django-tdd
Django testing strategies with pytest-django, TDD methodology, factory_boy, mocking, coverage, and testing Django REST Framework APIs.
Best use case
django-tdd is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Django testing strategies with pytest-django, TDD methodology, factory_boy, mocking, coverage, and testing Django REST Framework APIs.
Teams using django-tdd should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/django-tdd/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How django-tdd Compares
| Feature / Agent | django-tdd | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Django testing strategies with pytest-django, TDD methodology, factory_boy, mocking, coverage, and testing Django REST Framework APIs.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Django Testing with TDD
Test-driven development for Django applications using pytest, factory_boy, and Django REST Framework.
## When to Use
- Writing new Django applications
- Implementing Django REST Framework APIs
- Testing Django models, views, and serializers
- Setting up testing infrastructure for Django projects
## TDD Workflow for Django
### Red-Green-Refactor Cycle
```python
# Step 1: RED - Write failing test
def test_user_creation():
user = User.objects.create_user(email='test@example.com', password='testpass123')
assert user.email == 'test@example.com'
assert user.check_password('testpass123')
assert not user.is_staff
# Step 2: GREEN - Make test pass
# Create User model or factory
# Step 3: REFACTOR - Improve while keeping tests green
```
## Setup
### pytest Configuration
```ini
# pytest.ini
[pytest]
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE = config.settings.test
testpaths = tests
python_files = test_*.py
python_classes = Test*
python_functions = test_*
addopts =
--reuse-db
--nomigrations
--cov=apps
--cov-report=html
--cov-report=term-missing
--strict-markers
markers =
slow: marks tests as slow
integration: marks tests as integration tests
```
### Test Settings
```python
# config/settings/test.py
from .base import *
DEBUG = True
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
'NAME': ':memory:',
}
}
# Disable migrations for speed
class DisableMigrations:
def __contains__(self, item):
return True
def __getitem__(self, item):
return None
MIGRATION_MODULES = DisableMigrations()
# Faster password hashing
PASSWORD_HASHERS = [
'django.contrib.auth.hashers.MD5PasswordHasher',
]
# Email backend
EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.console.EmailBackend'
# Celery always eager
CELERY_TASK_ALWAYS_EAGER = True
CELERY_TASK_EAGER_PROPAGATES = True
```
### conftest.py
```python
# tests/conftest.py
import pytest
from django.utils import timezone
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
User = get_user_model()
@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
def timezone_settings(settings):
"""Ensure consistent timezone."""
settings.TIME_ZONE = 'UTC'
@pytest.fixture
def user(db):
"""Create a test user."""
return User.objects.create_user(
email='test@example.com',
password='testpass123',
username='testuser'
)
@pytest.fixture
def admin_user(db):
"""Create an admin user."""
return User.objects.create_superuser(
email='admin@example.com',
password='adminpass123',
username='admin'
)
@pytest.fixture
def authenticated_client(client, user):
"""Return authenticated client."""
client.force_login(user)
return client
@pytest.fixture
def api_client():
"""Return DRF API client."""
from rest_framework.test import APIClient
return APIClient()
@pytest.fixture
def authenticated_api_client(api_client, user):
"""Return authenticated API client."""
api_client.force_authenticate(user=user)
return api_client
```
## Factory Boy
### Factory Setup
```python
# tests/factories.py
import factory
from factory import fuzzy
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
from apps.products.models import Product, Category
User = get_user_model()
class UserFactory(factory.django.DjangoModelFactory):
"""Factory for User model."""
class Meta:
model = User
email = factory.Sequence(lambda n: f"user{n}@example.com")
username = factory.Sequence(lambda n: f"user{n}")
password = factory.PostGenerationMethodCall('set_password', 'testpass123')
first_name = factory.Faker('first_name')
last_name = factory.Faker('last_name')
is_active = True
class CategoryFactory(factory.django.DjangoModelFactory):
"""Factory for Category model."""
class Meta:
model = Category
name = factory.Faker('word')
slug = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda obj: obj.name.lower())
description = factory.Faker('text')
class ProductFactory(factory.django.DjangoModelFactory):
"""Factory for Product model."""
