MiniSpec

MiniSpec — BDD Testing Framework for Delphi

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Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) framework for Delphi — Write executable specifications with fluent Gherkin-style syntax (Given/When/Then). A modern alternative to DUnit and DUnitX for test-driven development.

Keywords: Delphi testing, BDD Delphi, Gherkin Delphi, Cucumber for Delphi, unit testing, TDD, test framework, Object Pascal testing, RAD Studio testing

Console Reporter Live Dashboard

Why MiniSpec?

🎯 Native Gherkin syntax — Given/When/Then directly in Delphi code
🔄 Fluent API — Natural chaining without external .feature files
🧪 Type-safe — Autocomplete and compile-time verification
📊 Multiple reporters — Console, JSON, JUnit (CI/CD), Live Dashboard
🏷️ Powerful filtering — By tags, features, scenarios, categories
💉 Dependency injection — Lightweight built-in system
📦 Zero dependencies — Standalone, just copy the folder

Installation

MiniSpec is part of the DAF Project but is completely standalone. It has no dependencies on other DAF modules.

To use MiniSpec: 1. Copy the src/MiniSpec folder to your project 2. Add the folder to your Delphi search path 3. Add uses Daf.MiniSpec to your test units

That’s it! No additional setup required.

Quick Start

unit Calculator.Add.Feat;

interface
implementation
uses Daf.MiniSpec, Calculator.Engine;

type
  TWorld = class
    Calculator: TCalculator;  // System Under Test
    A, B, Result: Integer;    // Parameters from Examples
  end;

initialization

Feature('Calculator Addition @arithmetic')
.UseWorld<TWorld>

.Background
  .Given('I have a calculator', procedure(W: TWorld)
    begin
      W.Calculator := TCalculator.Create;
    end)

.ScenarioOutline('Adding <A> and <B> should be <Result>')
  .Given('the numbers <A> and <B>')  // Auto-bound from Examples
  .When('they are added', procedure(W: TWorld)
    begin
      W.Calculator.Add(W.A, W.B);
    end)
  .&Then('the result is <Result>', procedure(W: TWorld)
    begin
      Expect(W.Calculator.Result).ToEqual(W.Result);
    end)
  .Examples(
    [['A', 'B', 'Result'],
     [1, 1, 2],
     [10, 20, 30],
     [5, -2, 3]])

end.

Run:

CalculatorSpecs.exe                    # Run all tests
CalculatorSpecs.exe -f "@arithmetic"   # Only tests tagged @arithmetic
CalculatorSpecs.exe -f "Feat:Calculator" # Filter by feature
CalculatorSpecs.exe -r live            # Real-time dashboard
CalculatorSpecs.exe -r junit:output=results.xml  # For CI/CD

Key Features

Feature	Description
Gherkin Vocabulary	Feature, Scenario, Given, When, Then, And, But, Background, Rule
Scenario Outline	Data-driven tests with Examples table
DataTables	Inline structured data in steps
Step Bindings	Reusable steps with regex attributes
Before/After	Feature-level hooks
Tags & Filters	`@tag`, `Feat:`, `Scen:`, `Rule:`, `Cat:`
Assertions	Full `Expect()` API with matchers
Test Doubles	Elegant `Stub<T>`, `Mock<T>`, `SpyOn<T>` API
Reporters	Console, JSON, JUnit, Gherkin, Live Dashboard

Documentation

Resource	Description
User Guide	Complete documentation of all features
Test Doubles	Stubs, Mocks, and Spies
Testing Patterns	BDD for unit, integration, and E2E tests
Samples	Working examples
Changelog	Version history

Reporters

Reporter	Command	Description
Console	`-r console`	Colorful Gherkin-style terminal output (default)
Live	`-r live:port=8080`	Real-time interactive dashboard via SSE
JUnit	`-r junit:output=results.xml`	CI/CD compatible (GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins)
JSON	`-r json:output=results.json`	Structured JSON output
Gherkin	`-r gherkin`	Plain Gherkin text format

JUnit (CI/CD)

MySpecs.exe -r junit:output=test-results.xml

Compatible with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps.

Multiple Reporters

MySpecs.exe -r console -r junit:output=results.xml -r json:output=report.json

Or configure via MiniSpec.ini (created automatically on first run):

[minispec]
reporters=console,junit

[reporter.junit]
output=results.xml

See Reporters for full details.

Requirements

Delphi 12 Athens or later (requires multi-line strings ''')
Windows (32/64 bit)

License

MIT License

Contributing

Found a bug? Have an idea? Open an issue or submit a PR.

_{Built with ❤️ for the Delphi community}
_{DAF Project — Delphi Application Framework}