13 libc++ uses LIT to configure and run its tests.
15 The primary way to run the libc++ tests is by using ``make check-cxx``.
17 However since libc++ can be used in any number of possible
18 configurations it is important to customize the way LIT builds and runs
19 the tests. This guide provides information on how to use LIT directly to
22 Please see the `Lit Command Guide`_ for more information about LIT.
24 .. _LIT Command Guide: https://llvm.org/docs/CommandGuide/lit.html
29 After :ref:`building libc++ <VendorDocumentation>`, you can run parts of the libc++ test suite by simply
30 running ``llvm-lit`` on a specified test or directory. If you're unsure
31 whether the required libraries have been built, you can use the
32 ``cxx-test-depends`` target. For example:
37 $ make -C <build> cxx-test-depends # If you want to make sure the targets get rebuilt
38 $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/re # Run all of the std::regex tests
39 $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/depr/depr.c.headers/stdlib_h.pass.cpp # Run a single test
40 $ <build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv libcxx/test/std/atomics libcxx/test/std/threads # Test std::thread and std::atomic
42 If you used **ninja** as your build system, running ``ninja -C <build> check-cxx`` will run
43 all the tests in the libc++ testsuite.
46 If you used the Bootstrapping build instead of the default runtimes build, the
47 ``cxx-test-depends`` target is instead named ``runtimes-test-depends``, and
48 you will need to prefix ``<build>/runtimes/runtimes-<target>-bins/`` to the
49 paths of all tests. For example, to run all the libcxx tests you can do
50 ``<build>/bin/llvm-lit -sv <build>/runtimes/runtimes-bins/libcxx/test``.
52 In the default configuration, the tests are built against headers that form a
53 fake installation root of libc++. This installation root has to be updated when
54 changes are made to the headers, so you should re-run the ``cxx-test-depends``
55 target before running the tests manually with ``lit`` when you make any sort of
56 change, including to the headers. We recommend using the provided ``libcxx/utils/libcxx-lit``
57 script to automate this so you don't have to think about building test dependencies
63 $ libcxx/utils/libcxx-lit <build> -sv libcxx/test/std/re # Build testing dependencies and run all of the std::regex tests
65 Sometimes you'll want to change the way LIT is running the tests. Custom options
66 can be specified using the ``--param <name>=<val>`` flag. The most common option
67 you'll want to change is the standard dialect (ie ``-std=c++XX``). By default the
68 test suite will select the newest C++ dialect supported by the compiler and use
69 that. However, you can manually specify the option like so if you want:
73 $ libcxx/utils/libcxx-lit <build> -sv libcxx/test/std/containers # Run the tests with the newest -std
74 $ libcxx/utils/libcxx-lit <build> -sv libcxx/test/std/containers --param std=c++03 # Run the tests in C++03
76 Other parameters are supported by the test suite. Those are defined in ``libcxx/utils/libcxx/test/params.py``.
77 If you want to customize how to run the libc++ test suite beyond what is available
78 in ``params.py``, you most likely want to use a custom site configuration instead.
80 The libc++ test suite works by loading a site configuration that defines various
81 "base" parameters (via Lit substitutions). These base parameters represent things
82 like the compiler to use for running the tests, which default compiler and linker
83 flags to use, and how to run an executable. This system is meant to be easily
84 extended for custom needs, in particular when porting the libc++ test suite to
88 If you run the test suite on Apple platforms, we recommend adding the terminal application
89 used to run the test suite to the list of "Developer Tools". This prevents the system from
90 trying to scan each individual test binary for malware and dramatically speeds up the test
93 Using a Custom Site Configuration
94 ---------------------------------
96 By default, the libc++ test suite will use a site configuration that matches
97 the current CMake configuration. It does so by generating a ``lit.site.cfg``
98 file in the build directory from one of the configuration file templates in
99 ``libcxx/test/configs/``, and pointing ``llvm-lit`` (which is a wrapper around
100 ``llvm/utils/lit/lit.py``) to that file. So when you're running
101 ``<build>/bin/llvm-lit`` either directly or indirectly, the generated ``lit.site.cfg``
102 file is always loaded instead of ``libcxx/test/lit.cfg.py``. If you want to use a
103 custom site configuration, simply point the CMake build to it using
104 ``-DLIBCXX_TEST_CONFIG=<path-to-site-config>``, and that site configuration
105 will be used instead. That file can use CMake variables inside it to make
106 configuration easier.
