The backend of SheepVibes is written in Python and uses the pytest framework for testing.

We use flake8 for Python linting.

flake8 backend/ --max-line-length=120

1. Navigate to the backend directory. Install the necessary development dependencies within a Python virtual environment, including pytest:

   # From the project root
   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install --upgrade pip
   pip install -r backend/requirements.txt -r backend/requirements-dev.txt

The backend tests require a running Redis instance for caching checks.

1. Start Redis Before running the tests, start a Redis container. The --rm flag will ensure it is automatically removed when stopped.

   # Using Podman
   podman run -d --rm --name sheepvibes-test-redis -p 6379:6379 redis:alpine
   
   # Or using Docker
   # docker run -d --rm --name sheepvibes-test-redis -p 6379:6379 redis:alpine

2. Run Pytest Ensure you are in the project root (not backend). The test suite is configured via pytest.ini (in tests/) to automatically connect to Redis on localhost:6379.

   # From the project root
   python -m pytest -c tests/pytest.ini tests/ -v

3. Stop Redis After you've finished testing, you can stop the Redis container.

   podman stop sheepvibes-test-redis

The project includes a robust development environment managed by scripts/dev_manager.sh.

1. Start Dev Environment This will build the image, start Redis, and launch the Backend App in Debug Mode (Flask development server).

   ./scripts/dev_manager.sh up

   • The app runs at http://localhost:5002 (default).
   • Code changes are hot-reloaded automatically.

2. Verify Production Parity To test the application as it runs in production (using Gunicorn), use the --prod flag:

   ./scripts/dev_manager.sh up --prod

Currently, there are no automated tests specifically for the frontend JavaScript code.

For a vanilla JavaScript application like this, End-to-End (E2E) testing would be a valuable addition. Suitable E2E testing tools include:

• Playwright: https://playwright.dev/
• Cypress: https://www.cypress.io/

To ensure code quality, the project uses a GitHub Actions workflow to run backend tests on every push and pull request. This workflow serves as the definitive guide for setting up an automated testing environment.
The workflow is defined in .github/workflows/run-tests.yml.

The key is to follow the instructions given above, and replicate the setup found in our GitHub Actions workflow, paying close attention to the use of service containers and the CACHE_REDIS_PORT environment variable for dynamic port mapping.