Run/Debug Configuration: JUnit

Last modified: 01 August 2022

JUnit run/debug configurations define how unit tests that are based on the JUnit testing framework should be run.

tip

You can use Ctrl+Space to let IntelliJ IDEA help you fill in the fields in this dialog.

Configuration tab

Item

Description

Test kind

From this list, select the scope for your tests and fill in the fields depending on your selection.

All in package

Select this option to run all unit tests in the specified package. Fill in the following fields:

Package

Specify package name

Search for tests

Select where in your project IntelliJ IDEA shall look for test classes related to the current package:

  • In whole project: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes in all project modules

  • In single module: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes only in the module selected in the Use classpath of module field

  • Across multiple dependencies: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes only in the module selected in the Use classpath of module field, and in the modules that depend on it

All in directory

Select this option to run all unit tests in the specified directory. Fill in the following field:

Directory

Specify the directory where you want to run the tests. It will act as the root directory for all relative input and output paths.

Pattern

Select this option to run a set of test classes. This set may include classes located in the same or different directories, packages or modules. Fill in the following fields:

Pattern

Specify the required classes using regular expressions. Each class in this field must be represented by its fully qualified name. Class names must be separated with ||. You can type class names manually, or click the Add button on the right (or press Shift+Enter) and search for classes you want to add in the dialog that opens.

For example, if you want to exclude all integration tests that have IT in their names, type ^(?!.*IT.*).*$.

You can also create a suite test, that is, a bundle of several test classes that will be run together. To create a suite test class, click the Expand button on the right and type the test classes you want to be run as a suite in the Configure suit tests dialog that opens. As a result, a new class will be created with the @Suite annotation.

Method

Specify the method to be launched (passed to the JRE). Type method name, or click the Browse button and select the desired method in the dialog that opens.

Search for tests

Select where in your project IntelliJ IDEA shall look for test classes related to the current package:

  • In whole project: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes in all project modules

  • In single module: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes only in the module selected in the Use classpath of module field

  • Across multiple dependencies: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes only in the module selected in the Use classpath of module field, and in the modules that depend on it

Class

Select this option to run all tests in a class.

Fill in the following field:

Class

Specify the fully qualified name of the class to be launched (passed to the JRE). Type the class name or click the Browse button and select the desired class in the dialog that opens.

Method

Select this option to run an individual test method.

Fill in the following fields:

Class

Specify the fully qualified name of the class to be launched (passed to the JRE). Type the class name or click the Browse button and select the desired class in the dialog that opens.

Method

Specify the method to be launched (passed to the JRE). Type method name, or click the Browse button and select the desired method in the dialog that opens.

Category

Select this option if you only want to run test classes and test methods that are annotated either with the category given with the @IncludeCategory annotation, or a subtype of this category. Learn more about JUnit categories.

Fill in the following fields:

Category

Specify the desired category. Type category name, or click the Browse button and select the desired category in the dialog that opens.

Search for tests

Select where in your project IntelliJ IDEA shall look for test classes related to the current package:

  • In whole project: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes in all project modules

  • In single module: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes only in the module selected in the Use classpath of module field

  • Across multiple dependencies: IntelliJ IDEA will look for test classes only in the module selected in the Use classpath of module field, and in the modules that depend on it

UniqueId

Select this option to include tests and containers with a specific ID in the testing scope.

Tags (JUnit 5)

Select this option to include classes and methods tagged with the @Tag annotation in the testing scope.

Tag expressions are boolean expressions with the following allowed operators: ! (not), & (and), and | (or). Parentheses can be used to adjust for operator precedence. For more information and examples, refer the JUnit 5 documentation.

Fork mode

This option controls how many Java VMs will be created if you want to fork some tests. Select method or class to create a separate virtual machine for each method or class respectively.

The available options in this list depend on the Test kind setting.

Repeat

If you want to repeatedly run a test, select the threshold from this list. You can select to run your test once, n times (in this case specify the number of times in the field on the right), until the test fails, or until it is stopped.

VM options

If necessary, specify the string to be passed to the VM. This string may contain the options such as -mx, -verbose, and so on.

When specifying JVM options, follow these rules:

  • Use spaces to separate individual options, for example, -client -ea -Xmx1024m.

  • If an option includes spaces, enclose the spaces or the argument that contains spaces in double quotes, for example, some" "arg or "some arg".

  • If an option includes double quotes (as part of the argument), escape the double quotes using backslashes, for example, -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\".