110 $ cmake <options> -DLIBCXX_TEST_CONFIG=<path-to-site-config>
111 $ libcxx/utils/libcxx-lit <build> -sv libcxx/test # will use your custom config file
116 The libc++ test suite uses a few optional tools to improve the code quality.
119 - clang-tidy (you might need additional dev packages to compile libc++-specific clang-tidy checks)
121 Reproducing CI issues locally
122 -----------------------------
124 Libc++ has extensive CI that tests various configurations of the library. The testing for
125 all these configurations is located in ``libcxx/utils/ci/run-buildbot``. Most of our
126 CI jobs are being run on a Docker image for reproducibility. The definition of this Docker
127 image is located in ``libcxx/utils/ci/Dockerfile``. If you are looking to reproduce the
128 failure of a specific CI job locally, you should first drop into a Docker container that
129 matches our CI images by running ``libcxx/utils/ci/run-buildbot-container``, and then run
130 the specific CI job that you're interested in (from within the container) using the ``run-buildbot``
131 script above. If you want to control which compiler is used, you can set the ``CC`` and the
132 ``CXX`` environment variables before calling ``run-buildbot`` to select the right compiler.
133 Take note that some CI jobs are testing the library on specific platforms and are *not* run
134 in our Docker image. In the general case, it is not possible to reproduce these failures
135 locally, unless they aren't specific to the platform.
137 Also note that the Docker container shares the same filesystem as your local machine, so
138 modifying files on your local machine will also modify what the Docker container sees.
139 This is useful for editing source files as you're testing your code in the Docker container.
144 When writing tests for the libc++ test suite, you should follow a few guidelines.
145 This will ensure that your tests can run on a wide variety of hardware and under
146 a wide variety of configurations. We have several unusual configurations such as
147 building the tests on one host but running them on a different host, which add a
148 few requirements to the test suite. Here's some stuff you should know:
150 - All tests are run in a temporary directory that is unique to that test and
151 cleaned up after the test is done.
152 - When a test needs data files as inputs, these data files can be saved in the
153 repository (when reasonable) and referenced by the test as
154 ``// FILE_DEPENDENCIES: <path-to-dependencies>``. Copies of these files or
155 directories will be made available to the test in the temporary directory
157 - You should never hardcode a path from the build-host in a test, because that
158 path will not necessarily be available on the host where the tests are run.
159 - You should try to reduce the runtime dependencies of each test to the minimum.
160 For example, requiring Python to run a test is bad, since Python is not
161 necessarily available on all devices we may want to run the tests on (even
162 though supporting Python is probably trivial for the build-host).
164 Structure of the testing related directories
165 --------------------------------------------
167 The tests of libc++ are stored in libc++'s testing related subdirectories:
169 - ``libcxx/test/support`` This directory contains several helper headers with
170 generic parts for the tests. The most important header is ``test_macros.h``.
171 This file contains configuration information regarding the platform used.
172 This is similar to the ``__config`` file in libc++'s ``include`` directory.
173 Since libc++'s tests are used by other Standard libraries, tests should use
174 the ``TEST_FOO`` macros instead of the ``_LIBCPP_FOO`` macros, which are
176 - ``libcxx/test/std`` This directory contains the tests that validate the library under
177 test conforms to the C++ Standard. The paths and the names of the test match
178 the section names in the C++ Standard. Note that the C++ Standard sometimes
179 reorganises its structure, therefore some tests are at a location based on
180 where they appeared historically in the standard. We try to strike a balance
181 between keeping things at up-to-date locations and unnecessary churn.
182 - ``libcxx/test/libcxx`` This directory contains the tests that validate libc++
183 specific behavior and implementation details. For example, libc++ has
184 "wrapped iterators" that perform bounds checks. Since those are specific to
185 libc++ and not mandated by the Standard, tests for those are located under
186 ``libcxx/test/libcxx``. The structure of this directories follows the
187 structure of ``libcxx/test/std``.