class Meta:
model = Product
name = factory.Faker('sentence', nb_words=3)
slug = factory.LazyAttribute(lambda obj: obj.name.lower().replace(' ', '-'))
description = factory.Faker('text')
price = fuzzy.FuzzyDecimal(10.00, 1000.00, 2)
stock = fuzzy.FuzzyInteger(0, 100)
is_active = True
category = factory.SubFactory(CategoryFactory)
created_by = factory.SubFactory(UserFactory)
@factory.post_generation
def tags(self, create, extracted, **kwargs):
"""Add tags to product."""
if not create:
return
if extracted:
for tag in extracted:
self.tags.add(tag)
```
### Using Factories
```python
# tests/test_models.py
import pytest
from tests.factories import ProductFactory, UserFactory
def test_product_creation():
"""Test product creation using factory."""
product = ProductFactory(price=100.00, stock=50)
assert product.price == 100.00
assert product.stock == 50
assert product.is_active is True
def test_product_with_tags():
"""Test product with tags."""
tags = [TagFactory(name='electronics'), TagFactory(name='new')]
product = ProductFactory(tags=tags)
assert product.tags.count() == 2
def test_multiple_products():
"""Test creating multiple products."""
products = ProductFactory.create_batch(10)
assert len(products) == 10
```
## Model Testing
### Model Tests
```python
# tests/test_models.py
import pytest
from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
from tests.factories import UserFactory, ProductFactory
class TestUserModel:
"""Test User model."""
def test_create_user(self, db):
"""Test creating a regular user."""
user = UserFactory(email='test@example.com')
assert user.email == 'test@example.com'
assert user.check_password('testpass123')
assert not user.is_staff
assert not user.is_superuser
def test_create_superuser(self, db):
"""Test creating a superuser."""
user = UserFactory(
email='admin@example.com',
is_staff=True,
is_superuser=True
)
assert user.is_staff
assert user.is_superuser
def test_user_str(self, db):
"""Test user string representation."""
user = UserFactory(email='test@example.com')
assert str(user) == 'test@example.com'
class TestProductModel:
"""Test Product model."""
def test_product_creation(self, db):
"""Test creating a product."""
product = ProductFactory()
assert product.id is not None
assert product.is_active is True
assert product.created_at is not None
def test_product_slug_generation(self, db):
"""Test automatic slug generation."""
product = ProductFactory(name='Test Product')
assert product.slug == 'test-product'
def test_product_price_validation(self, db):
"""Test price cannot be negative."""
product = ProductFactory(price=-10)
with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
product.full_clean()
def test_product_manager_active(self, db):
"""Test active manager method."""
ProductFactory.create_batch(5, is_active=True)
ProductFactory.create_batch(3, is_active=False)
active_count = Product.objects.active().count()
assert active_count == 5
def test_product_stock_management(self, db):
"""Test stock management."""
product = ProductFactory(stock=10)
product.reduce_stock(5)
product.refresh_from_db()
assert product.stock == 5
with pytest.raises(ValueError):
product.reduce_stock(10) # Not enough stock
```
## View Testing
### Django View Testing
```python
# tests/test_views.py
import pytest
from django.urls import reverse
from tests.factories import ProductFactory, UserFactory
class TestProductViews:
"""Test product views."""
def test_product_list(self, client, db):
"""Test product list view."""
ProductFactory.create_batch(10)
response = client.get(reverse('products:list'))
assert response.status_code == 200
assert len(response.context['products']) == 10
def test_product_detail(self, client, db):
"""Test product detail view."""
product = ProductFactory()
response = client.get(reverse('products:detail', kwargs={'slug': product.slug}))
assert response.status_code == 200
assert response.context['product'] == product
def test_product_create_requires_login(self, client, db):
"""Test product creation requires authentication."""
response = client.get(reverse('products:create'))
assert response.status_code == 302
assert response.url.startswith('/accounts/login/')
def test_product_create_authenticated(self, authenticated_client, db):
"""Test product creation as authenticated user."""
response = authenticated_client.get(reverse('products:create'))
assert response.status_code == 200
def test_product_create_post(self, authenticated_client, db, category):
"""Test creating a product via POST."""
data = {
'name': 'Test Product',
'description': 'A test product',
'price': '99.99',
'stock': 10,
'category': category.id,
}
response = authenticated_client.post(reverse('products:create'), data)
assert response.status_code == 302
assert Product.objects.filter(name='Test Product').exists()
```
## DRF API Testing
### Serializer Testing
```python
# tests/test_serializers.py
import pytest
from rest_framework.exceptions import ValidationError
from apps.products.serializers import ProductSerializer
from tests.factories import ProductFactory
class TestProductSerializer:
"""Test ProductSerializer."""
