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dotnet vstest

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This article applies to: ✔️ .NET Core 3.1 SDK and later versions

Important

The dotnet vstest command is superseded by dotnet test, which can now be used to run assemblies. See dotnet test.

Name

dotnet vstest - Runs tests from the specified assemblies.

Synopsis

dotnet vstest [<TEST_FILE_NAMES>] [--Blame] [--Diag <PATH_TO_LOG_FILE>]
    [--Framework <FRAMEWORK>] [--InIsolation] [-lt|--ListTests <FILE_NAME>]
    [--logger <LOGGER_URI/FRIENDLY_NAME>] [--Parallel]
    [--ParentProcessId <PROCESS_ID>] [--Platform] <PLATFORM_TYPE>
    [--Port <PORT>] [--ResultsDirectory<PATH>] [--Settings <SETTINGS_FILE>]
    [--TestAdapterPath <PATH>] [--TestCaseFilter <EXPRESSION>]
    [--Tests <TEST_NAMES>] [[--] <args>...]]

dotnet vstest -?|--Help

Description

The dotnet vstest command runs the VSTest.Console command-line application to run automated unit tests.

Arguments

  • TEST_FILE_NAMES

    Run tests from the specified assemblies. Separate multiple test assembly names with spaces. Wildcards are supported.

Options

  • --Blame

    Runs the tests in blame mode. This option is helpful in isolating the problematic tests causing test host to crash. It creates an output file in the current directory as Sequence.xml that captures the order of tests execution before the crash.

  • --Diag <PATH_TO_LOG_FILE>

    Enables verbose logs for the test platform. Logs are written to the provided file.

  • --Framework <FRAMEWORK>

    Target .NET Framework version used for test execution. Examples of valid values are .NETFramework,Version=v4.6 or .NETCoreApp,Version=v1.0. Other supported values are Framework40, Framework45, FrameworkCore10, and FrameworkUap10.

  • --InIsolation

    Runs the tests in an isolated process. This makes vstest.console.exe process less likely to be stopped on an error in the tests, but tests may run slower.

  • -lt|--ListTests <FILE_NAME>

    Lists all discovered tests from the given test container.

  • --logger <LOGGER_URI/FRIENDLY_NAME>

    Specify a logger for test results.

    • To publish test results to Team Foundation Server, use the TfsPublisher logger provider:

      /logger:TfsPublisher;
    Collection=<team project collection url>;
    BuildName=<build name>;
    TeamProject=<team project name>
    [;Platform=<Defaults to "Any CPU">]
    [;Flavor=<Defaults to "Debug">]
    [;RunTitle=<title>]

    • To log results to a Visual Studio Test Results File (TRX), use the trx logger provider. This switch creates a file in the test results directory with given log file name. If LogFileName isn't provided, a unique file name is created to hold the test results.

      /logger:trx [;LogFileName=<Defaults to unique file name>]

  • --Parallel

    Run tests in parallel. By default, all available cores on the machine are available for use. Specify an explicit number of cores by setting the MaxCpuCount property under the RunConfiguration node in the runsettings file.

  • --ParentProcessId <PROCESS_ID>

    Process ID of the parent process responsible for launching the current process.

  • --Platform <PLATFORM_TYPE>

    Target platform architecture used for test execution. Valid values are x86, x64, and ARM.

  • --Port <PORT>

    Specifies the port for the socket connection and receiving the event messages.

  • --ResultsDirectory:<PATH>

    Test results directory will be created in specified path if not exists.

  • --Settings <SETTINGS_FILE>

    Settings to use when running tests.

  • --TestAdapterPath <PATH>

    Use custom test adapters from a given path (if any) in the test run.

  • --TestCaseFilter <EXPRESSION>

    Run tests that match the given expression. <EXPRESSION> is of the format <property>Operator<value>[|&<EXPRESSION>], where Operator is one of =, !=, or ~. Operator ~ has 'contains' semantics and is applicable for string properties like DisplayName. Parentheses () are used to group subexpressions. For more information, see TestCase filter.

  • --Tests <TEST_NAMES>

    Run tests with names that match the provided values. Separate multiple values with commas.

  • -?|--Help

    Prints out a short help for the command.

  • @<file>

    Reads response file for more options.

  • args

    Specifies extra arguments to pass to the adapter. Arguments are specified as name-value pairs of the form <n>=<v>, where <n> is the argument name and <v> is the argument value. Use a space to separate multiple arguments.

Examples

Run tests in mytestproject.dll:

dotnet vstest mytestproject.dll

Run tests in mytestproject.dll, exporting to custom folder with custom name:

dotnet vstest mytestproject.dll --logger:"trx;LogFileName=custom_file_name.trx" --ResultsDirectory:custom/file/path

Run tests in mytestproject.dll and myothertestproject.exe:

dotnet vstest mytestproject.dll myothertestproject.exe

Run TestMethod1 tests:

dotnet vstest /Tests:TestMethod1

Run TestMethod1 and TestMethod2 tests:

dotnet vstest /Tests:TestMethod1,TestMethod2

See also