JUnit: how to avoid «no runnable methods» in test utils classes
I have switched to JUnit4.4 from JUnit3.8. I run my tests using ant, all my tests run successfully but test utility classes fail with «No runnable methods» error. The pattern I am using is to include all classes with name *Test* under test folder. I understand that the runner can’t find any method annotated with @Test attribute. But they don’t contain such annotation because these classes are not tests. Surprisingly when running these tests in eclipse, it doesn’t complain about these classes. In JUnit3.8 it wasn’t a problem at all since these utility classes didn’t extend TestCase so the runner didn’t try to execute them. I know I can exclude these specific classes in the junit target in ant script. But I don’t want to change the build file upon every new utility class I add. I can also rename the classes (but giving good names to classes was always my weakest talent 🙂 ) Is there any elegant solution for this problem?
I use eclipse. Actually there is no problem there, somehow eclipse doesn’t try to run these classes. I wonder how?
I don’t know if we understood your question. Please re-read your question and probably add some more information.
@guerda: The question seems pretty clear to me. His Ant task is finding classes which don’t contain tests, because the filter is picking up the utility class. Hence my answer, which I still believe is entirely relevant.
11 Answers 11
Annotate your util classes with @Ignore. This will cause JUnit not to try and run them as tests.
Sorry but that’s a bad idea. You want to start annotating your production code with test related annotations just because they might match a test pattern? The proper answer is to fix the class names if they are triggering the pattern matching for tests. And make sure the pattern finds only classes that END with Test. That’s a commonly accepted pattern
Yeah, this is bad and I didn’t realize it until after contributing another upvote that i can’t remove. Make your base class abstract, then JUnit will ignore it. See @gmoore’s answer below.
My specific case has the following scenario. Our tests
public class VenueResourceContainerTest extends BaseTixContainerTest and JUnit was trying to run BaseTixContainerTest. Poor BaseTixContainerTest was just trying to setup the container, setup the client, order some pizza and relax. man.
As mentioned previously, you can annotate the class with
But that caused JUnit to report that test as skipped (as opposed to completely ignored).
Tests run: 4, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 1 That kind of irritated me.
So I made BaseTixContainerTest abstract, and now JUnit truly ignores it.
Tests run: 3, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0 I tried the @Ignore approach and thought, well that’s good, then I read this answer and slapped myself in the forehead, «Of course!»
Assuming you’re in control of the pattern used to find test classes, I’d suggest changing it to match *Test rather than *Test* . That way TestHelper won’t get matched, but FooTest will.
You seem to have missed the point of my answer. He has a name filter to determine the classes to be considered as tests. If he changes the filter, he can easily exclude the helper classes.
Your suggestion is valid, however I checked out my tests classes and some start with Test and some end with Test. no clear distinction between utility classes and real test classes. Do you think the convention you suggested is a good practice? (i.e. utils start with Test, and tests end with Test)
It’s almost a convention that you suffix the testcase classes with *Test. You might need to refactor by renaming test classes appropriately and also rename the helpers so they won’t use that suffix convention.
I agree with Spoike — if you can’t tell from the name of the class whether it’s a test or a helper, you should rename the class. The convention is more «the class is a test if and only if it ends with Test.» Utility classes may or may not begin with Test — it doesn’t matter.
To prevent JUnit from instantiating your test base class just make it
public abstract class MyTestBaseClass
(@Ignore reports it as ignored which I reserve for temporarily ignored tests.)
JUnit runners often try to instantiate abstract classes as well, and then fail with an instantiation error.
This is working because of the name (it doesn’t end in Test), not because of the abstract modifier. Change the class name to MyBaseClassTest and it will try to instantiate as mentioned by @HollyCummins (and fail)
- If this is your base test class for example AbstractTest and all your tests extends this then define this class as abstract
- If it is Util class then better remove *Test from the class rename it is MyTestUtil or Utils etc.
Be careful when using an IDE’s code-completion to add the import for @Test .
