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RUNNING TESTS

Command Line

Execute Karate tests directly from the command line for rapid development cycles and CI automation. Target specific tests, environments, and scenarios with simple commands.

Maven Execution​

Run tests using Maven's familiar command patterns with powerful filtering options.

Command Line
# Run all tests (follows *Test.java naming convention)
mvn test

# Run specific JUnit test class
mvn test -Dtest=UserTest

# Run specific test method
mvn test -Dtest=UserTest#smokeTests

# Run tests matching pattern
mvn test -Dtest="*IntegrationTest"

Environment Configuration​

Switch environments and pass system properties for different test contexts:

Command Line
# Set Karate environment to QA
mvn test -Dkarate.env=qa

# Combine test selection with environment and custom properties
mvn test -Dtest=ApiTest -Dkarate.env=staging -Dapi.timeout=30000

Gradle Execution​

Configure Gradle to pass Karate options to the test runtime:

build.gradle
test {
    // Pass karate options to runtime
    systemProperty "karate.options", System.properties.getProperty("karate.options")
    systemProperty "karate.env", System.properties.getProperty("karate.env")

    // Ensure tests always run
    outputs.upToDateWhen { false }
}
Command Line
# Run all tests
./gradlew test

# Run specific test class
./gradlew test --tests "*UserTest"

# Alternative Gradle syntax for single test
./gradlew test -Dtest.single=UserTest

# Run with QA environment
./gradlew test -Dkarate.env=qa

Using karate.options​

The karate.options system property provides precise control over test execution:

Feature and Scenario Selection​

Command Line
# Run specific feature file
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="classpath:features/users.feature"

# Run specific scenario by line number
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="features/users.feature:25"

# Run multiple features
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="features/users.feature features/products.feature"

Tag-Based Filtering​

Command Line
# Run tests tagged with @smoke
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="--tags @smoke"

# Exclude tests tagged with @slow
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="--tags ~@slow"

# Multiple tags with equals syntax
mvn test -Dkarate.options="-t=@dev -t=@api" -Dtest=Runner

# Run tests with either tag (OR operation)
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="--tags @regression,@api"

Development Mode Options​

Command Line
# Validate test syntax without execution
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="--dryrun --tags @smoke"

# Run all features in a directory
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="classpath:features/debug"

Test Suites Organization​

Traditional JUnit Test Suites​

Create runner classes to organize related feature files:

src/test/java/
├── animals/
│   ├── cats/cats.feature
│   ├── dogs/dogs.feature
│   └── AnimalsTest.java    # Runs all features in animals/
└── ApiTestSuite.java       # Runs all project features
// AnimalsTest.java - Traditional JUnit runner
import com.intuit.karate.junit5.Karate;

class AnimalsTest {

  @Karate.Test
  Karate testAnimals() {
      return Karate.run("classpath:animals").relativeTo(getClass());
  }

  @Karate.Test
  Karate testSmokeOnly() {
      return Karate.run("classpath:animals")
              .tags("@smoke")
              .relativeTo(getClass());
  }

}

Running Test Suites​

Command Line
# Run all tests in the AnimalsTest suite
mvn test -Dtest=AnimalsTest

# Run suite excluding @skipme tagged tests
mvn test "-Dkarate.options=--tags ~@skipme" -Dtest=AnimalsTest

Maven Surefire Configuration​

Lock test execution to specific suites:

pom.xml
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.0.0-M9</version>
    <configuration>
        <includes>
            <include>animals/AnimalsTest.java</include>
        </includes>
        <systemProperties>
            <karate.options>--tags @smoke</karate.options>
        </systemProperties>
    </configuration>
</plugin>
Test Suite Limitations

Traditional JUnit test suites run sequentially. For parallel execution, use the Parallel Runner.

Environment Switching​

Pass the karate.env system property to switch between environments:

Command Line
# Run tests against development environment
mvn test -Dkarate.env=dev

# Run Gradle tests against staging
./gradlew test -Dkarate.env=staging

# Alternative Maven syntax for environment
mvn test -DargLine="-Dkarate.env=production"

The karate.env value is available in your karate-config.js for environment-specific configuration.

Quick Development Patterns​

Rapid Test Iteration​

Command Line
# Run single test method for debugging
mvn test -Dtest=ApiTest#debugScenario

# Run problematic scenario by line number
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="features/problem.feature:15"

# Run work-in-progress tests locally
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.options="--tags @wip" -Dkarate.env=local

Multi-Environment Testing​

Command Line
# Run smoke tests against QA environment
mvn test -Dtest=SmokeTest -Dkarate.env=qa -Dkarate.options="--tags @smoke"

# Run critical tests against staging
mvn test -Dtest=Runner -Dkarate.env=staging -Dkarate.options="--tags @critical"

Common Gotchas​

  • Test Discovery: Maven only runs classes following *Test.java naming convention by default
  • karate.options Ignored: Ensure Gradle passes system properties to test runtime
  • @ignore Tag: Tests tagged with @ignore are automatically skipped
  • Path Syntax: Feature paths should use classpath: prefix for consistency

Next Steps​

Master command line execution, then explore:

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