def test_serialize_product(self, db):
"""Test serializing a product."""
product = ProductFactory()
serializer = ProductSerializer(product)
data = serializer.data
assert data['id'] == product.id
assert data['name'] == product.name
assert data['price'] == str(product.price)
def test_deserialize_product(self, db):
"""Test deserializing product data."""
data = {
'name': 'Test Product',
'description': 'Test description',
'price': '99.99',
'stock': 10,
'category': 1,
}
serializer = ProductSerializer(data=data)
assert serializer.is_valid()
product = serializer.save()
assert product.name == 'Test Product'
assert float(product.price) == 99.99
def test_price_validation(self, db):
"""Test price validation."""
data = {
'name': 'Test Product',
'price': '-10.00',
'stock': 10,
}
serializer = ProductSerializer(data=data)
assert not serializer.is_valid()
assert 'price' in serializer.errors
def test_stock_validation(self, db):
"""Test stock cannot be negative."""
data = {
'name': 'Test Product',
'price': '99.99',
'stock': -5,
}
serializer = ProductSerializer(data=data)
assert not serializer.is_valid()
assert 'stock' in serializer.errors
```
### API ViewSet Testing
```python
# tests/test_api.py
import pytest
from rest_framework.test import APIClient
from rest_framework import status
from django.urls import reverse
from tests.factories import ProductFactory, UserFactory
class TestProductAPI:
"""Test Product API endpoints."""
@pytest.fixture
def api_client(self):
"""Return API client."""
return APIClient()
def test_list_products(self, api_client, db):
"""Test listing products."""
ProductFactory.create_batch(10)
url = reverse('api:product-list')
response = api_client.get(url)
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
assert response.data['count'] == 10
def test_retrieve_product(self, api_client, db):
"""Test retrieving a product."""
product = ProductFactory()
url = reverse('api:product-detail', kwargs={'pk': product.id})
response = api_client.get(url)
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
assert response.data['id'] == product.id
def test_create_product_unauthorized(self, api_client, db):
"""Test creating product without authentication."""
url = reverse('api:product-list')
data = {'name': 'Test Product', 'price': '99.99'}
response = api_client.post(url, data)
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED
def test_create_product_authorized(self, authenticated_api_client, db):
"""Test creating product as authenticated user."""
url = reverse('api:product-list')
data = {
'name': 'Test Product',
'description': 'Test',
'price': '99.99',
'stock': 10,
}
response = authenticated_api_client.post(url, data)
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_201_CREATED
assert response.data['name'] == 'Test Product'
def test_update_product(self, authenticated_api_client, db):
"""Test updating a product."""
product = ProductFactory(created_by=authenticated_api_client.user)
url = reverse('api:product-detail', kwargs={'pk': product.id})
data = {'name': 'Updated Product'}
response = authenticated_api_client.patch(url, data)
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
assert response.data['name'] == 'Updated Product'
def test_delete_product(self, authenticated_api_client, db):
"""Test deleting a product."""
product = ProductFactory(created_by=authenticated_api_client.user)
url = reverse('api:product-detail', kwargs={'pk': product.id})
response = authenticated_api_client.delete(url)
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT
def test_filter_products_by_price(self, api_client, db):
"""Test filtering products by price."""
ProductFactory(price=50)
ProductFactory(price=150)
url = reverse('api:product-list')
response = api_client.get(url, {'price_min': 100})
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
assert response.data['count'] == 1
def test_search_products(self, api_client, db):
"""Test searching products."""
ProductFactory(name='Apple iPhone')
ProductFactory(name='Samsung Galaxy')
url = reverse('api:product-list')
response = api_client.get(url, {'search': 'Apple'})
assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
assert response.data['count'] == 1
```
## Mocking and Patching
### Mocking External Services
```python
# tests/test_views.py
from unittest.mock import patch, Mock
import pytest
class TestPaymentView:
"""Test payment view with mocked payment gateway."""
@patch('apps.payments.services.stripe')
def test_successful_payment(self, mock_stripe, client, user, product):
"""Test successful payment with mocked Stripe."""