192 Some platforms where libc++ is tested have requirement on the signature of
193 ``main`` and require ``main`` to explicitly return a value. Therefore the
194 typical ``main`` function should look like:
198 int main(int, char**) {
204 The C++ Standard has ``constexpr`` requirements. The typical way to test that,
205 is to create a helper ``test`` function that returns a ``bool`` and use the
206 following ``main`` function:
210 constexpr bool test() {
215 int main(int, char**) {
217 static_assert(test());
222 Tests in libc++ mainly use ``assert`` and ``static_assert`` for testing. There
223 are a few helper macros and function that can be used to make it easier to
226 libcxx/test/support/assert_macros.h
227 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
229 The header contains several macros with user specified log messages. This is
230 useful when a normal assertion failure lacks the information to easily
231 understand why the test has failed. This usually happens when the test is in a
232 helper function. For example the ``std::format`` tests use a helper function
233 for its validation. When the test fails it will give the line in the helper
234 function with the condition ``out == expected`` failed. Without knowing what
235 the value of ``format string``, ``out`` and ``expected`` are it is not easy to
236 understand why the test has failed. By logging these three values the point of
237 failure can be found without resorting to a debugger.
239 Several of these macros are documented to take an ``ARG``. This ``ARG``:
241 - if it is a ``const char*`` or ``std::string`` its contents are written to
243 - otherwise it must be a callable that is invoked without any additional
244 arguments and is expected to produce useful output to e.g. ``stderr``.
246 This makes it possible to write additional information when a test fails,
247 either by supplying a hard-coded string or generate it at runtime.
252 This macro is an unconditional failure with a log message ``ARG``. The main
253 use-case is to fail when code is reached that should be unreachable.
256 TEST_REQUIRE(CONDITION, ARG)
257 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
259 This macro requires its ``CONDITION`` to evaluate to ``true``. If that fails it
260 will fail the test with a log message ``ARG``.
263 TEST_LIBCPP_REQUIRE((CONDITION, ARG)
264 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
266 If the library under test is libc++ it behaves like ``TEST_REQUIRE``, else it
267 is a no-op. This makes it possible to test libc++ specific behaviour. For
268 example testing whether the ``what()`` of an exception thrown matches libc++'s
269 expectations. (Usually the Standard requires certain exceptions to be thrown,
270 but not the contents of its ``what()`` message.)
273 TEST_DOES_NOT_THROW(EXPR)
274 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
276 Validates execution of ``EXPR`` does not throw an exception.
278 TEST_THROWS_TYPE(TYPE, EXPR)
279 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
281 Validates the execution of ``EXPR`` throws an exception of the type ``TYPE``.
284 TEST_VALIDATE_EXCEPTION(TYPE, PRED, EXPR)
285 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
287 Validates the execution of ``EXPR`` throws an exception of the type ``TYPE``
288 which passes validation of ``PRED``. Using this macro makes it easier to write
289 tests using exceptions. The code to write a test manually would be:
294 void test_excption([[maybe_unused]] int arg) {
295 #ifndef TEST_HAS_NO_EXCEPTIONS // do nothing when tests are disabled
298 assert(false); // validates foo really throws
299 } catch ([[maybe_unused]] const bar& e) {
300 LIBCPP_ASSERT(e.what() == what);
303 assert(false); // validates bar was thrown
307 The same test using a macro:
311 void test_excption([[maybe_unused]] int arg) {
312 TEST_VALIDATE_EXCEPTION(bar,
314 LIBCPP_ASSERT(e.what() == what);
320 libcxx/test/support/concat_macros.h
321 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
323 This file contains a helper macro ``TEST_WRITE_CONCATENATED`` to lazily
324 concatenate its arguments to a ``std::string`` and write it to ``stderr``. When
325 the output can't be concatenated a default message will be written to
326 ``stderr``. This is useful for tests where the arguments use different
327 character types like ``char`` and ``wchar_t``, the latter can't simply be
328 written to ``stderr``.
330 This macro is in a different header as ``assert_macros.h`` since it pulls in
333 .. note: This macro can only be used in test using C++20 or newer. The macro
334 was added at a time where most of libc++'s C++17 support was complete.
335 Since it is not expected to add this to existing tests no effort was
336 taken to make it work in earlier language versions.
342 The names of test files have meaning for the libc++-specific configuration of
343 Lit. Based on the pattern that matches the name of a test file, Lit will test
344 the code contained therein in different ways. Refer to the `Lit Meaning of libc++
345 Test Filenames`_ when determining the names for new test files.
347 .. _Lit Meaning of libc++ Test Filenames:
348 .. list-table:: Lit Meaning of libc++ Test Filenames
355 - Checks whether the C++ code in the file compiles, links and runs successfully.
357 - Same as ``FOO.pass.cpp``, but for Objective-C++.
359 * - ``FOO.compile.pass.cpp``
360 - Checks whether the C++ code in the file compiles successfully. In general, prefer ``compile`` tests over ``verify`` tests,
361 subject to the specific recommendations, below, for when to write ``verify`` tests.
362 * - ``FOO.compile.pass.mm``
363 - Same as ``FOO.compile.pass.cpp``, but for Objective-C++.
364 * - ``FOO.compile.fail.cpp``
365 - Checks that the code in the file does *not* compile successfully.
367 * - ``FOO.verify.cpp``
368 - Compiles with clang-verify. This type of test is automatically marked as UNSUPPORTED if the compiler does not support clang-verify.
369 For additional information about how to write ``verify`` tests, see the `Internals Manual <https://clang.llvm.org/docs/InternalsManual.html#verifying-diagnostics>`_.
370 Prefer `verify` tests over ``compile`` tests to test that compilation fails for a particular reason. For example, use a ``verify`` test
373 * an expected ``static_assert`` is triggered;
374 * the use of deprecated functions generates the proper warning;
375 * removed functions are no longer usable; or
376 * return values from functions marked ``[[nodiscard]]`` are stored.
378 * - ``FOO.link.pass.cpp``
379 - Checks that the C++ code in the file compiles and links successfully -- no run attempted.
380 * - ``FOO.link.pass.mm``
381 - Same as ``FOO.link.pass.cpp``, but for Objective-C++.
382 * - ``FOO.link.fail.cpp``
383 - Checks whether the C++ code in the file fails to link after successful compilation.
384 * - ``FOO.link.fail.mm``
385 - Same as ``FOO.link.fail.cpp``, but for Objective-C++.
387 * - ``FOO.sh.<anything>``
388 - A *builtin Lit Shell* test.
389 * - ``FOO.gen.<anything>``
390 - A variant of a *Lit Shell* test that generates one or more Lit tests on the fly. Executing this test must generate one or more files as expected
391 by LLVM split-file. Each generated file will drive an invocation of a separate Lit test. The format of the generated file will determine the type
392 of Lit test to be executed. This can be used to generate multiple Lit tests from a single source file, which is useful for testing repetitive properties
393 in the library. Be careful not to abuse this since this is not a replacement for usual code reuse techniques.
395 * - ``FOO.bench.cpp``
396 - A benchmark test. These tests are linked against the GoogleBenchmark library and generally consist of micro-benchmarks of individual
397 components of the library.
400 libc++-Specific Lit Features
401 ----------------------------
406 Lit has many directives built in (e.g., ``DEFINE``, ``UNSUPPORTED``). In addition to those directives, libc++ adds two additional libc++-specific directives that makes
407 writing tests easier. See `libc++-specific Lit Directives`_ for more information about the ``FILE_DEPENDENCIES``, ``ADDITIONAL_COMPILE_FLAGS``, and ``MODULE_DEPENDENCIES`` libc++-specific directives.
409 .. _libc++-specific Lit Directives:
410 .. list-table:: libc++-specific Lit Directives
417 * - ``FILE_DEPENDENCIES``
418 - ``// FILE_DEPENDENCIES: file, directory, /path/to/file, ...``
419 - The paths given to the ``FILE_DEPENDENCIES`` directive can specify directories or specific files upon which a given test depend. For example, a test that requires some test
420 input stored in a data file would use this libc++-specific Lit directive. When a test file contains the ``FILE_DEPENDENCIES`` directive, Lit will collect the named files and copy
421 them to the directory represented by the ``%T`` substitution before the test executes. The copy is performed from the directory represented by the ``%S`` substitution
422 (i.e. the source directory of the test being executed) which makes it possible to use relative paths to specify the location of dependency files. After Lit copies
423 all the dependent files to the directory specified by the ``%T`` substitution, that directory should contain *all* the necessary inputs to run. In other words,
424 it should be possible to copy the contents of the directory specified by the ``%T`` substitution to a remote host where the execution of the test will actually occur.
