8 Ways To Retry: Finding Flaky Tests

Handling flaky tests in software development involves strategies tailored to different environments, such as local development and continuous integration (CI). In local settings, retrying tests can help developers identify transient errors, with many integrated development environments and test frameworks offering automated retry configurations. In CI environments, it's preferable to let tests fail and use available tools to track and analyze them, ensuring transparency and accurate reflection of the code's state. The text provides detailed configurations for various programming languages and frameworks, including Jest for JavaScript, RSpec for Ruby, PyTest for Python, Surefire for Java, NexTest for Rust, PHPUnit for PHP, ExUnit for Elixir, and GoTestSum for Go. These configurations allow developers to systematically retry failed tests, thereby addressing flakiness and improving test reliability. The overarching message is to balance retrying flaky tests with maintaining the integrity and confidence in the test suite.