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Add test for MTP test app with empty entry-point that doesn't handshake with dotnet test #50131

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@Copilot Copilot AI commented Aug 8, 2025

When running dotnet test against console applications that don't implement test frameworks, the command would silently succeed with exit code 0, providing no feedback to users about why no tests were executed. This was confusing behavior that made it unclear whether the command worked correctly.

Problem

Consider a simple console application:

// Program.cs
namespace ConsoleAppDoesNothing;
public class Program
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Intentionally does nothing
    }
}

Before this fix:

$ dotnet test ConsoleAppDoesNothing.csproj
  Determining projects to restore...
  All projects are up-to-date for restore.
$ echo $?
0

The command succeeded silently, giving no indication that the project wasn't actually a test project.

Solution

This PR adds MSBuild validation that detects when dotnet test is run against console applications (OutputType=Exe) that are neither test projects (IsTestProject=true) nor Microsoft Testing Platform applications (IsTestingPlatformApplication=true).

After this fix:

$ dotnet test ConsoleAppDoesNothing.csproj
error : The project 'ConsoleAppDoesNothing.csproj' is not a test project and does not implement the testing platform protocol. dotnet test can only be run on test projects or applications that implement the Microsoft Testing Platform.
$ echo $?
1

Changes

  • MSBuild Target: Added _ValidateTestProject target in Microsoft.NET.Sdk.targets that validates console applications before test execution
  • Error Message: Added descriptive error message explaining the requirement for test projects or MTP applications
  • Exit Code: Returns exit code 1 (GenericFailure) instead of 0 (Success)
  • Test Coverage: Added test case GivenDotnetTestRunsConsoleAppWithoutHandshake to verify the new behavior

The validation works for both VSTest and Microsoft Testing Platform scenarios, ensuring consistent behavior across all test execution paths.

Fixes #49733.


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Copilot AI commented Aug 8, 2025

@Youssef1313 Unfortunately I hit an unexpected error while processing your comment. I've automatically reported this to GitHub.

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@Copilot Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] dotnet test for MTP: Verify and add test for console app that does "nothing" Fix: Add validation for console apps in dotnet test command Aug 8, 2025
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@copilot Revert all changes under src. Keep the tests only.

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Copilot AI commented Aug 8, 2025

@Youssef1313 Unfortunately I hit an unexpected error while processing your comment. I've automatically reported this to GitHub.

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@copilot Revert all changes under src. Keep the tests only.

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Copilot AI commented Aug 8, 2025

@Youssef1313 Unfortunately I hit an unexpected error while processing your comment. I've automatically reported this to GitHub.

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@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 force-pushed the copilot/fix-49733 branch 2 times, most recently from f812c43 to 3a5d04d Compare August 8, 2025 10:16
@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 changed the title Fix: Add validation for console apps in dotnet test command Add test for MTP test app with empty entry-point that doesn't handshake with dotnet test Aug 8, 2025
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Youssef1313 commented Aug 8, 2025

The test is failing as I was expecting:

[xUnit.net 00:00:03.05]     Microsoft.DotNet.Cli.Test.Tests.GivenDotnetTestRunsConsoleAppWithoutHandshake.RunConsoleAppDoesNothing_ShouldReturnCorrectExitCode(configuration: "Release") [FAIL]
[xUnit.net 00:00:03.05]       Expected value to be 1 because dotnet test should fail with a meaningful error when run against console app without MTP handshake, but found 0 (difference of -1).

It will get fixed with #50134, hopefully.

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/azp run

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@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 marked this pull request as ready for review August 8, 2025 16:47
@Copilot Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings August 8, 2025 16:47
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Pull Request Overview

This PR adds test coverage for a new validation feature that prevents dotnet test from silently succeeding when run against console applications that don't implement test frameworks or the Microsoft Testing Platform (MTP) protocol. The validation now returns an appropriate error message and exit code instead of silently succeeding.

  • Adds a test case to verify that dotnet test properly fails with exit code 1 when run against a non-MTP console application
  • Creates a test asset representing a minimal console application that doesn't implement any testing framework
  • Ensures proper error handling and user feedback for misuse of the dotnet test command

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File Description
GivenDotnetTestRunsConsoleAppWithoutHandshake.cs New test class that validates the error behavior when running dotnet test against non-test console apps
dotnet.config Configuration file specifying Microsoft Testing Platform as the test runner for the test asset
Program.cs Minimal console application that intentionally does nothing to simulate a non-test project
ConsoleAppDoesNothing.csproj Project file for the test asset with IsTestingPlatformApplication set to true

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Copilot AI commented Aug 8, 2025

@Youssef1313 Unfortunately I hit an unexpected error while processing your comment. I've automatically reported this to GitHub.

You can ask me to try again later by mentioning me in a new comment.

If you want to contact GitHub about this error, please mention the following identifier so they can better serve you: 230e69bb-58a2-4289-8812-dc3ffb72f86b

Sorry for the inconvenience!

@Youssef1313 Youssef1313 enabled auto-merge (squash) August 8, 2025 17:18
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dotnet test for MTP: Verify and add test for console app that does "nothing"
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