- name
- bugfix-without-test
- description
- A fix is applied without a reproduction test, leaving no proof the bug is fixed and no regression coverage.
- emoji
- 🧪
- metadata
- clawdis
- os
- [macos, linux, windows]
bugfix-without-test
Fixing a bug without a test means (a) you don't know the fix actually works, and (b) there's nothing to stop the bug from coming back next refactor. A fix without a regression test is provisional at best.
Symptoms
- Diff contains code changes but no test changes.
- Existing tests still pass, but none of them would have failed under the original bug.
- PR description describes a bug scenario that no test exercises.
- The fix is a one-liner and no one will remember why it exists six months later.
What to do
- Reproduce the bug as a failing test first. Run it. Confirm it fails for the right reason.
- Apply the fix. Run the test again. Confirm it passes.
- Keep the test in the suite. It becomes the regression guard.
- If the bug is hard to test (timing, environment, flaky), say so explicitly and describe what manual verification was done. Don't silently skip.
- For bugs discovered in production, add the test at the lowest level that reproduces the issue — unit if possible, integration if not.