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Configuration

go-testgen is configured via a YAML file. Place .go-testgen.yaml in your project root.

Config File Search Order

  1. Explicit path via --config flag
  2. .go-testgen.yaml (YAML, YML, JSON) in the current working directory
  3. .go-testgen.yaml (YAML, YML, JSON) in $HOME
  4. Hardcoded defaults

Full Reference

# Variable names in generated tests
receiver_var_name: "s"       # Variable name for the receiver. Default: "s" (hardcoded). Note: this config key is loaded but not yet applied by the generator.
result_var_name: "r"         # Variable name for non-error return values. Default: "r".
error_var_name: "err"        # Variable name for the error return. Default: "err".

# Assertion library
use_testify: true             # Use github.com/stretchr/testify assert helpers. Default: true.
use_require: false            # Use testify require (stops on first failure) instead of assert. Default: false.

# Placeholder cases
add_todo_cases: true          # Add TODO placeholder rows to the generated table. Default: true.
number_of_todos: 2            # How many TODO rows to add. Default: 2.

# Check type naming
check_type_suffix: "CheckFn"  # Suffix for the generated check type name.
                               # e.g. "CheckFn" → checkServiceCreateUserCheckFn
                               # Default: "CheckFn".
check_type_prefix: ""         # Prefix for the check type name (plain functions only). Default: "" (empty).
mock_prefix: "mock"           # Prefix for generated mock type names. Default: "mock".

# Generation flags
generate_mocks: true          # Generate mock files when --mock-from is passed. Default: true.
generate_checks: true         # Generate checkXxxError and check type definitions. Default: true.

# Default test style
test_style: "check"           # Default style: check, table, or simple. Default: "check".

Minimal Config

Most projects only need a few options:

receiver_var_name: "s"
use_testify: true
number_of_todos: 2

Per-Project vs. Global

  • Per-project: .go-testgen.yaml in the repo root — checked into version control so all contributors share the same style.
  • Global: ~/.go-testgen.yaml — personal preferences that apply to all projects.

Per-project takes precedence over global.

Option Details

receiver_var_name

Controls the variable name used for the receiver in the test setup:

receiver_var_name: "e"

Generates:

e := New(nil)
if tt.before != nil {
    tt.before(e)
}

Default is the first letter of the receiver type, lowercased (e.g., Service → s).

check_type_suffix

Controls the suffix of the generated check type name:

check_type_suffix: "CheckFn"   # default

Generates:

type checkServiceCreateUserCheckFn func(*testing.T, *userDomain.User, error)

number_of_todos

How many TODO placeholder rows to generate. Default is 2 — one success case and one error case:

number_of_todos: 2

use_require

When true, uses testify/require instead of testify/assert. require stops the test on the first failure; assert continues. For check functions, assert is almost always preferable so all checks in a case run to completion.