425 * - ``ADDITIONAL_COMPILE_FLAGS``
426 - ``// ADDITIONAL_COMPILE_FLAGS: flag1 flag2 ...``
427 - The additional compiler flags specified by a space-separated list to the ``ADDITIONAL_COMPILE_FLAGS`` libc++-specific Lit directive will be added to the end of the ``%{compile_flags}``
428 substitution for the test that contains it. This libc++-specific Lit directive makes it possible to add special compilation flags without having to resort to writing a ``.sh.cpp`` test (see
429 `Lit Meaning of libc++ Test Filenames`_), more powerful but perhaps overkill.
430 * - ``MODULE_DEPENDENCIES``
431 - ``// MODULE_DEPENDENCIES: std std.compat``
432 - This directive will build the required C++23 standard library
433 modules and add the additional compiler flags in
434 %{compile_flags}. (Libc++ offers these modules in C++20 as an
441 Libc++ contains benchmark tests separately from the test of the test suite.
442 The benchmarks are written using the `Google Benchmark`_ library, a copy of which
443 is stored in the libc++ repository.
445 For more information about using the Google Benchmark library, see the
446 `official documentation <https://github.com/google/benchmark>`_.
448 The benchmarks are located under ``libcxx/test/benchmarks``. Running a benchmark
449 works in the same way as running a test. Both the benchmarks and the tests share
450 the same configuration, so make sure to enable the relevant optimization level
451 when running the benchmarks. For example,
455 $ libcxx/utils/libcxx-lit <build> -sv libcxx/test/benchmarks/string.bench.cpp --param optimization=speed
457 If you want to see where a benchmark is located (e.g. you want to store the executable
458 for subsequent analysis), you can print that information by passing ``--show-all`` to
459 ``lit``. That will print the command-lines being executed, which includes the location
460 of the executable created for that benchmark.
462 Note that benchmarks are only dry-run when run via the ``check-cxx`` target since
463 we only want to make sure they don't rot. Do not rely on the results of benchmarks
464 run through ``check-cxx`` for anything, instead run the benchmarks manually using
465 the instructions for running individual tests.
467 .. _`Google Benchmark`: https://github.com/google/benchmark
469 .. _testing-hardening-assertions:
471 Testing hardening assertions
472 ============================
474 Each hardening assertion should be tested using death tests (via the
475 ``TEST_LIBCPP_ASSERT_FAILURE`` macro). Use the ``libcpp-hardening-mode`` Lit
476 feature to make sure the assertion is enabled in (and only in) the intended
477 modes. The convention is to use `assert.` in the name of the test file to make
478 it easier to identify as a hardening test, e.g. ``assert.my_func.pass.cpp``.
483 // Note: the following three annotations are currently needed to use the
484 // `TEST_LIBCPP_ASSERT_FAILURE`.
485 // REQUIRES: has-unix-headers
486 // UNSUPPORTED: c++03
487 // XFAIL: libcpp-hardening-mode=debug && availability-verbose_abort-missing
489 // Example: only run this test in `fast`/`extensive`/`debug` modes.
490 // UNSUPPORTED: libcpp-hardening-mode=none
491 // Example: only run this test in the `debug` mode.
492 // REQUIRES: libcpp-hardening-mode=debug
493 // Example: only run this test in `extensive`/`debug` modes.
494 // REQUIRES: libcpp-hardening-mode={{extensive|debug}}
496 #include <header_being_tested>
498 #include "check_assertion.h" // Contains the `TEST_LIBCPP_ASSERT_FAILURE` macro
500 int main(int, char**) {
501 std::type_being_tested foo;
503 TEST_LIBCPP_ASSERT_FAILURE(foo.some_function_that_asserts(bad_input),
504 "The expected assertion message");
509 Note that error messages are only tested (matched) if the ``debug``
510 hardening mode is used.