It has to be import org.junit.Test and not import org.testng.annotations.Test , for example. If you do the latter, you’ll get the «no runnable methods» error.
Intellij Idea 2017 was messing with my mind by importing org.junit.jupiter.api.Test instead! but thanks to you it is solved now
Ant now comes with the skipNonTests attribute which was designed to do exactly what you seem to be looking for. No need to change your base classes to abstract or add annotations to them.
It looks like the skipNonTests attribute is only available in ant 1.9+, which is a shame, since it looks incredibly useful. It will also exclude abstract test superclasses.
What about adding an empty test method to these classes?
public void avoidAnnoyingErrorMessageWhenRunningTestsInAnt() < assertTrue(true); // do nothing; >In your test class if wrote import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test; delete it and write import org.junit.Test; In this case it worked me as well.
amazingly, it worked. i executed manually in Windows command line. however, another problem is that @BeforeAll and @AfterAll are not run.
seemingly, JUnit4 worked (with @BeforeClass and @AfterClass , but JUnit5’s not. Reference: junit.org/junit5/docs/current/user-guide/#migrating-from-junit4
I was also facing a similar issue («no runnable methods..») on running the simplest of simple piece of code (Using @Test, @Before etc.) and found the solution nowhere. I was using Junit4 and Eclipse SDK version 4.1.2. Resolved my problem by using the latest Eclipse SDK 4.2.2. I hope this helps people who are struggling with a somewhat similar issue.
I also faced the same issue once. In my case I was running my tests using Enclosed Runner of Junit. I created a class called SharedSetup to enable common features for my 2 test classes. But somehow facing the same issue.
@RunWith(Enclosed.class) public class StructApprovalNodeTest < abstract static class SharedSetup < StructApprovalNode sut; ExecutionContext ctx = mock(ExecutionContext.class); DTDDAOService dtd = mock(DTDDAOService.class); @Rule public ExpectedException expectedException = ExpectedException.none(); @Before public void before() throws Exception < PowerMockito.mockStatic(ServiceHelper.class); when(ServiceHelper.getService("dtd")).thenReturn(dtd); when(ctx.getContextInstance()).thenReturn(mock(ContextInstance.class)); when(dtd.getLatestStructures(Matchers.anyInt(), Matchers.anyString(), Matchers.anyString())).thenReturn( new ArrayList()); sut = new StructApprovalNode(); spy(sut); > > @RunWith(PowerMockRunner.class) @PrepareForTest(< ServiceHelper.class, StructApprovalNode.class >) @PowerMockIgnore("javax.management.*") @PowerMockRunnerDelegate(Parameterized.class) public static class ParamaterizedBatchTest extends SharedSetup < private String batchName; private String approvalStatus; public ParamaterizedBatchTest(String batchName, String approvalStatus) < this.batchName = batchName; this.approvalStatus = approvalStatus; >@Parameterized.Parameters public static Collection testValues() < return Arrays.asList(new Object[][] < < "SDC_HK_AUTOMATION_BATCH", Constants.APRVLSTATUS_APPROVED >, < "SDC_PB_AUTOMATION_BATCH", Constants.APRVLSTATUS_APPROVED >, < "SDC_FX_AUTOMATION_BATCH", Constants.APRVLSTATUS_APPROVED >>); > @Test public void test1_SDCBatchSourceSystems() throws Exception < Trade trade = new Trade(); String tradeXml = FileHelper.getResourceFromJar("/testdata/SDC_BATCH_TRADE_XML.xml"); trade.setTradeXml(tradeXml); trade.setTradeDoc(XmlHelper.createDocument(trade.getTradeXml())); trade.setStatus(Constants.STATUS_LIVE); trade.setSourceSystem(this.batchName); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getVariable("trade")).thenReturn(trade); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getTransientVariable("prevTrade")).thenReturn(null); sut.execute(ctx); PowerMockito.verifyPrivate(sut, times(1)).invoke("resetApprovalDetails", trade); Assert.assertEquals(this.approvalStatus, trade.getApprovalStatus()); >> @RunWith(PowerMockRunner.class) @PrepareForTest(< ServiceHelper.class, StructApprovalNode.class >) @PowerMockIgnore("javax.management.