is important.

For example, comparing and contrasting the difference in:

suite('s1', () => {
  test('t1', () => {
    assert.ok(true);
  });
  test('t2', () => {
    assert.ok(true);
  });
});

And then the equivalent:

test('s1', async (ctx) => {
  await ctx.test('t1', () => {
    assert.ok(true);
  });
  await ctx.test('t2', () => {
    assert.ok(true);
  });
});

I'm sure there is more details to mention too but this comparison stands out the most to me.

It also feels like the docs are missing this section because as you read the page top-to-bottom, you get to the Subtests section and it mentions:

This is necessary because tests do not wait for their subtests to complete, unlike tests created within suites.

Without ever actually introducing what a "suite" is.

I understand the concept of a "suite" is generally well understood in the context of a any test runner, but nonetheless the specifics for Node's version of it is important to detail as devs work to convert from other testing frameworks where they may be familiar with different assumptions for what a "suite" vs "test" is.

Dominant language
JavaScript
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Merged PRs (30d)
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