bats-support

library0.3.0jsnpmunverified

bats-support is a supporting library for Bats (Bash Automated Testing System) test helpers, providing common functions for error reporting, output formatting, and language tools. Version 0.3.0 is the latest stable release with no active maintenance cadence announced. It serves as a dependency for higher-level assertion libraries like bats-assert, focusing on internal helper utilities rather than end-user assertions. Key differentiators include its lightweight shell implementation, strict adherence to Bats conventions, and compatibility with both Bats 0.4 and 1.x. The library was renamed from bats-core to bats-support, with GitHub redirects ensuring backward compatibility.

testing

npm install bats-support

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · BATS-SUPPORT

bats-support

testingjavascriptv0.3.0

Install

—

Import

—

Disk

—

Pass rate

0/ 6

Env Coverage0 / 6

glibc

18–22

musl

18–22

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v? · npm install

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

node 18–226 runs

build_error

glibc

node 18–226 runs

build_error

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

fail

✓ load 'bats-support/load'

✗ source bats-support/load.bash

Use the Bats 'load' function to properly initialize all helpers; direct sourcing may cause path issues.

batslib_is_caller

✓ load 'bats-support/load'

✗ source bats-support/src/caller.bash

All functions are exposed via the main load file; importing individual source files is incorrect and unsupported.

batslib_err

✓ load 'bats-support/load'

✗ require 'bats-support'

This library is not a Node.js or Ruby gem; use 'load' from within a Bats test file, not a package manager.

Demonstrates loading bats-support, using fail helper for custom error messages, and batslib_is_caller for call stack inspection.

#!/usr/bin/env bats load 'bats-support/load' @test 'fail helper works' { run some-command if [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then fail "Expected success, but command failed with status $status" fi } @test 'batslib_is_caller example' { run bash -c ' function my_helper { batslib_is_caller --indirect "teardown" && echo "called from teardown" } my_helper ' [ "$output" = "called from teardown" ] }

Debug

Known issues

breakingRepository renamed from bats-core to bats-support; all references (submodules, clones) redirect automatically but should be updated.

fix

Update git submodule and file references to the new repository URL: https://github.com/bats-core/bats-support.git

affects: >=0.0

deprecatedDirect sourcing of individual source files (e.g., 'source bats-support/src/output.bash') is deprecated; always use 'load'.

fix

Replace with: load 'bats-support/load'

affects: >=0.0

gotchaThe 'fail' function reads from stdin if no argument is provided; piping to fail without checking may lead to unexpected failures.

fix

Always supply a message argument unless you intentionally want to pipe input.

affects: >=0.0

Errors

Common errors & fixes

bats: load: bats-support/load: file not found

bats-support is not installed or BATS_LIB_PATH is not set correctly.

fix

Install bats-support via git submodule or npm, and ensure BATS_LIB_PATH includes the parent directory of bats-support.

bats: unknown option: --indirect

Using an older version of bats-support that does not support the --indirect flag.

fix

Update bats-support to version 0.2.0 or later which introduced --indirect.

TypeError: batslib_err is not a function

Using Unix 'type' command or other shell that doesn't recognize batslib_err as a function (likely due to incorrect sourcing order).

fix

Ensure 'load bats-support/load' is placed before any calls to bats-support functions.

Upgrade

Version history

0.3.0latest on npm

Audit

Dependencies

batsoptionalruntime peer dependency for test execution framework

Agent activity

16 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/jasonkarns/bats-support ↗

packagehttps://www.npmjs.com/package/bats-support ↗