1 .. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
7 This page contains an overview of the kunit_tool and KUnit framework,
8 teaching how to run existing tests and then how to write a simple test case,
9 and covers common problems users face when using KUnit for the first time.
11 Installing Dependencies
12 =======================
13 KUnit has the same dependencies as the Linux kernel. As long as you can
14 build the kernel, you can run KUnit.
16 Running tests with kunit_tool
17 =============================
18 kunit_tool is a Python script, which configures and builds a kernel, runs
19 tests, and formats the test results. From the kernel repository, you
24 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run
27 You may see the following error:
28 "The source tree is not clean, please run 'make ARCH=um mrproper'"
30 This happens because internally kunit.py specifies ``.kunit``
31 (default option) as the build directory in the command ``make O=output/dir``
32 through the argument ``--build_dir``. Hence, before starting an
33 out-of-tree build, the source tree must be clean.
35 There is also the same caveat mentioned in the "Build directory for
36 the kernel" section of the :doc:`admin-guide </admin-guide/README>`,
37 that is, its use, it must be used for all invocations of ``make``.
38 The good news is that it can indeed be solved by running
39 ``make ARCH=um mrproper``, just be aware that this will delete the
40 current configuration and all generated files.
42 If everything worked correctly, you should see the following:
46 Configuring KUnit Kernel ...
47 Building KUnit Kernel ...
48 Starting KUnit Kernel ...
50 The tests will pass or fail.
53 Because it is building a lot of sources for the first time,
54 the ``Building KUnit Kernel`` step may take a while.
56 For detailed information on this wrapper, see:
57 Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/run_wrapper.rst.
59 Selecting which tests to run
60 ----------------------------
62 By default, kunit_tool runs all tests reachable with minimal configuration,
63 that is, using default values for most of the kconfig options. However,
64 you can select which tests to run by:
66 - `Customizing Kconfig`_ used to compile the kernel, or
67 - `Filtering tests by name`_ to select specifically which compiled tests to run.
71 A good starting point for the ``.kunitconfig`` is the KUnit default config.
72 If you didn't run ``kunit.py run`` yet, you can generate it by running:
76 cd $PATH_TO_LINUX_REPO
77 tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py config
78 cat .kunit/.kunitconfig
81 ``.kunitconfig`` lives in the ``--build_dir`` used by kunit.py, which is
82 ``.kunit`` by default.
84 Before running the tests, kunit_tool ensures that all config options
85 set in ``.kunitconfig`` are set in the kernel ``.config``. It will warn
86 you if you have not included dependencies for the options used.
88 There are many ways to customize the configurations:
90 a. Edit ``.kunit/.kunitconfig``. The file should contain the list of kconfig
91 options required to run the desired tests, including their dependencies.
92 You may want to remove CONFIG_KUNIT_ALL_TESTS from the ``.kunitconfig`` as
93 it will enable a number of additional tests that you may not want.
94 If you need to run on an architecture other than UML see :ref:`kunit-on-qemu`.
96 b. Enable additional kconfig options on top of ``.kunit/.kunitconfig``.
97 For example, to include the kernel's linked-list test you can run::
99 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run \
100 --kconfig_add CONFIG_LIST_KUNIT_TEST=y
102 c. Provide the path of one or more .kunitconfig files from the tree.
103 For example, to run only ``FAT_FS`` and ``EXT4`` tests you can run::
105 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run \
106 --kunitconfig ./fs/fat/.kunitconfig \
107 --kunitconfig ./fs/ext4/.kunitconfig
109 d. If you change the ``.kunitconfig``, kunit.py will trigger a rebuild of the
110 ``.config`` file. But you can edit the ``.config`` file directly or with
111 tools like ``make menuconfig O=.kunit``. As long as its a superset of
112 ``.kunitconfig``, kunit.py won't overwrite your changes.
117 To save a .kunitconfig after finding a satisfactory configuration::
119 make savedefconfig O=.kunit
120 cp .kunit/defconfig .kunit/.kunitconfig
122 Filtering tests by name
123 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
124 If you want to be more specific than Kconfig can provide, it is also possible
125 to select which tests to execute at boot-time by passing a glob filter
126 (read instructions regarding the pattern in the manpage :manpage:`glob(7)`).
127 If there is a ``"."`` (period) in the filter, it will be interpreted as a
128 separator between the name of the test suite and the test case,
129 otherwise, it will be interpreted as the name of the test suite.
