Testing

mxcli includes a testing framework for validating Mendix projects using MDL test files. Tests verify that MDL scripts execute correctly and that the resulting project passes validation.

Overview

The testing framework supports two test file formats:

Prerequisites

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

1. Creates a fresh Mendix project using mx create-project
2. Executes the MDL test script against the project
3. Validates the result with mx check
4. Reports pass/fail results

Quick Start

# 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

Test Workflow

1. Write test files using .test.mdl or .test.md format
2. Add @test and @expect annotations for assertions
3. Run tests with mxcli test
4. Review results

Example Test

-- tests/customer.test.mdl

-- @test Create customer entity
CREATE PERSISTENT ENTITY MyFirstModule.Customer (
    Name: String(200) NOT NULL,
    Email: String(200)
);
-- @expect 0 errors

-- @test Add association
CREATE ASSOCIATION MyFirstModule.Order_Customer
    FROM MyFirstModule.Order
    TO MyFirstModule.Customer
    TYPE Reference;
-- @expect 0 errors

Playwright UI Testing

For browser-based testing that verifies widgets render correctly in the DOM, see Playwright Testing. While mxcli test validates that MDL scripts execute correctly and the project passes mx check, Playwright testing goes further by verifying the running application in a real browser – checking that widgets are visible, forms accept input, and navigation works.

# MDL validation (this page)
mxcli test tests/ -p app.mpr

# Browser-based UI verification
mxcli playwright verify tests/ -p app.mpr

Related Pages

• Test Formats – .test.mdl and .test.md file formats
• Test Annotations – @test and @expect annotations
• Running Tests – mxcli test command and Docker requirements
• Playwright Testing – Browser-based UI testing with playwright-cli
• Diff – Comparing scripts against project state