Testing Workflow

After code is developed, tests must be run to ensure the integrity of the final result.

Crucial: Tests MUST be run inside the container to access the correct runtime environment (DB, Config, Dependencies).

0. Pre-requisites: Environment Check

Before running any tests, verify you are inside the development container:

ls -d /workspaces/NetAlertX

IF this directory does not exist, you are likely on the host machine. You MUST immediately activate the devcontainer-management skill to enter the container or run commands inside it.

activate_skill("devcontainer-management")

1. Full Test Suite (MANDATORY DEFAULT)

Unless the user explicitly requests "fast" or "quick" tests, you MUST run the full test suite. Do not optimize for time. Comprehensive coverage is the priority over speed.

cd /workspaces/NetAlertX; pytest test/

2. Fast Unit Tests (Conditional)

ONLY use this if the user explicitly asks for "fast tests", "quick tests", or "unit tests only". This excludes slow tests marked with docker or feature_complete.

cd /workspaces/NetAlertX; pytest test/ -m 'not docker and not feature_complete'

3. Running Specific Tests

To run a specific file or folder:

cd /workspaces/NetAlertX; pytest test/<path_to_test>

Example:

cd /workspaces/NetAlertX; pytest test/api_endpoints/test_mcp_extended_endpoints.py

Authentication & Environment Reset

Authentication tokens are required to perform certain operations such as manual testing or crafting expressions to work with the web APIs. After making code changes, you MUST reset the environment to ensure the new code is running and verify you have the latest API_TOKEN.

1. Reset Environment: Run the setup script inside the container.

   bash /workspaces/NetAlertX/.devcontainer/scripts/setup.sh
   

2. Wait for Stabilization: Wait at least 5 seconds for services (nginx, python server, etc.) to start.

   sleep 5
   

3. Obtain Token: Retrieve the current token from the container.

   python3 -c "from helper import get_setting_value; print(get_setting_value('API_TOKEN'))"
   

The retrieved token MUST be used in all subsequent API or test calls requiring authentication.

Troubleshooting

If tests fail with 403 Forbidden or empty tokens:

1. Verify server is running and use the setup script (/workspaces/NetAlertX/.devcontainer/scripts/setup.sh) if required.
2. Verify app.conf inside the container: cat /data/config/app.conf

Check for Pre-Existing Failures

Before attributing failures to your changes, check what was already broken:

cd /workspaces/NetAlertX; pytest test/ --tb=no -q 2>&1 | tail -20

Do not fix pre-existing failures unless that is the explicit goal.

PYTHONPATH

The test environment is pre-configured with:

• /app — primary location where Python runs in production
• /app/server — symlink to /workspaces/NetAlertX/server
• /app/server/plugins — symlink to /workspaces/NetAlertX/server/plugins
• /opt/venv/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages
• /workspaces/NetAlertX/test
• /workspaces/NetAlertX/server
• /workspaces/NetAlertX
• /usr/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages

Docker Test Image

If the Dockerfile or dependencies changed, rebuild the test image before running:

docker buildx build -t netalertx-test .

Takes ~30 seconds; ~90 seconds if the venv stage changed.

Pitfall: sys.modules Stubbing Leaks Across Test Files

Some plugin tests (e.g. test/plugins/test_ntfy_custom_headers.py) stub NetAlertX modules (conf, helper, models.notification_instance, etc.) via sys.modules[name] = fake_module so the plugin script can be imported standalone, outside the container. Because sys.modules is a single process-wide cache shared by the whole pytest session, a fake module inserted by one test file silently shadows the real module for every other test file collected afterwards — pytest imports all test files during collection, before any test runs, so this can happen regardless of alphabetical/directory order.

Symptom: AttributeError: <module 'models.notification_instance'> does not have the attribute 'get_setting_value' (or similar) in an unrelated test file, where the module repr has no from '<path>' suffix — a giveaway that a stub, not the real module, was resolved.

Fix pattern: track which module names your stub actually inserted, and pop them back out of sys.modules immediately after the one-time import that needed them (the already-imported script keeps its bound names regardless):

_stubbed_module_names = []

def _stub(name, **attrs):
    if name not in sys.modules:
        mod = types.ModuleType(name)
        for k, v in attrs.items():
            setattr(mod, k, v)
        sys.modules[name] = mod
        _stubbed_module_names.append(name)

# ... _stub(...) calls, then the one-time import ...
import ntfy

for _name in _stubbed_module_names:
    sys.modules.pop(_name, None)