hspec-meta
A version of Hspec which is used to test Hspec itself
| Version on this page: | 2.6.0@rev:1 | 
| LTS Haskell 24.18: | 2.11.14@rev:2 | 
| Stackage Nightly 2025-11-04: | 2.11.14@rev:2 | 
| Latest on Hackage: | 2.11.14@rev:2 | 
hspec-meta-2.6.0@sha256:6291ebb765ea29f274c4b8f66df1267824882d51ae308c66db4b7c0aab9103e2,3253Module documentation for 2.6.0
- Test
- Test.Hspec
 
 
A stable version of Hspec which is used to test the in-development version of Hspec.
Changes
Changes in 2.6.0
- Allow to focus individual spec items (see #319)
 - Do not calculate diff on 
--no-diff(see #332) - Remove deprecated module Test.Hspec.Core
 
Changes in 2.5.9
- Extract source locations from RecConError (see #375)
 
Changes in 2.5.8
- Add 
modifyArgsandmodifyMaxShrinkstoTest.Hspec.QuickCheck(see #380) 
Changes in 2.5.7
- GHC 8.6.1 related changes
 
Changes in 2.5.6
- Compatibility with 
QuickCheck-2.12 
Changes in 2.5.5
- Use 
module[line:column]instead ofmodule:line:columnas default label fordescribe/it(fixes #366) 
Changes in 2.5.4
- Show how to rerun individual spec items on test failures (see #205)
 
Changes in 2.5.3
- Treat character escapes like 
\NULas single tokens on--diff(see #351) - Allow a 
/at the beginning and at the end of an absolute path that is passed to--matchor--skip 
Changes in 2.5.2
- Use module:line:column as default label for describe/it (see #250)
 - Warn if user is affected by https://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/13285 (see #329)
 
Changes in 2.5.1
- Disable tests for Test.Hspec.Core.Timer (see #352)
 
Changes in 2.5.0
- Add 
sequential(see #311) - Add support for 
--diffwhenshouldBeis uesd withQuickCheck-properties - Add source locations when 
shouldBeis uesd withQuickCheckproperties - Print 
QuickChecklabels on success (see #297) - Retain output of 
verbose,label,collect,classify, etc. forQuickCheckproperties (see #257) - Extract source location from error / undefined (see #316)
 - Parse source locations from pattern match failures
 - Include source column when formatting source locations
 - Colorize whitespaces with background color instead of foreground color with
--diff - Run 
Test.Hspec.Core.Formatters.exampleProgressinFormatMinstead ofIO - Make sure that progress output is always cleared (fixes #301)
 - Add location information to 
pending(not used by any formatter yet) - Include duration for each spec item in new formatter API (see #315) (not yet exposed)
 - Removed deprecated module 
Test.Hspec.HUnit, useTest.Hspec.Contrib.HUnitinstead - Deprecate 
--out - Remove 
BestEffortsource locations 
Changes in 2.4.8
- compatibility with GHC 8.4.1-alpha3
 
Changes in 2.4.7
- compatibility with 
QuickCheck-2.11.3and up (note thatQuickCheckversions2.11to2.11.2are not fully supported) 
Changes in 2.4.6
- compatibility with the upcoming version 
4.11.0.0ofbase 
Changes in 2.4.5
hspec-discover: Sort specs using natural sort order
Changes in 2.4.4
- Require quickcheck-io >= 0.2.0
 
Changes in 2.4.3
- Read command-line options from environment variable 
HSPEC_OPTIONS 
Changes in 2.4.2
- Use 
--diffby default - Add 
--failure-report(see #266) 
Changes in 2.4.1
- Compatibility with HUnit < 1.3
 