  • You can pass environment variable values to custom Java properties. For example, if you define a variable MY_ENV_VAR, you can pass it to the foo property as follows: 

    -Dfoo=${MY_ENV_VAR}

If there is not enough space, you can click the Expand button and enter the string in the dialog that opens.

The -classpath option specified in this field overrides the classpath of the module.

Program arguments

In this field, type a list of arguments to be passed to the program in the format you would use in the command line. If necessary, click the the Expand button button and type the required arguments in the dialog that opens.

Use the same rules as for specifying the VM options.

Working directory

Specify the directory that will act as the current directory when running the test. It will act as the root directory for all relative input and output paths. By default, the directory where the project file resides, is used as a working directory.

Type directory name, or click the Browse button and select the desired directory in the dialog that opens.

Environment variables

Click the Browse button to open the Environment Variables dialog where you can create variables and specify their values.

Redirect input from

Enables redirecting data from a text file to standard input. Use this option if your script requires some input and you want to automatically submit the values instead of typing them in the Run console. To enable redirecting, select the checkbox and specify the path to the target text file.

Use classpath of module

Select the module whose classpath should be used to run the tests.

Use module path

This checkbox is available for projects with JPMS modules (Java 9 and later). It allows you to select how to run your tests: on a class or on a module path.

JRE

Specify the JRE to be used. Select the JRE from the list, or click the Browse button and select the installation folder of the required JRE in the dialog that opens.

Shorten command line

Select a method that will be used to shorten the command line if the classpath gets too long, or you have many VM arguments that exceed your OS command line length limitation. The choice of option depends on the class loader implementation. Note that some frameworks do not support JAR manifest, while other frameworks with custom class loaders will not work well with the classpath.file option.

  • none: IntelliJ IDEA will not shorten a long classpath. If the command line exceeds the OS limitation, IntelliJ IDEA will be unable to run your application and will display a message suggesting you to specify the shortening method.

  • JAR manifest: IntelliJ IDEA will pass a long classpath via a temporary classpath.jar. The original classpath is defined in the manifest file as a class-path attribute in classpath.jar. Note that you will be able to preview the full command line if it was shortened using this method, not just the classpath of the temporary classpath.jar.

  • classpath.file: IntelliJ IDEA will write a long classpath into a text file.

  • @argFiles (java 9+): the command-line length limitations will be overcome using the @argument files option.

note

This setting is shared if you select to share your run/debug configuration, so the same method will be applied for your team members irrespective of their operating system.

Code Coverage tab

Use this tab to configure code coverage monitoring options.

Item

Description

Choose coverage runner

Select the desired code coverage runner.

By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses its own coverage engine with the Sampling mode. You can also choose JaCoCo or Emma for calculating coverage.

Sampling

Select this option to measure code coverage with minimal slow-down.

Tracing

Select this option to collect accurate branch coverage. This mode is available for the IntelliJ IDEA code coverage runner only.

Track per test coverage

Select this checkbox to detect lines covered by one test and all tests covering line. If this checkbox is selected, Track per test coverage becomes available on the toolbar of the coverage statistic popup.

note

This option is only available for the Tracing mode of code coverage measurement for the testing run/debug configurations.

Refer to the section Set coverage in run configurations.

Packages and classes to record code coverage data

Click the Add button and select the Add Class button Add Class or the Add Package button Add Package to specify classes and packages to be measured. You can also remove classes and packages from the list by selecting them in the list and clicking the remove the package button.

Enable coverage in test folders.

If this checkbox is selected, the folders marked as test root_Test.png are included in the code coverage analysis.

Logs tab

Use this tab to specify which log files generated while running or debugging should be displayed in the console, that is, on the dedicated tabs of the Run or Debug tool window.

Item

Description

Is Active

Select checkboxes in this column to have the log entries displayed in the corresponding tabs in the Run tool window or Debug tool window.

Log File Entry

The read-only fields in this column list the log files to show. The list can contain:

  • Full paths to specific files.

  • Ant patterns that define the range of files to be displayed.

  • Aliases to substitute for full paths or patterns. These aliases are also displayed in the headers of the tabs where the corresponding log files are shown.

    If a log entry pattern defines more than one file, the tab header shows the name of the file instead of the log entry alias.

Skip Content

Select this checkbox to have the previous content of the selected log skipped.

Save console output to file

Select this checkbox to save the console output to the specified location. Type the path manually, or click the browse button and point to the desired location in the dialog that opens.

Show console when a message is printed to standard output stream

Select this checkbox to activate the output console and bring it forward if an associated process writes to Standard.out.

