safe-code-change

Safe Code Change

After a code change is made, find and fix affected tests before running validation.

Rules

• The code change is already done. Do not modify production code.
• Only update tests to match the new behavior, not the other way around.
• Do not reformat or lint-fix during test updates. Save that for validation.
• If a test change is ambiguous (unclear what the new expected behavior is), ask the user.

Step 1: Identify What Changed

git diff --name-only
git diff --stat

List the modified production files (ignore test files, configs, docs).

Step 2: Find Affected Tests

Search for imports and uses of changed functions/types across all test files:

# Find test files that import the changed package
rg "github.com/openshift/lightspeed-operator/<changed_package>" --type go -g '*_test.go'

# Find direct function/type references
rg "<ChangedFunctionOrType>" --type go -g '*_test.go'

For controller changes, also check:

• internal/controller/suite_test.go (shared test setup)
• test/e2e/ (E2E tests)

Step 3: Analyze Impact on Tests

For each affected test file, check whether the change breaks existing tests:

1. Signature changes — function renamed, parameters added/removed/reordered.
2. Behavior changes — return value, error messages, side effects differ.
3. Removed code — tests for deleted functions/types need removal.
4. New code — consider whether new tests are needed (ask user if unclear).
5. Interface changes — mock implementations need updating.

Step 4: Update Tests

Apply minimal fixes to each affected test:

For Ginkgo Tests (most controller tests):

• Update Expect() assertions to match new return values
• Update mock return values in test fixtures
• Add/remove parameters in function calls
• Update error message checks
• Adjust Eventually() timeouts if reconciliation logic changed

For Standard Go Tests (utils, helpers):

• Update table-driven test cases with new expected values
• Update mock implementations
• Add/remove parameters in function calls
• Update error assertions

Common Fixes:

• Error constant renamed: Update all Expect(err).To(MatchError(ContainSubstring(oldName))) → newName
• Function signature changed: Update all call sites in tests
• Resource structure changed: Update test fixtures and expected values
• Owner reference logic changed: Update assertions that check OwnerReferences

Step 5: Verify Test File Syntax

Before telling the user tests are ready, verify Go syntax:

go fmt <modified_test_file>

If formatting changes the file significantly, there may be syntax errors.

Step 6: Report

List all test files updated and what was changed in each:

1. File name
2. What was updated (function calls, expectations, mocks, fixtures)
3. Number of changes

Then guide the user to run validation:

Tests are updated. Run validation with:
  make test          # Run all unit tests
  make test-e2e      # Run E2E tests (requires cluster)
  make lint          # Check code style

If tests fail, review the specific failures and adjust expectations.

Do not run make test automatically — let the user control when tests run.