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Installing TUnit

Quick Start​

Assuming you have the .NET SDK installed, run:

dotnet new install TUnit.Templates

dotnet new TUnit -n "YourProjectName"

A new test project will be created for you with some samples of different test types and tips. When you're ready to get going, delete them and create your own!

Optional: add --enable-dotcover to include the JetBrains.dotCover.Framework package for per-test coverage in dotCover, Rider and ReSharper.

Manually​

First create an empty .NET console application:

dotnet new console --name YourTestProjectNameHere

To that project add the TUnit package:

cd YourTestProjectNameHere
dotnet add package TUnit

And then remove any automatically generated Program.cs or main method, as this is handled by the TUnit package.

Global Usings​

The TUnit package automatically configures global usings for common TUnit namespaces, so your test files don't need to include using statements for:

  • TUnit.Core (for [Test] attribute)
  • TUnit.Assertions (for Assert.That())
  • TUnit.Assertions.Extensions (for assertion methods)

This means your test files can be as simple as:

namespace MyTests;

public class MyTests  // No [TestClass] needed!
{
    [Test]  // Available without explicit using statement
    public async Task MyTest()
    {
        await Assert.That(true).IsTrue();  // Assert is available automatically
    }
}

What's Included in the TUnit Package​

When you install the TUnit meta package, you automatically get several useful extensions without any additional installation:

Built-In Extensions​

Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.CodeCoverage

  • Code coverage support via --coverage flag
  • Outputs Cobertura and XML formats
  • Replacement for Coverlet (which is not compatible with TUnit)

Microsoft.Testing.Extensions.TrxReport

  • TRX test report generation via --report-trx flag
  • Compatible with Azure DevOps and other CI/CD systems

This means you can run tests with coverage and reports right away:

# Run tests with code coverage
dotnet run --configuration Release --coverage

# Run tests with TRX report
dotnet run --configuration Release --report-trx

# Both coverage and report
dotnet run --configuration Release --coverage --report-trx

Important: Do not install coverlet.collector or coverlet.msbuild. These packages are incompatible with TUnit because they require the VSTest platform, while TUnit uses the modern Microsoft.Testing.Platform.

For more details, see:

That's it. We're ready to write our first test.

Your .csproj should be as simple as something like:

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

    <PropertyGroup>
        <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
        <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
        <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    </PropertyGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
      <PackageReference Include="TUnit" Version="*" />
    </ItemGroup>

</Project>
danger

If you're used to other testing frameworks, you're probably used to the package Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk. This should NOT be used with TUnit. It'll stop test discovery from working properly.

.NET Framework​

If you are still targeting .NET Framework, TUnit's generated code needs ModuleInitializerAttribute, which isn't in the base class library. When nothing in your project provides it, TUnit's source generator declares it for you as an internal type, so no extra package is required.

Newer C# features such as init accessors, required members and records need further types that .NET Framework lacks. To use them, install a polyfill package such as Polyfill:

<PackageReference Include="Polyfill" Version="*" PrivateAssets="all" />

TUnit doesn't declare the attribute when the project already has one, whether from Polyfill, PolySharp or your own code. To turn TUnit's declaration off entirely, set <EnableTUnitPolyfills>false</EnableTUnitPolyfills>.

Source generators can't see each other's output, so TUnit detects PolySharp through its PolySharpIncludeGeneratedTypes and PolySharpExcludeGeneratedTypes MSBuild properties. If you see a duplicate ModuleInitializerAttribute error with PolySharp installed, set EnableTUnitPolyfills to false.

Next: Write Your First Test →