130 For example, let's assume we are using the default config:
132 a. inform the name of a test suite, like ``"kunit_executor_test"``,
133 to run every test case it contains::
135 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run "kunit_executor_test"
137 b. inform the name of a test case prefixed by its test suite,
138 like ``"example.example_simple_test"``, to run specifically that test case::
140 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run "example.example_simple_test"
142 c. use wildcard characters (``*?[``) to run any test case that matches the pattern,
143 like ``"*.*64*"`` to run test cases containing ``"64"`` in the name inside
146 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run "*.*64*"
148 Running Tests without the KUnit Wrapper
149 =======================================
150 If you do not want to use the KUnit Wrapper (for example: you want code
151 under test to integrate with other systems, or use a different/
152 unsupported architecture or configuration), KUnit can be included in
153 any kernel, and the results are read out and parsed manually.
156 ``CONFIG_KUNIT`` should not be enabled in a production environment.
157 Enabling KUnit disables Kernel Address-Space Layout Randomization
158 (KASLR), and tests may affect the state of the kernel in ways not
159 suitable for production.
161 Configuring the Kernel
162 ----------------------
163 To enable KUnit itself, you need to enable the ``CONFIG_KUNIT`` Kconfig
164 option (under Kernel Hacking/Kernel Testing and Coverage in
165 ``menuconfig``). From there, you can enable any KUnit tests. They
166 usually have config options ending in ``_KUNIT_TEST``.
168 KUnit and KUnit tests can be compiled as modules. The tests in a module
169 will run when the module is loaded.
171 Running Tests (without KUnit Wrapper)
172 -------------------------------------
173 Build and run your kernel. In the kernel log, the test output is printed
174 out in the TAP format. This will only happen by default if KUnit/tests
175 are built-in. Otherwise the module will need to be loaded.
178 Some lines and/or data may get interspersed in the TAP output.
180 Writing Your First Test
181 =======================
182 In your kernel repository, let's add some code that we can test.
184 1. Create a file ``drivers/misc/example.h``, which includes:
188 int misc_example_add(int left, int right);
190 2. Create a file ``drivers/misc/example.c``, which includes:
194 #include <linux/errno.h>
198 int misc_example_add(int left, int right)
203 3. Add the following lines to ``drivers/misc/Kconfig``:
205 .. code-block:: kconfig
210 4. Add the following lines to ``drivers/misc/Makefile``:
214 obj-$(CONFIG_MISC_EXAMPLE) += example.o
216 Now we are ready to write the test cases.
218 1. Add the below test case in ``drivers/misc/example_test.c``:
222 #include <kunit/test.h>
225 /* Define the test cases. */
227 static void misc_example_add_test_basic(struct kunit *test)
229 KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, 1, misc_example_add(1, 0));
230 KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, 2, misc_example_add(1, 1));
231 KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, 0, misc_example_add(-1, 1));
232 KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, INT_MAX, misc_example_add(0, INT_MAX));
233 KUNIT_EXPECT_EQ(test, -1, misc_example_add(INT_MAX, INT_MIN));
236 static void misc_example_test_failure(struct kunit *test)
238 KUNIT_FAIL(test, "This test never passes.");
241 static struct kunit_case misc_example_test_cases[] = {
242 KUNIT_CASE(misc_example_add_test_basic),
243 KUNIT_CASE(misc_example_test_failure),
247 static struct kunit_suite misc_example_test_suite = {
248 .name = "misc-example",
249 .test_cases = misc_example_test_cases,
251 kunit_test_suite(misc_example_test_suite);
253 MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
255 2. Add the following lines to ``drivers/misc/Kconfig``:
257 .. code-block:: kconfig
259 config MISC_EXAMPLE_TEST
260 tristate "Test for my example" if !KUNIT_ALL_TESTS
261 depends on MISC_EXAMPLE && KUNIT
262 default KUNIT_ALL_TESTS
264 Note: If your test does not support being built as a loadable module (which is
265 discouraged), replace tristate by bool, and depend on KUNIT=y instead of KUNIT.
267 3. Add the following lines to ``drivers/misc/Makefile``:
271 obj-$(CONFIG_MISC_EXAMPLE_TEST) += example_test.o
273 4. Add the following lines to ``.kunit/.kunitconfig``:
277 CONFIG_MISC_EXAMPLE=y
278 CONFIG_MISC_EXAMPLE_TEST=y
284 ./tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py run
286 You should see the following failure:
291 [16:08:57] [PASSED] misc-example:misc_example_add_test_basic
292 [16:08:57] [FAILED] misc-example:misc_example_test_failure
293 [16:08:57] EXPECTATION FAILED at drivers/misc/example-test.c:17
294 [16:08:57] This test never passes.
297 Congrats! You just wrote your first KUnit test.
302 If you're interested in using some of the more advanced features of kunit.py,
303 take a look at Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/run_wrapper.rst
305 If you'd like to run tests without using kunit.py, check out
306 Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/run_manual.rst
308 For more information on writing KUnit tests (including some common techniques
309 for testing different things), see Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/usage.rst