Running Tests

The mxcli test command executes test files and reports results.

Prerequisites

Running tests requires Docker for Mendix runtime validation. The test runner uses:

• mx create-project to create a fresh blank Mendix project
• mx check to validate the project after applying MDL changes

The mx binary is located at:

To auto-download mxbuild for the project’s Mendix version:

mxcli setup mxbuild -p app.mpr

Basic Usage

# Run all tests in a directory
mxcli test tests/ -p app.mpr

# Run a specific test file
mxcli test tests/sales.test.mdl -p app.mpr

# Run markdown test files
mxcli test tests/integration.test.md -p app.mpr

Test Execution Flow

1. Create project – A fresh Mendix project is created in a temporary directory using mx create-project
2. Execute MDL – The test script is executed against the fresh project using mxcli exec
3. Validate – mx check validates the resulting project for errors
4. Report – Results are reported with pass/fail status per test case

Isolated Testing Pattern

For manual testing or debugging, you can replicate the test runner’s workflow:

# Create a fresh project
cd /tmp/test-workspace
~/.mxcli/mxbuild/*/modeler/mx create-project

# Apply MDL changes
mxcli exec script.mdl -p /tmp/test-workspace/App.mpr

# Validate
~/.mxcli/mxbuild/*/modeler/mx check /tmp/test-workspace/App.mpr

Expected output for a passing test:

Checking app for errors...
The app contains: 0 errors.

Test Validation Checklist

Before marking tests as complete:

• MDL script executes without errors
• mx check passes with 0 errors
• Created elements appear correctly if inspected with DESCRIBE
• Security rules are valid (no CE0066 errors)

Debugging Test Failures

TypeCacheUnknownTypeException

The type cache does not contain a type with qualified name DomainModels$Index

This means a BSON $Type field uses the wrong name. Check the reflection data for the correct storageName.

CE0066 “Entity access is out of date”

Security access rules don’t match the entity’s current structure. Make sure:

• All attributes in the entity are included in access rules
• Association member access is only on the FROM entity
• Run GRANT after adding new attributes

Common Fixes

# Re-run with verbose output
mxcli exec script.mdl -p app.mpr --verbose

# Inspect the generated BSON
mxcli dump-bson -p app.mpr --doc "Module.EntityName"