---
title: Tests can assert multiple things
date: 2024-01-19
permalink: daily/2024/01/19/tests-can-assert-multiple-things
snippet: |
    Should each automated test only have a single assertion?
tags:
    - software-development
    - automated-testing
    - test-driven-development
---

Similar to "a method should only have one return statement", I've seen similar advice when working with tests: "Tests should only have a single assertion".

I don't think this is true, and in my experience, you need multiple assertions to have a thorough test.

And, whilst similar assertions add some duplication, they can make the intent clearer and give better error messages.

Instead, I focus on one test case per test.

If I'm testing the following:

* A blog page exists.
* Only post nodes are visible.
* Only published posts are visible,
* Posts are returned in a specified order.

These will be split into separate tests - making it easier to read and maintain the code and have faster execution times by running only the tests I want with the minimum amount of code in each - regardless of how many assertions are in each.