MS Test

September 10, 2026 · View on GitHub

The "Philips MsTest" category of diagnostics suggests ways to improve your test code using the MsTest framework.

These provide guidelines to writing test code that runs reliably and correctly. This in turn improves the quality of your code.

⚠️ Important: Microsoft's Official MSTest Analyzers Available

Microsoft now provides official MSTest analyzers that cover most functionality of the Philips MSTest analyzers. We recommend migrating to Microsoft's official analyzers for overlapping functionality. See the Migration Guide below for details.

MSTest Analyzers Migration Guide

Microsoft now provides official MSTest analyzers as part of their testing framework. Many of the Philips MSTest analyzer rules have equivalent or superior counterparts in Microsoft's official analyzer package.

Overview

Microsoft's official MSTest analyzers are available via the MSTest.Analyzers NuGet package and provide comprehensive coverage of MSTest best practices. The official analyzers use rule IDs in the format MSTEST#### and include extensive documentation.

Recommendation

We recommend migrating to Microsoft's official MSTest analyzers for all overlapping functionality. Microsoft's analyzers are:

Officially supported and maintained by the MSTest team
Better integrated with the MSTest framework
Actively updated with new MSTest features
Include extensive documentation and code fixes

Rule Mapping

Direct Overlaps (Recommended Migration)

These Philips rules have direct equivalents in Microsoft's official analyzers:

Philips Rule	Microsoft Rule	Description	Recommendation
PH2004	MSTEST0006	Avoid ExpectedException attribute	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0006
PH2005	MSTEST0005	TestContext usage validation	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0005
PH2013	MSTEST0015	Avoid Ignore attribute	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0015
PH2016	MSTEST0008	TestInitialize validation	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0008
PH2017	MSTEST0010	ClassInitialize validation	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0010
PH2018	MSTEST0011	ClassCleanup validation	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0011
PH2019	MSTEST0009	TestCleanup validation	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0009
PH2034	MSTEST0030	TestMethod requires TestClass	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0030
PH2036	MSTEST0003	TestMethod must be public	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0003
PH2038	MSTEST0002	TestClass must be public	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0002
PH2058	MSTEST0026	Avoid Assert conditional check	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0026
PH2059	MSTEST0029	Public methods should be TestMethod	✅ Migrate to MSTEST0029

Partial Overlaps (Consider Migration)

These Philips rules have similar functionality in Microsoft's analyzers, often with broader coverage:

Philips Rule	Microsoft Rule	Description	Recommendation
PH2003	MSTEST0037	Assert.AreEqual usage patterns	⚠️ Consider MSTEST0037 (broader assert validation)
PH2008	MSTEST0037	Assert parameter types match	⚠️ Consider MSTEST0037 (broader assert validation)
PH2009	MSTEST0037	Assert.IsTrue/IsFalse usage	⚠️ Consider MSTEST0037 (broader assert validation)
PH2055	MSTEST0037	Avoid Assert.IsTrue(true)	⚠️ Consider MSTEST0037 (broader assert validation)
PH2056	MSTEST0037	Avoid Assert.AreEqual(true, true)	⚠️ Consider MSTEST0037 (broader assert validation)
PH2076	MSTEST0025	Assert.Fail alternatives	⚠️ Consider MSTEST0025 (similar intent)

Removed Rules

These Philips rules were removed from the codebase because Microsoft's official analyzers fully supersede them:

Removed Rule	Replaced By	Reason
PH2033	MSTEST0014	DataRow validation — removed in #851
PH2035	MSTEST0014	DataTestMethod parameter count — removed in #861

Philips-Specific Rules (Keep if Needed)

These rules provide functionality not available in Microsoft's official analyzers:

Philips Rule	Description	Recommendation
PH2000	Avoid test method prefix	📌 Keep if naming convention is important
PH2010	Avoid unnecessary parentheses	📌 Keep if style preference matters (Note: Generic IDE rule IDE0047 also available)
PH2011	Description attribute usage	📌 Keep if using Description attributes
PH2012	TestTimeout required	📌 Keep if timeout enforcement is desired
PH2014	Avoid Owner attribute	📌 Keep if avoiding Owner attributes
PH2015	Required Categories attribute	📌 Keep if category enforcement is desired
PH2041	Avoid MS Fakes	📌 Keep if using something like Moq rather than MS Fakes

Additional Microsoft Rules

Microsoft provides many additional rules not covered by Philips analyzers. Consider enabling these for comprehensive test analysis:

MSTEST0001: Use Parallelize attribute for performance
MSTEST0017: Assertion arguments in correct order
MSTEST0018: DynamicData validation
MSTEST0023: Don't negate boolean assertions
MSTEST0024: Don't store static TestContext
MSTEST0032: Review always-true assert conditions
MSTEST0038: Avoid AreSame with value types
MSTEST0040: Avoid asserts in async void
And many more...

Migration Steps

1. Install Microsoft's MSTest Analyzers

<PackageReference Include="MSTest.Analyzers" PrivateAssets="all" />

2. Update .editorconfig

Disable overlapping Philips rules and enable Microsoft equivalents (all set to error for strictness):

# Disable overlapping Philips MSTest rules
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2004.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0006 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2005.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0005 instead  
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2013.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0015 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2016.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0008 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2017.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0010 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2018.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0011 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2019.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0009 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2034.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0030 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2036.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0003 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2038.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0002 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2058.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0026 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2059.severity = none  # Use MSTEST0029 instead

# Consider disabling partial overlaps
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2003.severity = none  # Consider MSTEST0037 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2008.severity = none  # Consider MSTEST0037 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2009.severity = none  # Consider MSTEST0037 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2055.severity = none  # Consider MSTEST0037 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2056.severity = none  # Consider MSTEST0037 instead
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2076.severity = none  # Consider MSTEST0025 instead

# Enable most Microsoft MSTest rules as error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0001.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0002.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0003.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0004.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0005.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0006.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0007.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0008.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0009.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0010.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0011.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0012.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0013.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0014.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0015.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0016.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0017.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0018.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0019.severity = warning  # Exception: not set to error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0020.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0021.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0022.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0023.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0024.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0025.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0026.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0027.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0028.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0029.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0030.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0031.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0032.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0033.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0034.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0035.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0036.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0037.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0038.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0039.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0040.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0041.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0042.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0043.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0044.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0045.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0046.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0047.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0048.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0049.severity = error
dotnet_diagnostic.MSTEST0050.severity = error

# Keep Philips-specific rules as needed
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2000.severity = error  # Test method naming
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2012.severity = error     # Test timeout required
dotnet_diagnostic.PH2015.severity = error     # Required categories

Questions or Issues?

If you have questions about the migration or need help with specific scenarios, please:

Check the Microsoft MSTest Analyzers documentation
Review individual rule documentation linked in the mapping table above
Open an issue in this repository for Philips-specific questions