# libcheck/check

A unit testing framework for C

Repository: https://github.com/libcheck/check
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/check
Language: C
License: LGPL-2.1
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2026-07-13T05:56:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 64/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 92, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3906, "days_push": 51, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1175, forks 223 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:52.428180+00:00)

## What it is
Check is a unit testing framework for C with a simple interface for defining tests. Tests run in a separate address space, allowing it to catch assertion failures as well as segmentation faults and other fatal signals.

## Use cases
- write unit tests for C code
- catch segfaults in C tests without crashing the runner
- run C test suites in CI pipelines
- integrate C test output with editors and IDEs
- test C libraries with assertion macros

## When to choose
- you need a mature, widely packaged unit testing framework for C
- you want test isolation so crashes don't kill the whole test run
- you need a lightweight xUnit-style framework with minimal setup

## When to avoid
- you are testing C++ (use a C++ framework like GoogleTest or Catch2)
- you prefer a header-only or modern build-system-integrated framework
- you need mocking or advanced test doubles out of the box

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: testing
- domain: testing, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cross-platform, c
- tags: unit-testing, c-language, xunit-style, fork-safety, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- libcheck/check (main) score 64

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:52.428180+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 2026-08-30T06:28:13.464916+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/libcheck/check (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:52.428180+00:00, sha e77b8101489e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.