How does this skill improve TDD workflows?

It enforces a 'test-first' mindset by providing gate functions that prompt you to verify real behavior and understand dependency side effects before you are allowed to implement mocks.

Why shouldn't I add test-only methods to production code?

Adding test-only methods pollutes your production API, violates the YAGNI principle, and creates security risks if those methods are accidentally invoked in a production environment.

How does this skill handle partial mocks?

It identifies 'Incomplete Mocks' and requires you to mirror the full data structure of the real API or component to prevent silent failures when downstream code attempts to access omitted fields.

What are testing anti-patterns?

Testing anti-patterns are common but flawed practices, such as testing the behavior of a mock instead of the actual code, or adding methods to production classes solely for test access, which leads to brittle and misleading test suites.

Testing Anti-Pattern Guard

Name: Testing Anti-Pattern Guard
Author: lifangda

bylifangda

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Security & Testing

Prevents common software testing pitfalls like over-mocking, production code pollution, and incomplete test data structures.

This skill serves as a high-quality guardrail for developers, ensuring that tests focus on real behavior rather than the implementation details of mocks. By enforcing strict TDD principles and 'The Iron Laws' of testing, it helps maintain a clean production codebase free of test-only methods, ensures mocks accurately reflect real-world data structures, and promotes a deeper understanding of dependency chains before mocking occurs. It is particularly useful for teams looking to improve test reliability and maintainability while reducing brittle test suites.

Key Features

01Identifies and blocks testing of mock existence in favor of real component behavior

02Prevents production code pollution by flagging test-only methods for removal to utilities

03Uses Gate Functions to validate the necessity and scope of mocks before implementation

04Enforces complete mock data structures to prevent silent failures from partial schemas

05Promotes the TDD cycle to ensure integration tests are not treated as an afterthought

0616 GitHub stars

Use Cases

01Mentoring developers on professional TDD workflows and effective isolation strategies

02Refactoring brittle test suites to focus on behavioral outcomes rather than implementation details

03Enforcing clean architecture by preventing test-related leakage into production APIs

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add lifangda/claude-plugins testing-anti-patterns

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill