Running Tests

Backend

Quick Start

# From project root
just b test                    # Run all tests
just b test -n=auto            # Run tests in parallel
just b test tests/path/        # Run specific tests

# With ramdisk database (2-5x faster)
just test-db start             # Start PostgreSQL with tmpfs
DATABASE_URL=postgres://baserow:baserow@localhost:5433/baserow just b test -n=auto

Test Settings

Test settings (baserow/config/settings/test.py) are designed for consistency and portability:

• DATABASE_* and REDIS_* vars can be passed via environment variables
• All other settings are hardcoded in test.py to ensure consistent test behavior
• Optional TEST_ENV_FILE can load settings from a file

This allows tests to run identically inside Docker and locally.

Docker vs Local Development

All backend justfile commands (just test, just lint, etc.) work identically inside and outside Docker containers. The test settings are designed to be portable.

Command	Host	Container	Notes
just b test	✓	✓	Works in both environments
just b lint	✓	✓	Works in both environments
just test-db start	✓	✗	Host only (starts a Docker container)
just test-db stop	✓	✗	Host only

Note: The just test-db start command starts a separate PostgreSQL container with tmpfs storage. This can only be run from the host machine, not from inside a container. When running tests inside the backend container, use the existing db service instead.

Running Tests Locally

Pass database connection via environment variable:

# Using DATABASE_URL
DATABASE_URL=postgres://baserow:baserow@localhost:5432/baserow just b test

# Or individual variables
DATABASE_HOST=localhost DATABASE_PORT=5432 just b test

Running Tests in Docker

Inside the container, the default settings work out of the box:

just dcd up -d db backend
just dcd exec backend bash
j test
# Or directly
just dcd up -d db backend && just dcd exec backend "just test -n auto"

Using an Environment File

For complex configurations, use a file:

# Create .env.testing-local (gitignored)
cat > .env.testing-local << 'EOF'
DATABASE_HOST=localhost
DATABASE_PORT=5432
REDIS_HOST=localhost
# Any other env var customization here
EOF

# Run tests with file
TEST_ENV_FILE=.env.testing-local just b test

Ramdisk Database for Fast Tests

Use a PostgreSQL container with tmpfs (in-memory storage) for 2-5x faster tests:

# Start ramdisk database on port 5433
just test-db up

# Run tests against it
DATABASE_URL=postgres://baserow:baserow@localhost:5433/baserow just b test -n=auto

# Stop when done
just test-db down

# Check status
just test-db ps

Configuration: Set TEST_DB_PORT environment variable to use a different port (default: 5433).

The ramdisk database (baserow-test-db container using pgvector/pgvector:pg14) runs with optimized settings:

• tmpfs storage: All data in RAM (8GB allocated)
• Large shared_buffers: 512MB for better caching
• Disabled fsync/WAL: No durability overhead
• Disabled autovacuum: No background maintenance

Migrations and Database Setup

By default, BASEROW_TESTS_SETUP_DB_FIXTURE=on skips migrations and only installs required pgSQL functions. This speeds up test setup significantly.

# Run with full migrations (slower, useful for testing migrations)
BASEROW_TESTS_SETUP_DB_FIXTURE=off just b test

# Reuse database between test runs (fastest for iterative development)
just b test --reuse-db

# Apply new migrations to existing test database
BASEROW_TESTS_SETUP_DB_FIXTURE=off just b test --no-migrations --reuse-db

Test Commands Reference

Command	Description
just b test	Run all tests
just b test -n=auto	Run tests in parallel
just b test tests/path/	Run specific tests
just b test-coverage	Run tests with coverage report
just b test-builder	Run builder-specific tests
just b test-automation	Run automation-specific tests