Show console when a message is printed to standard error stream

Select this checkbox to activate the output console and bring it forward if an associated process writes to Standard.err.

the Add button

Click this button to open the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog where you can select a new log entry and specify an alias for it.

the Edit button

Click this button to edit the properties of the selected log file entry in the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog.

the Delete button

Click this button to remove the selected log entry from the list.

Common settings

When you edit a run configuration (but not a run configuration template), you can specify the following options:

Name

Specify a name for the run/debug configuration to quickly identify it when editing or running the configuration, for example, from the Run popup Alt+Shift+F10.

Allow parallel run

Select to allow running multiple instances of this run configuration in parallel.

By default, it is disabled, and when you start this configuration while another instance is still running, IntelliJ IDEA suggests to stop the running instance and start another one. This is helpful when a run/debug configuration consumes a lot of resources and there is no good reason to run multiple instances.

Store as project file

Save the file with the run configuration settings to share it with other team members. The default location is .idea/runConfigurations. However, if you do not want to share the .idea directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.

By default, it is disabled, and IntelliJ IDEA stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.

Toolbar

The tree view of run/debug configurations has a toolbar that helps you manage configurations available in your project as well as adjust default configurations templates.

Item

Shortcut

Description

the Add button

Alt+Insert

Create a run/debug configuration.

the Remove button

Alt+Delete

Delete the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you cannot delete default configurations.

Copy

Ctrl+D

Create a copy of the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you create copies of default configurations.

Save configuration

The button is displayed only when you select a temporary configuration. Click this button to save a temporary configuration as permanent.

Move into new folder / Create new folder

Move into new folder / Create new folder. You can group run/debug configurations by placing them into folders.

To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click Folder, and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.

Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag or Move Up and Move Down buttons.

To remove grouping, select a folder and click Remove Configuration.

Sort configurations

Click this button to sort configurations in the alphabetical order.

Before launch

In this area, you can specify tasks to be performed before starting the selected run/debug configuration. The tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.

Item

Shortcut

Description

the Add button

Alt+Insert

Click this icon to add one of the following available tasks:

  • Run External tool: select to run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in IntelliJ IDEA yet, add its definition. For more information, see External tools and External Tools.

  • Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration to be run.

  • Build: select to compile the specified module. The Build Module command will be executed.

    If an error occurs during compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.

  • Build Project: select to compile the entire project. The Build Project command will be executed.

    If an error occurs during compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.

  • Build, no error check: the same as the Build option, but IntelliJ IDEA will try to start the run/debug configuration irrespective of the compilation results.

  • Build Artifacts: select this option to build an artifact or artifacts. In the dialog that opens, select the artifact or artifacts that should be built.

  • Launch Web Browser: select this option to have a browser started. In the dialog that opens, select the type of the browser and provide the start URL. Also, specify if you want the browser be launched with JavaScript debugger.

  • Run Ant target: select this option to run an Ant target. In the dialog that opens, select the target to be run.

  • Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task.

    In the Grunt task dialog that opens, specify the Gruntfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.

  • Run gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task.

    In the Gulp task dialog that opens, specify the Gulpfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.

  • Run Maven Goal: select this option to run a Maven goal. In the dialog that opens, select the goal to be run.

  • Run npm script: select this option to execute an npm script.

    In the NPM Script dialog that opens, specify the npm run/debug configuration settings.

  • Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected:

    • If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start.

    • If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.

  • Generate CoffeeScript Source Maps: select this option to generate the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located.

  • Run Remote External Tool: adds a remote SSH external tool.

  • Run Rake task: add a Rake task to be executed prior to running or debugging. To choose a Rake task, click the browse button the Browse button, and select the desired task from the list of available tasks.

    Note that code completion is available here.

    Code completion for the Rake tasks

  • Run JRuby compiler: choose this option to execute JRuby compiler with the specified target path, compiler process heap size, and command line parameters (if any).

the Remove button

Alt+Delete

Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.

Edit

Enter

Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.

Method up/Method down

Alt+Up/Alt+Down

Click these icons to move the selected task one line up or down in the list. The tasks are performed in the order that they appear in the list.

Show this page

Select this checkbox to show the run/debug configuration settings prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.

Activate tool window

By default this checkbox is selected and the Run or the Debug tool window opens when you start the run/debug configuration.

Otherwise, if the checkbox is cleared, the tool window is hidden. However, when the configuration is running, you can open the corresponding tool window for it yourself by pressing Alt+4 or Alt+5.

See also

Procedures

Reference

Language and Framework-Specific Guidelines