Unit testing C# with MSTest and .NET

This tutorial takes you through an interactive experience building a sample solution step-by-step to learn unit testing concepts. If you prefer to follow the tutorial using a pre-built solution, view or download the sample code before you begin. For download instructions, see Samples and Tutorials.

This article is about testing a .NET Core project. If you're testing an ASP.NET Core project, see Integration tests in ASP.NET Core.

Prerequisites

• The .NET 6.0 SDK or later

Create the source project

Open a shell window. Create a directory called unit-testing-using-mstest to hold the solution. Inside this new directory, run dotnet new sln to create a new solution file for the class library and the test project. Create a PrimeService directory. The following outline shows the directory and file structure thus far:

Console

/unit-testing-using-mstest
    unit-testing-using-mstest.sln
    /PrimeService

Make PrimeService the current directory and run dotnet new classlib to create the source project. Rename Class1.cs to PrimeService.cs. Replace the code in the file with the following code to create a failing implementation of the PrimeService class:

C#

using System;

namespace Prime.Services
{
    public class PrimeService
    {
        public bool IsPrime(int candidate)
        {
            throw new NotImplementedException("Please create a test first.");
        }
    }
}

Change the directory back to the unit-testing-using-mstest directory. Run dotnet sln add to add the class library project to the solution:

.NET CLI

dotnet sln add PrimeService/PrimeService.csproj

Create the test project

Create the PrimeService.Tests directory. The following outline shows the directory structure:

Console

/unit-testing-using-mstest
    unit-testing-using-mstest.sln
    /PrimeService
        Source Files
        PrimeService.csproj
    /PrimeService.Tests

Make the PrimeService.Tests directory the current directory and create a new project using dotnet new mstest. The dotnet new command creates a test project that uses MSTest as the test library. The template configures the test runner in the PrimeServiceTests.csproj file:

XML

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="MSTest" Version="3.2.0" />
  <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CodeCoverage" Version="17.10.1" />
</ItemGroup>

The test project requires other packages to create and run unit tests. dotnet new in the previous step added the necessary MSTest packages and tools for code coverage reporting.

Add the PrimeService class library as another dependency to the project. Use the dotnet add reference command:

.NET CLI

dotnet add reference ../PrimeService/PrimeService.csproj

You can see the entire file in the samples repository on GitHub.

The following outline shows the final solution layout:

Console

/unit-testing-using-mstest
    unit-testing-using-mstest.sln
    /PrimeService
        Source Files
        PrimeService.csproj
    /PrimeService.Tests
        Test Source Files
        PrimeServiceTests.csproj

Change to the unit-testing-using-mstest directory, and run dotnet sln add:

.NET CLI

dotnet sln add ./PrimeService.Tests/PrimeService.Tests.csproj

Create the first test

Write a failing test, make it pass, then repeat the process. Remove UnitTest1.cs from the PrimeService.Tests directory and create a new C# file named PrimeService_IsPrimeShould.cs with the following content:

C#

using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using Prime.Services;

namespace Prime.UnitTests.Services
{
    [TestClass]
    public class PrimeService_IsPrimeShould
    {
        private readonly PrimeService _primeService;

        public PrimeService_IsPrimeShould()
        {
            _primeService = new PrimeService();
        }

        [TestMethod]
        public void IsPrime_InputIs1_ReturnFalse()
        {
            bool result = _primeService.IsPrime(1);

            Assert.IsFalse(result, "1 should not be prime");
        }
    }
}

The TestClass attribute denotes a class that contains unit tests. The TestMethod attribute indicates a method is a test method.

Save this file and execute dotnet test to build the tests and the class library and then run the tests. The MSTest test runner contains the program entry point to run your tests. dotnet test starts the test runner using the unit test project you've created.

Your test fails. You haven't created the implementation yet. Make this test pass by writing the simplest code in the PrimeService class that works:

C#

public bool IsPrime(int candidate)
{
    if (candidate == 1)
    {
        return false;
    }
    throw new NotImplementedException("Please create a test first.");
}

In the unit-testing-using-mstest directory, run dotnet test again. The dotnet test command runs a build for the PrimeService project and then for the PrimeService.Tests project. After building both projects, it runs this single test. It passes.

Add more features

Now that you've made one test pass, it's time to write more. There are a few other simple cases for prime numbers: 0, -1. You could add new tests with the TestMethod attribute, but that quickly becomes tedious. There are other MSTest attributes that enable you to write a suite of similar tests. A test method can execute the same code but have different input arguments. You can use the DataRow attribute to specify values for those inputs.

Instead of creating new tests, apply these two attributes to create a single data driven test. The data driven test is a method that tests several values less than two, which is the lowest prime number. Add a new test method in PrimeService_IsPrimeShould.cs:

C#

[TestMethod]
[DataRow(-1)]
[DataRow(0)]
[DataRow(1)]
public void IsPrime_ValuesLessThan2_ReturnFalse(int value)
{
    var result = _primeService.IsPrime(value);

    Assert.IsFalse(result, $"{value} should not be prime");
}

Run dotnet test, and two of these tests fail. To make all of the tests pass, change the if clause at the beginning of the IsPrime method in the PrimeService.cs file:

C#

if (candidate < 2)

Continue to iterate by adding more tests, more theories, and more code in the main library. You have the finished version of the tests and the complete implementation of the library.

You've built a small library and a set of unit tests for that library. You've structured the solution so that adding new packages and tests is part of the normal workflow. You've concentrated most of your time and effort on solving the goals of the application.

See also

• Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
• Use the MSTest framework in unit tests
• MSTest V2 test framework docs