NEWS.md

In autotest: Automatic Package Testing

autotest 0.1.0

2026-01-27 – 2026-08-31

New features

• Replaced the entire YAML/example-parsing pipeline that underpinned autotesting since 0.0.x with one built on typetracer: autotest_package() now traces actual calls made in a package's examples, tests, and vignettes, rather than statically parsing and re-executing example code.
• Reimplemented the untested-function/untested-parameter checks on top of the new trace-based data.
• Added a progress parameter to autotest_package(), replacing quiet, for finer control over console output.
• Suppressed plot/PDF file artifacts and progress-bar noise generated while autotest_package() runs.

Bug fixes and minor improvements

• Fixed formals lookup and package-reload gaps uncovered while merging the typetracer pipeline.
• Fixed resolution of unexported functions during autotesting.
• Fixed namespace-qualified (pkg::fn) call tracing.
• Fixed parameter parsing/cleanup left over from the old yaml-based get_params/scrape-examples.R code.
• Removed now-orphaned internals from the old pipeline (yaml_handlers(), R/parse-yaml.R, R/example-objects.R, R/text-parsing-fns.R, and other unused yaml-parsing code).
• Switched to checkmate for input assertion checks.
• Renamed the package parameter to pkg for consistency.
• Bumped roxygen2 to 8.1 and added exportS3Method tags.
• Updated the repo status badge to "active".

autotest 0.0.2

2021-02-23 – 2026-01-27

New features

• Added a first cut of typetracer-based tracing as an alternative example-execution backend, laying the groundwork for the 0.1.0 rewrite.
• Added check_param_is_arbitrary() to skip mutation-testing of parameters whose values are arbitrary characters.
• Added documented_int_range() and related handling so documented integer ranges (upper/lower, positive/negative) are properly tested.
• Added a hex sticker/logo for the package.
• Added a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md and allcontributors setup.

Bug fixes

• Fixed autotest_single_yaml() returning a 0-row data frame instead of NULL when no items in a report were testable.
• Fixed parsing of bracket sequences spanning multi-line quoted expressions.
• Fixed parsing of in-line code comments and quoted sequences containing escape characters (remove_comments(), quote_sequences()).
• Fixed handling of packages installed to non-standard library paths.
• Fixed get_Rd_value() to use Rd2txt() instead of manual parsing, and fixed related Rd-extraction bugs (get_pkg_functions(), get_Rd_param(), rm_dontrun_lines()).
• Fixed function-alias grepping so functions called via aliases are correctly identified.
• Fixed single_or_vec() to correctly evaluate parameter expressions and only treat atomic classes as vectors.
• Fixed the double_noise test for vectors containing NAs and adjusted its sensitivity threshold.
• Fixed test_int_as_dbl comparisons to be less sensitive to spurious differences.
• Fixed split_content_at_commas(), rm_commas_in_qts(), and extract_primary_call_content() for a range of edge cases (quoted strings, matrix results from apply(), expression delimiters).
• Fixed package-name/dependency extraction from DESCRIPTION (missing Imports, multi-line comma-separated fields, package name not on the first line).
• Fixed test-flag propagation across the various input-* test functions so test = FALSE is honoured consistently.

Minor improvements

• Moved the project from the ropenscilabs to the ropensci-review-tools GitHub organisation and recommended r-universe installation.
• Migrated CI to GitHub Actions v2/v4 workflows and added a code-coverage workflow.
• Switched default status messages about assumed parameters from "assume" to "state" wording for clarity.
• Various internal refactors to reduce cyclomatic complexity and improve consistency of variable naming.

autotest 0.0.1

2020-07-03 – 2021-02-23

Initial development of the package's core autotesting framework.

New features

• Added the original YAML-based pipeline for scraping function-call examples from a package's Rd files and source, and converting them into a structured YAML test specification (examples_to_yaml() and friends).
• Added autotest_rectangular(), autotest_vector(), and autotest_single() to systematically mutate rectangular (data.frame/matrix), vector, and single-value (integer, double, character, logical, name/formula) inputs and check that functions respond sensibly (informative errors/warnings rather than silent failure).
• Added autotest_package() to run autotesting across every function in a package, including packages provided as local/source directories as well as installed packages.
• Added a structured report_object/tibble return value, with columns progressively built out to include test_name, parameter_type, operation, and content, plus a summary() method for the returned object.
• Added tests for whether function return values match their documented class and description (test_return_has_class, test_return_desc).
• Added tests for whether parameter documentation matches the classes of objects actually passed in examples (param_docs_match_input).
• Added detection of untested functions and parameters (test_untested_params), including identification of parameters that cannot be meaningfully tested and those left at their default values.
• Added an autotest_obj S3 class and moved dispatch of the rectangular/vector/single/return tests onto S3 methods, replacing what had been long if/else chains.
• Added an autotest_types parameter/function to control which categories of test are run.
• Added a test_data parameter allowing user-supplied replacement values to be threaded through the rectangular, vector, and single-value tests instead of only auto-generated ones.
• Added testthat integration via expect_autotest_no_err(), expect_autotest_no_warn(), expect_autotest_notes(), and expect_autotest_no_testdata().
• Added git-hash tracking of source packages in the report output.
• Added a package vignette describing autotest's design, plus a second vignette on controlling which tests run.

Bug fixes and minor improvements

• Numerous fixes to the example-code parser: matching of nested/mismatched brackets, multi-line and piped expressions, in-line comments, quoted strings, \%-escaped operators, and dontrun/donttest blocks.
• Numerous fixes to matching parameter and return-object classes against their documented descriptions.
• Switched CI to run on GitHub Actions, added an R CMD check workflow across multiple OSes, and set up pkgdown.

autotest documentation built on Sept. 12, 2026, 5:10 p.m.