Review test suite quality against engineering best practices
A test-suite quality review skill diagnosing brittleness and mock overuse, grounded in classic testing literature.
Why it matters
Diagnose structural problems in existing test suites-brittleness, excessive mocking, poor maintainability-by applying principles from twelve classic engineering books including xUnit Test Patterns, The Art of Unit Testing, How Google Tests Software, and Working Effectively with Legacy Code.
Outcomes
What it gets done
Build a complete map of the test suite structure and coverage
Scan for test decay risks like brittle assertions and mock overuse
Score test health using the Iron Law framework from shared guidelines
Generate a structured report with findings and source attributions
Install
Add it to your toolbox
Run in your project directory:
curl -fsSL https://spark.entire.vc/get/ag-brooks-test | bash Overview
Brooks-Lint - Test Quality Review
This skill reviews an existing test suite's structural quality - brittleness, mock overuse, and other test decay risks - grounded in classic testing literature like xUnit Test Patterns and How Google Tests Software. Use it when reviewing the structural quality of an existing test suite. Use the PR-review skill instead for general code review.
What it does
This skill runs a test quality review that diagnoses structural problems in an existing test suite - brittleness, mock overuse, and other test-space decay risks - drawing primarily on xUnit Test Patterns, The Art of Unit Testing, How Google Tests Software, and Working Effectively with Legacy Code, among twelve classic engineering books referenced in shared framework files covering the Iron Law and Health Score rules, book-level source coverage, and test-specific symptom definitions and attributions, plus its own test guide defining the review framework. If the user hasn't shared test files or pointed to a test directory, it applies its own automatic scope detection to determine the review scope first.
When to use - and when NOT to
Use it when reviewing the structural quality of an existing test suite specifically - not general code review, which belongs to the sibling PR-review skill instead.
Inputs and outputs
Given test files or an auto-detected scope, it builds a test suite map, scans for each test decay risk in a specified order, applies the Iron Law to every finding, and outputs a report following the shared report template, labeled Test Quality Review as its report mode.
Integrations
Depends on companion reference files in a shared folder defining the Iron Law and Health Score rules, source coverage, and test-decay-risk symptom definitions, plus this skill's own test guide defining the test suite map and review steps.
Who it's for
Developers and QA engineers who want a structured, book-grounded assessment of test suite health - brittleness, mock overuse, and other structural test smells - rather than a raw coverage-percentage check.
Source README
Brooks-Lint - Test Quality Review
When to Use
Use this skill when you need test quality review drawing on twelve classic engineering books - with primary focus on xUnit Test Patterns, The Art of Unit Testing, How Google Tests Software, and Working Effectively with Legacy Code - that diagnoses structural problems in an existing test suite: brittleness, mock...
Setup
- Read
../_shared/common.mdfor the Iron Law, Project Config, Report Template, and Health Score rules - Read
../_shared/source-coverage.mdfor book-level coverage, exceptions, and tradeoffs - Read
../_shared/test-decay-risks.mdfor test-space symptom definitions and source attributions - Read
test-guide.mdin this directory for the test quality review framework
Process
If the user has not shared test files or pointed to a test directory: apply Auto
Scope Detection from ../_shared/common.md to determine the review scope before proceeding.
- Build the test suite map (guide's "Before You Start" section)
- Scan for each test decay risk in the order specified (Steps 1-4 of the guide)
- Apply the Iron Law and output using the Report Template (Step 5 of the guide)
Mode line in report: Test Quality Review
Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
- Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes.
- Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.
FAQ
Common questions
Discussion
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