*") public static class NonParamaterizedBatchTest extends SharedSetup < @Test public void test2_PrevInvalidTrade() throws Exception < expectedException.expect(Exception.class); expectedException.expectMessage("External Id of STRUCTURE_TRADE cannot be changed."); Trade trade = new Trade(); trade.setExternalId(123); PrevTrade prevTrade = new PrevTrade(); prevTrade.setExternalId(1234); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getVariable("trade")).thenReturn(trade); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getTransientVariable("prevTrade")).thenReturn(prevTrade); sut.execute(ctx); >@Test public void test3_ValidPrevTrade() throws Exception < Trade trade = new Trade(); String tradeXml = FileHelper.getResourceFromJar("/testdata/SDC_BATCH_TRADE_XML.xml"); trade.setTradeXml(tradeXml); trade.setTradeDoc(XmlHelper.createDocument(trade.getTradeXml())); trade.setStatus(Constants.STATUS_LIVE); trade.setSourceSystem("BATCH"); trade.setExternalId(1277402441); PrevTrade prevTrade = new PrevTrade(); prevTrade.setExternalId(1277402441); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getVariable("trade")).thenReturn(trade); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getTransientVariable("prevTrade")).thenReturn(prevTrade); sut.execute(ctx); PowerMockito.verifyPrivate(sut, times(1)).invoke("resetApprovalDetails", trade); Assert.assertEquals("APPROVED", trade.getApprovalStatus()); >@Test public void test4_ValidPrevTradeAutoApprpve() throws Exception < Trade trade = new Trade(); String tradeXml = FileHelper.getResourceFromJar("/testdata/SDC_BATCH_TRADE_XML_AUTO_APPRV.xml"); trade.setTradeXml(tradeXml); trade.setTradeDoc(XmlHelper.createDocument(trade.getTradeXml())); trade.setStatus(Constants.STATUS_LIVE); trade.setSourceSystem("BATCH"); trade.setExternalId(1277402441); PrevTrade prevTrade = new PrevTrade(); prevTrade.setExternalId(1277402441); prevTrade.setApprovalStatus(Constants.APRVLSTATUS_NOTAPPROVED); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getVariable("trade")).thenReturn(trade); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getTransientVariable("prevTrade")).thenReturn(prevTrade); sut.execute(ctx); PowerMockito.verifyPrivate(sut, times(1)).invoke("resetApprovalDetails", trade); Assert.assertEquals(prevTrade.getApprovalStatus(), trade.getApprovalStatus()); >@Test public void test5_tradeStatusDraft() throws Exception < Trade trade = new Trade(); String tradeXml = FileHelper.getResourceFromJar("/testdata/SDC_BATCH_TRADE_XML.xml"); trade.setTradeXml(tradeXml); trade.setTradeDoc(XmlHelper.createDocument(trade.getTradeXml())); trade.setStatus(Constants.STATUS_DRAFT); trade.setSourceSystem("BATCH"); trade.setExternalId(1277402441); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getVariable("trade")).thenReturn(trade); when(ctx.getContextInstance().getTransientVariable("prevTrade")).thenReturn(null); sut.execute(ctx); PowerMockito.verifyPrivate(sut, times(1)).invoke("resetApprovalDetails", trade); Assert.assertEquals(Constants.APRVLSTATUS_NONE, trade.getApprovalStatus()); >> To solve the issue, I just removed the public modifier from the abstract super class SharedSetup and issue is fixed for good
Run unit tests with spring boot, «no runnable methods» error
I’m running unit tests with Spring boot, but I get a weird no runnable error. The tests pass by the way, but after all test have ended successfully, I get this weird error out of nowhere:
java.lang.Exception: No runnable methods at org.junit.runners.BlockJUnit4ClassRunner.validateInstanceMethods(BlockJUnit4ClassRunner.java:191) at org.junit.runners.BlockJUnit4ClassRunner.collectInitializationErrors(BlockJUnit4ClassRunner.java:128) at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner.validate(ParentRunner.java:416) at org.junit.runners.ParentRunner.(ParentRunner.java:84) at org.junit.runners.BlockJUnit4ClassRunner.(BlockJUnit4ClassRunner.java:65) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:137) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringRunner.(SpringRunner.java:49) at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native Method) at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:62) How do I fix this? Why is Spring boot looking for a runnable in my tests? Here is an example of my code
