# bats-core/bats-core

Bash Automated Testing System

Repository: https://github.com/bats-core/bats-core
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/bats-core
Homepage: https://bats-core.readthedocs.io/
Language: Shell
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: shell, bash, testing, bats, tap, testing-tools, junit, xunit
Last push: 2026-07-26T21:15:40+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 87/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 94, release rhythm 70, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3270, "days_push": 38, "days_rel": 43, "gap_med": 172, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6233, forks 490 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:40.774314+00:00)

## What it is
Bats-core is a TAP-compliant testing framework for Bash scripts, where each test case is a Bash function using shell commands as assertions. It can test Bash scripts as well as any UNIX program, and outputs TAP, JUnit, or xUnit-compatible results.

## Use cases
- test bash scripts
- write unit tests for shell scripts
- run automated tests in CI for CLI tools
- verify unix programs behave as expected
- generate TAP or JUnit test reports from shell tests

## When to choose
- you need to test Bash scripts or shell utilities
- you want TAP-compatible output for CI integration
- you prefer tests written as plain shell commands

## When to avoid
- you need a testing framework for a non-shell language
- you require rich assertion libraries or mocking beyond shell capabilities

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: testing, cli
- domain: testing, developer-tools
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: bash, shell-scripting, tap, junit, xunit, unit-testing, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- bats-core/bats-core (main) score 87

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:40.774314+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:47:13.040238+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/bats-core/bats-core (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:40.774314+00:00, sha 5a648aeda06c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.