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Cross-Platform Testing

This document describes the cross-platform testing setup for markmv, which ensures the tool works correctly across different operating systems and filesystem types.

Overview

markmv is tested on three major platforms:

  • Linux (Ubuntu) - Case-sensitive filesystem, symbolic link support
  • macOS - Case-insensitive filesystem (default), symbolic link support
  • Windows - Case-insensitive filesystem, limited symbolic link support

Testing Strategy

1. CI/CD Matrix Testing

The main CI pipeline (.github/workflows/main.yml) includes a matrix strategy that tests across:

  • Operating Systems: Ubuntu, Windows, macOS
  • Node.js versions: 20.x, 22.x
  • Filesystem behaviors: Case-sensitive vs case-insensitive

2. Dedicated Cross-Platform Workflow

A separate workflow (.github/workflows/cross-platform-tests.yml) performs comprehensive cross-platform testing:

  • Automatic filesystem capability detection
  • Platform-specific test scenarios
  • CLI testing with different path formats
  • Symlink behavior validation

3. Local Testing Support

A local testing script (scripts/test-cross-platform.js) allows developers to simulate cross-platform testing on their local machine.

Filesystem Differences Handled

Case Sensitivity

Linux (default): Case-sensitive

  • file.md and FILE.md are different files
  • Link updates must preserve case exactly

macOS/Windows: Case-insensitive

  • file.md and FILE.md refer to the same file
  • Link updates are case-insensitive

Path Separators

Windows: Backslash (\)

  • Native: folder\subfolder\file.md
  • Mixed support: folder/subfolder/file.md

Unix-like (Linux/macOS): Forward slash (/)

  • Native: folder/subfolder/file.md
  • Limited backslash support

Symbolic Links

Linux/macOS: Full support

  • File and directory symbolic links
  • Link target resolution

Windows: Limited support

  • Requires elevated permissions
  • May not work in all environments

Test Utilities

Cross-Platform Test Helpers

The src/utils/test-helpers.ts module provides utilities for writing cross-platform tests:

import { 
  getPlatformInfo, 
  conditionalTest, 
  getTestPaths,
  wouldFilenamesConflict 
} from './test-helpers.js';

// Get current platform information
const platformInfo = getPlatformInfo();
console.log(`Case sensitive: ${platformInfo.caseSensitive}`);

// Run tests conditionally based on platform capabilities
conditionalTest('symlink test', 'symlinks', () => {
  // This test only runs if symlinks are supported
});

// Test filename conflicts based on case sensitivity
const conflict = wouldFilenamesConflict('file.md', 'FILE.md');
// Returns true on case-insensitive filesystems

Environment Variables

The testing system uses environment variables to communicate filesystem capabilities:

  • MARKMV_TEST_OS: Current operating system
  • MARKMV_TEST_CASE_SENSITIVE: Whether filesystem is case-sensitive
  • MARKMV_TEST_SUPPORTS_SYMLINKS: Whether symbolic links are supported
  • MARKMV_TEST_FILESYSTEM_CASE_SENSITIVE: Detected case sensitivity
  • MARKMV_TEST_SUPPORTS_SYMLINKS: Detected symlink support

Running Cross-Platform Tests

In CI

Cross-platform tests run automatically on all pushes and pull requests:

  1. Main workflow: Basic cross-platform compatibility
  2. Cross-platform workflow: Comprehensive filesystem testing

Locally

Run cross-platform tests on your local machine:

# Full cross-platform test suite
npm run test:cross-platform

# Create test data only
npm run test:cross-platform:data

# Test CLI only
npm run test:cross-platform:cli

# Run with specific environment
MARKMV_TEST_CASE_SENSITIVE=false npm run test:run

Manual Testing

To manually test cross-platform behavior:

  1. Create test markdown files with links
  2. Test on different operating systems
  3. Verify link updates work correctly
  4. Check case sensitivity handling

Best Practices

For Developers

  1. Use test helpers: Always use the cross-platform test utilities
  2. Conditional testing: Skip tests that require unsupported features
  3. Path normalization: Use the provided path utilities
  4. Environment awareness: Check platform capabilities before testing

For Test Writing

import { conditionalTest, getPlatformInfo } from '../utils/test-helpers.js';

describe('My Feature', () => {
  const platformInfo = getPlatformInfo();
  
  // Standard test that runs on all platforms
  test('should work on all platforms', () => {
    // Test implementation
  });
  
  // Conditional test for case-sensitive filesystems
  conditionalTest('case sensitivity test', 'case-sensitivity', () => {
    // This only runs on case-sensitive filesystems
  });
  
  // Platform-specific test
  if (platformInfo.isWindows) {
    test('Windows-specific behavior', () => {
      // Windows-only test
    });
  }
});

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Test failures on Windows

    • Check path separator usage
    • Verify symlink permissions
    • Ensure proper escaping

  2. Case sensitivity conflicts

    • Use conditional tests
    • Check filename collision detection
    • Verify case-insensitive link updates

  3. CI failures

    • Review filesystem detection logs
    • Check environment variable setup
    • Verify test data creation

Debugging

Enable debug output in tests:

# Enable verbose test output
npm run test:run -- --reporter=verbose

# Run specific test file
npm run test:run -- src/utils/test-helpers.test.ts

# Check filesystem capabilities
node scripts/test-cross-platform.js --test-data-only

Architecture

Test Flow

  1. Platform Detection: Automatically detect OS and filesystem capabilities
  2. Environment Setup: Set environment variables for test configuration
  3. Test Execution: Run tests with platform-aware assertions
  4. Result Reporting: Generate platform-specific test reports

Integration Points

  • Vitest Configuration: Environment variable setup
  • CI Workflows: Matrix strategy and capability detection
  • Test Utilities: Cross-platform abstractions
  • CLI Testing: Path format validation

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements to cross-platform testing:

  1. Additional Platforms: Test on more OS variants
  2. Filesystem Types: Test different filesystem types (NTFS, ext4, APFS)
  3. Docker Testing: Containerized cross-platform testing
  4. Performance Testing: Platform-specific performance validation
  5. Unicode Support: Extended character set testing

Contributing

When adding new features:

  1. Consider cross-platform implications
  2. Add appropriate conditional tests
  3. Update test utilities if needed
  4. Document platform-specific behaviors
  5. Test on multiple operating systems

For more information about the testing setup, see the workflow files in .github/workflows/ and the test utilities in src/utils/test-helpers.ts.