Aspire Integration Testing

Aspire Integration Testing

Overview

Integration tests for .NET Aspire distributed applications. Validates service startup, health endpoints, cross-component communication, and observability.

REQUIRED: superpowers:test-driven-development, superpowers:verification-before-completion

When to Use

• Repository includes .NET Aspire AppHost
• Distributed application with multiple services
• Cross-component behavior validation needed
• Opt-out: User explicitly refuses testing

Detection and Deference

Before creating Aspire integration tests, check for existing patterns:

Existing Tests Detection

Deference Rules

When existing Aspire tests are detected:

1. Existing test project: Add new tests to existing project.
2. Existing strategy doc: Update rather than duplicate.
3. Partial coverage: Add tests for uncovered components only.

Only create new test project when detection finds nothing.

Decision Capture

Testing decisions must be captured:

1. Testing Strategy: Update docs/testing-strategy.md with Aspire testing approach
2. Test Project README: Document what each test validates
3. ADR (optional): For complex multi-component testing decisions

Testing Strategy Template

Add to docs/testing-strategy.md:

## Aspire Integration Testing

### Scope

- All AppHost-managed services tested
- Health and alive endpoints validated
- Cross-component flows verified

### Test Categories

1. **Startup Tests:** Application starts, all services healthy
2. **Health Tests:** /health and /alive endpoints
3. **Integration Tests:** Cross-component communication
4. **Observability Tests:** Logging, tracing correlation

Core Workflow

1. Opt-out check: User refused testing? Document in docs/exclusions.md
2. Identify components: APIs, workers, databases, queues, caches
3. Create test project: Reference Aspire.Hosting.Testing
4. Mandatory tests:
   • Application starts successfully
   • /health endpoint for all services (200 OK)
   • /alive endpoint for all services (200 OK)
   • Resource connectivity (database, queue connections)
5. Cross-component flows: API → queue → worker, API → database
6. Observability: Structured logging, correlation IDs
7. Document: Test strategy in tests/README.md

See Testing Patterns and API Reference.

Reference Templates

Use pre-built templates to accelerate Aspire test setup:

Using Templates

1. Copy templates to tests/{Project}.AppHost.Tests/
2. Replace {NAMESPACE} with your root namespace
3. Replace {AppHostProject} with your AppHost project name
4. Add reference to your AppHost project
5. Run dotnet test to verify setup

Rationalizations Table

Red Flags - STOP

• "Aspire infrastructure just works"
• "Too complex to test distributed systems"
• "Can verify in staging/production"
• "Dashboard shows green"
• "Will add tests later"

All mean: Apply skill or document explicit opt-out.