Only exclude `helpers` directory when inside a test directory

[rymohr]

Any chance the exclude rule for helpers can be relaxed so it only applies to files within test/helpers? I just ran into a couldn't find any files to test error for a test file that definitely existed. Ended up being because it was in a helpers dir nested deep within the package I was working on.

I wasn't even aware ava had a concept of helpers until I ran into this. Where are they documented?

Here's the related PR #357 and issues #355 #750

Edit: added issue #750

[jamestalmage]

I think the current pattern is here to stay. Instead I think we should try to better document the patterns.

I think a structuring-your-project recipe is in order.

Also, I think our no tests found error should link to it.

[rymohr]

Sounds like you've made up your mind. But for what it's worth, it's not so much better docs on how to structure your project. For me it was the idea of bringing ava in to unit test small chunks of a very large existing project with an established file structure. I like my tests to live side-by-side with the files they are testing and the current helper exclude policy forced me to restructure my project in order to use ava.

Also, by renaming the issue you've made it hard for anyone in the same boat to find this issue in the future. Renaming issues for clarity is fine, but please don't use renaming to change the intent of the issue.

[jamestalmage]

I wasn't even aware ava had a concept of helpers until I ran into this. Where are they documented?

That's what made me assume it was a documentation issue.

I guess it would be possible to provide yet another glob pattern for users to define what constitutes a helper, but we're pretty against adding config options unless there is a strong need for it.

Can you fully define your directory structure?

[rymohr]

If it doesn't make sense to relax the exclude rule from helpers to test/helpers then it would definitely be nice to be able to override the ignore.

Here's an example of where we ran into this problem:

client/
  modules/
    surveys/
      helpers/
        prepareScreen.js
        prepareScreen.test.js

In our case we just renamed helpers to utils to get around the issue for now but I still think it's strange that ava chokes on this by default. The node_modules exclude is a smart default but I feel like the helpers exclude is a special case that should be opt-in.

[jamestalmage]

I'm wondering if we couldn't relax it just a bit, to something like this:

helpers/          <- not excluded? - not sure on this one      

src/
  helpers/        <- not excluded
  foo/
    helpers/      <- not excluded
  test-helpers/   <- excluded
  __tests__
    helpers/      <- excluded
    foo/
      helpers/    <- excluded

test/
  helpers/        <- excluded
  foo/
    helpers/      <- excluded

So basically, the helpers directory is not excluded unless it is already in a test specific directory: (./test/, and **/__tests__/ by default).

This gets complicated though, what if you have renamed your test directory in the options:

"ava": {
  "files": [
    "foo/"
  ]
}

Now foo/helpers probably should be considered a helper directory and excluded.

This is all doable, I'm just wondering if it's worth it.

[jamestalmage]

Also, this would be a breaking change for people with a helpers directory in the root of their project (first line of my example above).

[rymohr]

Hard for me to offer any input on whether it's worth it or not since I still don't understand what "helpers" are within ava. I prefer to name my tests with an explicit extension so I don't have to worry about where they are within the project (which also avoids the need for the helper exclude).

[jamestalmage]

Early on, we included every file in ./test/**, and **/__tests__/**. The former pattern allows you to create a test directory that mirrors your src directory (this is what most of the maintainers prefer), the latter allows multiple __tests__ directories within your src directory, keeping tests relatively near your sources. Occasionally, you want to share some common code amongst your tests (some test macro / validator / assertion / etc), and it would be pretty inconvenient if you weren't allowed to put them near your tests, so a _ prefix, or a helpers directory allows you to share that common code, even though it's in a directory where everything else is considered a test.