package ca.bell.uc.hello.world import org.junit.Assert import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test import org.junit.runner.RunWith import org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringRunner @RunWith(SpringRunner::class) internal class example < @Test fun f() < Assert.assertTrue(true) >> 
And here is a screenshot of the error: Thanks P.S. This is Kotlin
No Runnable methods Error From Base Test class
I have a A few base test classes that setup common configurations for spring,logging,jndi etc using test execution listeners that are then inherited by subclasses. This is done so tests can just run code without having to worry about getting jndi and logging services in place before being able to run testing code. Using intellij and invoking «run all tests» from the project base, the IDE attempts to run the base test class as a unit test and gives me the «No runnable methods» error. I know I could put an empty runnable method in the base class, but I was hoping some one has a better idea. The Base class is:
@RunWith(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.class) @ContextConfiguration(locations = < "classpath:spring-jndi.xml" >) @TestExecutionListeners(< Log4JSetupListener.class, JndiSetupListener.class, DependencyInjectionTestExecutionListener.class, DirtiesContextTestExecutionListener.class, TransactionalTestExecutionListener.class >) public class SpringAppTestCase extends Assert implements ApplicationContextAware < protected JndiTemplate jndiTemplate = new JndiTemplate(); @Autowired protected JdbcTemplate jdbcTemplate; protected ApplicationContext applicationContext; public void setApplicationContext(ApplicationContext ac) < this.applicationContext = ac; >// // @Test // public void doit() < // // this would prevent blow up but // all subclass tests would run an extra method // >protected Logger log = Logger.getLogger(getClass().getName()); > java.lang.Exception: No runnable methods at org.junit.internal.runners.MethodValidator.validateInstanceMethods(MethodValidator.java:32) at org.junit.internal.runners.MethodValidator.validateMethodsForDefaultRunner(MethodValidator.java:43) at org.junit.internal.runners.JUnit4ClassRunner.validate(JUnit4ClassRunner.java:36) at org.junit.internal.runners.JUnit4ClassRunner.(JUnit4ClassRunner.java:27) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:76) java.lang.exception no runnable methods junit
I have a suite, inside which I have added the test class. I am using surefire to run my JUnits. My test class ends with test and the methods has @test annotations to it. How can this problem be resolved?
2 Answers 2
Here are various suggestions for this incomplete question (for those unfortunate enough to be brought here by google looking for an answer to this common issue):
- if using Junit4.x, just use annotations (@Test); don’t create a test suite: see this question for details.
- original question said «@Test» annotation is being used, which should prevent the error. But it can still happen if there are other errors that happen earlier, and junit can hide the original problem with this message. E.g., see if there are problems with Spring configuration (unset @Required attributes), misconfigured mock objects, etc.
- to avoid other frequent issues that also may generate this error (such as running classes suffixed by «*Test» that do not have any @Test methods), try updating to the surefire plugin 2.7 (currently @2.8.1) and junit 4.7+ (currently @4.8.1) to avoid this issue (i’m using maven3, btw; perhaps do a «mvn clean» before «mvn test» to be safe)
- long shot: upgrade to at least ant 1.7+ (currently 1.8+) to avoid junit 4 test suite issues
+1 for «Test» in filename causing problems. Also causes problems at the beginning of a class name. Example: TestHelper.java with no @Test could cause failures.