prefer_correct_test_file_name

v1.0.0WarningConfigurableTesting Rules

This rule flags a file under test/ that declares tests but is not named *_test.dart.

This rule is in the recommended preset.

Why use this rule

package:test only runs files matching *_test.dart. A file named user_repository_tests.dart or test_user_repository.dart still compiles, still passes analysis, and is silently never executed — the suite stays green by not running the test at all. Nothing else catches this: the analyzer is happy and CI reports success.

Don’t

// test/user_repository_tests.dart — plural, so the runner never picks it up
void main() {
  test('should load a user', () {});
}

// test/test_user_repository.dart — prefix instead of suffix, same result
void main() {
  test('should load a user', () {});
}

Do

void main() {
  test('should load a user', () {});
}

Files that declare no tests are never reported

The rule reports only a file whose top-level main contains a test(...), testWidgets(...) or group(...) call. Helpers, fixtures, builders and robots live under test/ without being test files, and are left alone:

// test/support/user_builder.dart — no tests declared, never reported
class UserBuilder {
  UserBuilder withName(String name) => this;
}

Extending the directories checked

By default the rule looks at test/, integration_test/ and test_driver/. A project with a suite elsewhere adds it:

analysis_options.yaml
many_lints.yaml

many_lints:
  rules:
    prefer_correct_test_file_name:
      additional_directories: [e2e]

rules:
  prefer_correct_test_file_name:
    additional_directories: [e2e]

// e2e/checkout_flow.dart — now reported; rename to checkout_flow_test.dart
void main() {
  test('completes a checkout', () {});
}

Use directories: instead to replace the defaults outright rather than add to them.

See also: package:test, Flutter: testing

many_lints:
  rules:
    prefer_correct_test_file_name:
      directories: [test, integration_test]

rules:
  prefer_correct_test_file_name:
    directories: [test, integration_test]

Option	Type	Default	Description
`directories`	list of strings	`[test, integration_test, test_driver]`	Top-level directories the rule applies to
`additional_directories`	list of strings	`[]`	Directories to add to the defaults, instead of restating them

Turning this rule off

To disable this rule:

rules:
  prefer_correct_test_file_name: false

To keep the rule on but skip certain paths, use per-rule exclude.

format_test_name — Hold test descriptions to a house pattern.
avoid_misused_test_matchers — Detect test matchers used with incompatible value types.
prefer_test_matchers — Prefer using a Matcher instead of a literal value in expect().
require_mirror_test — Detect libraries under lib/ with no matching test file.