Test command ran but zero tests were executed

April 30, 2026 · View on GitHub

Playbook ID: zero-tests-executed Category: silent_failure Severity: high Tags: silent-failure, test, coverage, zero-tests, pytest, jest, go-test

What this failure means

A test runner command was invoked but discovered or executed zero tests. CI marked the job as passing because the test runner exited zero, but no tests were actually validated.

Common log signals

No tests found
No test files found
No test suites found
0 tests
0 passed
0 examples
0 passing
tests: 0

Diagnosis

Most test runners exit with code 0 when they find no tests to execute. This means a broken test discovery configuration, missing test files, or an incorrect test filter produces a false green signal.

Common causes:

  • A glob pattern or path filter no longer matches any test files (e.g., after a directory reorganization).
  • Test files were moved but the runner configuration was not updated.
  • A new workspace or working directory is missing test files that exist elsewhere in the repository.
  • A --testPathPattern or similar filter accidentally excludes all tests.
  • pytest is invoked from a directory with no test_*.py files.
  • go test ./... runs against a module with no _test.go files.

Affected runners and their zero-test signals:

  • Jest / Vitest: "No tests found", "No test suites found"
  • pytest: "collected 0 items", "no tests ran"
  • Go test: "0 tests" (implied by empty output)
  • Mocha: "0 passing"
  • RSpec: "0 examples"

Fix steps

  1. Run the test command locally and inspect the discovery output.
  2. Verify the test paths or glob patterns in the runner configuration match the actual file layout: 
    find . -name "*.test.*" -o -name "test_*.py" -o -name "*_test.go"
  3. Check whether the working directory or --rootDir option points at the correct source tree.
  4. Remove over-restrictive --testPathPattern or --ignore filters.
  5. Consider adding a CI assertion that at least N tests were executed.

Validation

Re-run the test command and confirm the output shows at least one test passing. Add a minimum-test-count assertion to the CI pipeline to prevent regression.

Likely files to inspect

  • jest.config.*
  • pytest.ini
  • setup.cfg
  • .mocharc.*
  • Makefile

Run Faultline

faultline analyze build.log
faultline explain zero-tests-executed
faultline workflow build.log --json --mode agent

Search phrases this page answers

  • Test command ran but zero tests were executed
  • Silent Failure: test command ran but zero tests were executed
  • No test suites found
  • faultline explain zero-tests-executed

Generated from playbooks/bundled/log/silent/zero-tests-executed.yaml. Do not edit directly — run make docs-generate.