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test_runner: error on test file patterns that do not exist#64345

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UditDewan:fix-test-runner-missing-patterns
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test_runner: error on test file patterns that do not exist#64345
UditDewan wants to merge 1 commit into
nodejs:mainfrom
UditDewan:fix-test-runner-missing-patterns

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@UditDewan

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Currently createTestFileList() only errors when all user-supplied patterns collectively match nothing and none of them contain glob magic. As a result, a nonexistent literal path passed alongside a matching glob is silently dropped:

node --test no-tests-here "spec/*.test.js"   # no-tests-here silently ignored
node --test "spec/*.test.js" --test-reporter tap   # trailing options parsed as patterns, silently ignored

This change adds a per-pattern check: any literal (non-glob) pattern that does not exist on disk is now reported with the existing Could not find '...' error and the run exits with a failure code. Glob patterns that match nothing are intentionally left as-is so existing workflows with optional globs keep working, and the existing all-patterns check is preserved.

Added test cases to test/parallel/test-runner-cli.js covering both repros from the issue, for both --test-isolation=none and process.

Fixes: #64109

Report each literal positional argument that does not match an
existing file instead of silently dropping it.

Fixes: nodejs#64109
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Review requested:

  • @nodejs/test_runner

@nodejs-github-bot nodejs-github-bot added needs-ci PRs that need a full CI run. test_runner Issues and PRs related to the test runner subsystem. labels Jul 7, 2026
Comment on lines +165 to +178
if (hasUserSuppliedPattern) {
if (results.length === 0 && ArrayPrototypeEvery(glob.matchers, (m) => !m.hasMagic())) {
console.error(`Could not find '${ArrayPrototypeJoin(patterns, ', ')}'`);
process.exit(kGenericUserError);
}

const missing = ArrayPrototypeFilter(patterns, (pattern, i) => {
return !glob.matchers[i].hasMagic() && !existsSync(resolve(cwd, pattern));
});

if (missing.length > 0) {
console.error(`Could not find '${ArrayPrototypeJoin(missing, ', ')}'`);
process.exit(kGenericUserError);
}

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Suggested change
if (hasUserSuppliedPattern) {
if (results.length === 0 && ArrayPrototypeEvery(glob.matchers, (m) => !m.hasMagic())) {
console.error(`Could not find '${ArrayPrototypeJoin(patterns, ', ')}'`);
process.exit(kGenericUserError);
}
const missing = ArrayPrototypeFilter(patterns, (pattern, i) => {
return !glob.matchers[i].hasMagic() && !existsSync(resolve(cwd, pattern));
});
if (missing.length > 0) {
console.error(`Could not find '${ArrayPrototypeJoin(missing, ', ')}'`);
process.exit(kGenericUserError);
}
if (hasUserSuppliedPattern && results.length === 0) {
console.error(`Could not find '${ArrayPrototypeJoin(patterns, ', ')}'`);
process.exit(kGenericUserError);
}

Wouldn't this suffice?

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Unfortunately not — that check only fires when all patterns collectively match nothing, which is the pre-existing behavior (minus the hasMagic() guard). In the repro from #64109, spec/*.test.js does match files, so results.length > 0 and no-tests-here is still silently dropped. The per-pattern check is what catches a nonexistent literal path even when other patterns match.

I also deliberately kept the hasMagic() guard on both checks so a glob that matches zero files keeps its current no-error behavior — removing it would newly fail runs that pass optional globs. Happy to make globs error too if that's preferred, but it seemed like a separate (and riskier) behavior change.

@UditDewan UditDewan requested a review from avivkeller July 7, 2026 20:49
@atlowChemi

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Not sure this is the direction proposed in nodejs/test-runner#13 but this would probably be a semver-major PRs that contain breaking changes and should be released in the next major version. anyway

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test_runner: node --test silently drops options or args in certain cases

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