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android/.claude/skills/testing-android-code/references/flow-testing-patterns.md
Patrick Honkonen d49629de9e Add Android testing skill for Claude (#6370)
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-02 18:42:01 +00:00

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# Flow Testing with Turbine
Bitwarden Android uses Turbine for testing Kotlin Flows, including the critical distinction between StateFlow and EventFlow patterns.
## StateFlow vs EventFlow
### StateFlow (Replayed)
**Characteristics:**
- `replay = 1` - Always emits current value to new collectors
- First `awaitItem()` returns the current/initial state
- Survives configuration changes
- Used for UI state that needs to be immediately available
**Test Pattern:**
```kotlin
@Test
fun `action should update state`() = runTest {
val viewModel = MyViewModel(savedStateHandle, mockRepository)
viewModel.stateFlow.test {
// First awaitItem() gets CURRENT state
assertEquals(INITIAL_STATE, awaitItem())
// Trigger action
viewModel.trySendAction(MyAction.LoadData)
// Next awaitItem() gets UPDATED state
assertEquals(LOADING_STATE, awaitItem())
assertEquals(SUCCESS_STATE, awaitItem())
}
}
```
### EventFlow (No Replay)
**Characteristics:**
- `replay = 0` - Only emits new events after subscription
- No initial value emission
- One-time events (navigation, toasts, dialogs)
- Does not survive configuration changes
**Test Pattern:**
```kotlin
@Test
fun `action should emit event`() = runTest {
val viewModel = MyViewModel(savedStateHandle, mockRepository)
viewModel.eventFlow.test {
// MUST call expectNoEvents() first - nothing emitted yet
expectNoEvents()
// Trigger action
viewModel.trySendAction(MyAction.Submit)
// Now expect the event
assertEquals(MyEvent.NavigateToNext, awaitItem())
}
}
```
**Critical:** Always call `expectNoEvents()` before triggering actions on EventFlow. Forgetting this causes flaky tests.
## Testing State and Events Simultaneously
Use the `stateEventFlow()` helper from `BaseViewModelTest`:
```kotlin
@Test
fun `complex action should update state and emit event`() = runTest {
val viewModel = MyViewModel(savedStateHandle, mockRepository)
viewModel.stateEventFlow(backgroundScope) { stateFlow, eventFlow ->
// Initial state
assertEquals(INITIAL_STATE, stateFlow.awaitItem())
// No events yet
eventFlow.expectNoEvents()
// Trigger action
viewModel.trySendAction(MyAction.ComplexAction)
// Verify state progression
assertEquals(LOADING_STATE, stateFlow.awaitItem())
assertEquals(SUCCESS_STATE, stateFlow.awaitItem())
// Verify event emission
assertEquals(MyEvent.ShowToast, eventFlow.awaitItem())
}
}
```
## Repository Flow Testing
### Testing Database Flows
```kotlin
@Test
fun `dataFlow should emit when database updates`() = runTest {
val dataFlow = MutableStateFlow(initialData)
every { mockDiskSource.dataFlow } returns dataFlow
repository.dataFlow.test {
// Initial value
assertEquals(initialData, awaitItem())
// Update disk source
dataFlow.value = updatedData
// Verify emission
assertEquals(updatedData, awaitItem())
}
}
```
### Testing Transformed Flows
```kotlin
@Test
fun `flow transformation should map correctly`() = runTest {
val sourceFlow = MutableStateFlow(UserEntity(id = "1", name = "John"))
every { mockDao.observeUser() } returns sourceFlow
// Repository transforms entity to domain model
repository.userFlow.test {
val expectedUser = User(id = "1", name = "John")
assertEquals(expectedUser, awaitItem())
}
}
```
## Common Patterns
### Pattern 1: Testing Initial State + Action
```kotlin
@Test
fun `load data should update from idle to loading to success`() = runTest {
coEvery { repository.getData() } returns "data".asSuccess()
viewModel.stateFlow.test {
assertEquals(DEFAULT_STATE, awaitItem())
viewModel.loadData()
assertEquals(DEFAULT_STATE.copy(loadingState = LoadingState.Loading), awaitItem())
assertEquals(DEFAULT_STATE.copy(loadingState = LoadingState.Success), awaitItem())
}
}
```
### Pattern 2: Testing Error States
```kotlin
@Test
fun `load data with error should emit failure state`() = runTest {
val error = Exception("Network error")
coEvery { repository.getData() } returns error.asFailure()
viewModel.stateFlow.test {
assertEquals(DEFAULT_STATE, awaitItem())
viewModel.loadData()
assertEquals(DEFAULT_STATE.copy(loadingState = LoadingState.Loading), awaitItem())
assertEquals(
DEFAULT_STATE.copy(loadingState = LoadingState.Error("Network error")),
awaitItem(),
)
}
}
```
### Pattern 3: Testing Event Sequences
```kotlin
@Test
fun `submit should emit validation then navigation events`() = runTest {
viewModel.eventFlow.test {
expectNoEvents()
viewModel.trySendAction(MyAction.Submit)
assertEquals(MyEvent.ShowValidation, awaitItem())
assertEquals(MyEvent.NavigateToNext, awaitItem())
}
}
```
### Pattern 4: Testing Cancellation
```kotlin
@Test
fun `cancelling collection should stop emissions`() = runTest {
val flow = flow {
repeat(100) {
emit(it)
delay(100)
}
}
flow.test {
assertEquals(0, awaitItem())
assertEquals(1, awaitItem())
// Cancel after 2 items
cancel()
// No more items received
}
}
```
## Anti-Patterns
### ❌ Forgetting expectNoEvents() on EventFlow
```kotlin
// WRONG
viewModel.eventFlow.test {
viewModel.trySendAction(action) // May fail - no initial expectNoEvents
assertEquals(event, awaitItem())
}
// CORRECT
viewModel.eventFlow.test {
expectNoEvents() // ALWAYS do this first
viewModel.trySendAction(action)
assertEquals(event, awaitItem())
}
```
### ❌ Not Using runTest
```kotlin
// WRONG - Missing runTest
@Test
fun `test flow`() {
flow.test { /* ... */ }
}
// CORRECT
@Test
fun `test flow`() = runTest {
flow.test { /* ... */ }
}
```
### ❌ Mixing StateFlow and EventFlow Patterns
```kotlin
// WRONG - Treating StateFlow like EventFlow
stateFlow.test {
expectNoEvents() // Unnecessary - StateFlow always has value
/* ... */
}
// WRONG - Treating EventFlow like StateFlow
eventFlow.test {
val item = awaitItem() // Will hang - no initial value!
/* ... */
}
```
## Reference Implementations
**ViewModel with StateFlow and EventFlow:**
`app/src/test/kotlin/com/x8bit/bitwarden/ui/tools/feature/generator/GeneratorViewModelTest.kt`
**Repository Flow Testing:**
`data/src/test/kotlin/com/bitwarden/data/tools/generator/repository/GeneratorRepositoryTest.kt`
**Complex Flow Transformations:**
`data/src/test/kotlin/com/bitwarden/data/vault/repository/VaultRepositoryTest.kt`