# Configure mock
mock_stripe.Charge.create.return_value = {
'id': 'ch_123',
'status': 'succeeded',
'amount': 9999,
}
client.force_login(user)
response = client.post(reverse('payments:process'), {
'product_id': product.id,
'token': 'tok_visa',
})
assert response.status_code == 302
mock_stripe.Charge.create.assert_called_once()
@patch('apps.payments.services.stripe')
def test_failed_payment(self, mock_stripe, client, user, product):
"""Test failed payment."""
mock_stripe.Charge.create.side_effect = Exception('Card declined')
client.force_login(user)
response = client.post(reverse('payments:process'), {
'product_id': product.id,
'token': 'tok_visa',
})
assert response.status_code == 302
assert 'error' in response.url
```
### Mocking Email Sending
```python
# tests/test_email.py
from django.core import mail
from django.test import override_settings
@override_settings(EMAIL_BACKEND='django.core.mail.backends.locmem.EmailBackend')
def test_order_confirmation_email(db, order):
"""Test order confirmation email."""
order.send_confirmation_email()
assert len(mail.outbox) == 1
assert order.user.email in mail.outbox[0].to
assert 'Order Confirmation' in mail.outbox[0].subject
```
## Integration Testing
### Full Flow Testing
```python
# tests/test_integration.py
import pytest
from django.urls import reverse
from tests.factories import UserFactory, ProductFactory
class TestCheckoutFlow:
"""Test complete checkout flow."""
def test_guest_to_purchase_flow(self, client, db):
"""Test complete flow from guest to purchase."""
# Step 1: Register
response = client.post(reverse('users:register'), {
'email': 'test@example.com',
'password': 'testpass123',
'password_confirm': 'testpass123',
})
assert response.status_code == 302
# Step 2: Login
response = client.post(reverse('users:login'), {
'email': 'test@example.com',
'password': 'testpass123',
})
assert response.status_code == 302
# Step 3: Browse products
product = ProductFactory(price=100)
response = client.get(reverse('products:detail', kwargs={'slug': product.slug}))
assert response.status_code == 200
# Step 4: Add to cart
response = client.post(reverse('cart:add'), {
'product_id': product.id,
'quantity': 1,
})
assert response.status_code == 302
# Step 5: Checkout
response = client.get(reverse('checkout:review'))
assert response.status_code == 200
assert product.name in response.content.decode()
# Step 6: Complete purchase
with patch('apps.checkout.services.process_payment') as mock_payment:
mock_payment.return_value = True
response = client.post(reverse('checkout:complete'))
assert response.status_code == 302
assert Order.objects.filter(user__email='test@example.com').exists()
```
## Testing Best Practices
### DO
- **Use factories**: Instead of manual object creation
- **One assertion per test**: Keep tests focused
- **Descriptive test names**: `test_user_cannot_delete_others_post`
- **Test edge cases**: Empty inputs, None values, boundary conditions
- **Mock external services**: Don't depend on external APIs
- **Use fixtures**: Eliminate duplication
- **Test permissions**: Ensure authorization works
- **Keep tests fast**: Use `--reuse-db` and `--nomigrations`
### DON'T
- **Don't test Django internals**: Trust Django to work
- **Don't test third-party code**: Trust libraries to work
- **Don't ignore failing tests**: All tests must pass
- **Don't make tests dependent**: Tests should run in any order
- **Don't over-mock**: Mock only external dependencies
- **Don't test private methods**: Test public interface
- **Don't use production database**: Always use test database
## Coverage
### Coverage Configuration
```bash
# Run tests with coverage
pytest --cov=apps --cov-report=html --cov-report=term-missing
# Generate HTML report
open htmlcov/index.html
```
### Coverage Goals
| Component | Target Coverage |
|-----------|-----------------|
| Models | 90%+ |
| Serializers | 85%+ |
| Views | 80%+ |
| Services | 90%+ |
| Utilities | 80%+ |
| Overall | 80%+ |
## Quick Reference
| Pattern | Usage |
|---------|-------|
| `@pytest.mark.django_db` | Enable database access |
| `client` | Django test client |
| `api_client` | DRF API client |
| `factory.create_batch(n)` | Create multiple objects |
| `patch('module.function')` | Mock external dependencies |
| `override_settings` | Temporarily change settings |
| `force_authenticate()` | Bypass authentication in tests |
| `assertRedirects` | Check for redirects |
| `assertTemplateUsed` | Verify template usage |
| `mail.outbox` | Check sent emails |
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