Changes in 2.4.0
- Read command-line options from config files 
~/.hspecand.hspec - Add support for 
--diff - Add 
xit,xspecify,xdescribeandxcontext(see #252) - Add 
--rerun-all-on-success - Report exceptions in 
beforeAlloperations only once - Add indentation when actual/expected contain newlines (see #263)
 - More graceful shutdown on ctrl-c (see #270)
 - Run around-hook for Bool and Result (see #252)
 - Include 
CHANGES.markdownin package tarball 
Internal changes:
- Rename 
Failconstructor ofResult-type toFailure - Add 
FailureReasontype - Add 
Test.Hspec.Core.Spec.safeEvaluateExample 
Changes in 2.3.2
- Compatibility with HUnit 1.5
 
Changes in 2.3.1
- Fix build for HUnit < 1.4
 
Changes in 2.3.0
- Proper support for GHC 8 call stacks
 
Changes in 2.2.4
- Compatibility with QuickCheck-2.9
 
Changes in 2.2.3
- Make sure that 
cabal haddockworks forhspec-discover - Forward compatibility for HUnit 1.4
 - Fix tests for GHC 8.0.1-rc1
 
Changes in 2.2.2
- Fix compilation for GHC 8.0.1-rc1
 
Changes in 2.2.1
- Make sure that Vim’s default 
errorformatrecognizes exact locations - GHCJS compatibility
 
Changes in 2.2.0
- Add source locations to test 
Result 
Changes in 2.1.10
- GHC 7.0.* compatibility
 
Changes in 2.1.9
- Make use of GHC 7.10.2 source locations
 - Add 
--jobs 
Changes in 2.1.8
- Depend on `hspec-expectations-0.7.0”
 
Changes in 2.1.7
- Add 
beforeAll_ 
Changes in 2.1.6
- If there were no previous failures, run all spec items on 
--rerun 
Changes in 2.1.5
- Compatibility with QuickCheck-2.8
 
Changes in 2.1.4
- Make 
hspec-discoverignore modules with invalid module names, this fixes issues withflycheck’s temporary files 
Changes in 2.1.3
- Format source locations like gcc does
 
Changes in 2.1.2
- Re-export 
before_fromTest.Hspec 
Changes in 2.1.1
- Add 
before_ - Add command-line option 
--skip 
Changes in 2.1.0
- Generalize 
after_,afterAll_andaround_ 
Changes in 2.0.2
- Indent error messages for failed examples (fixes #186)
 - Export 
defaultParamsfromTest.Hspec.Core.Example - Bring back 
Test.Hspec.HUnitand deprecate it to provide a smother upgrade path 
Changes in 2.0.1
- Add missing extra source files to for 
hspec-discover 
Changes in 2.0.0
- Split package into 
hspec,hspec-coreandhspec-discover - Allow hooks (
before,around, etc.) to pass arguments to spec items - Do not print 
-in front of spec items withspecdocformatter - Move 
Test.Hspec.HUnittohspec-contrib 
Changes in 1.12.4
- Add 
specGroupandspecItemtoTest.Hspec.Core - Deprecate 
Test.Hspec.Core.itandTest.Hspec.Core.describe 
Changes in 1.12.3
- Make 
hspec-discoverwork with-XNoImplicitPrelude 
Changes in 1.12.2
- Include 
IOErrorTypewhen printing uncaughtIOExceptions (see #204) 
Changes in 1.12.1
- Add 
--module-nameoption tohspec-discover(see #168) 
Changes in 1.12.0
- Add optional source location to spec items
 - Move item requirement text from 
SpecItemconstructor toItemdata type - Remove 
BuildSpecsconstructor fromSpecTree, havingrunIOthis is not really needed - Add 
mapSpecTreetoTest.Hspec.Core - Add 
afterAll(see #188) - Do not return 
ResultfromhspecWithand accept command-line options (the old behavior is still available ashspecWithResult) - Rename 
configHandletoconfigOutputFile - Omit empty 
describegroups from report - Do not pass position to 
Formatter.exampleGroupStarted(we can not support this with the upcomming cleanup actions #188) - Do not print empty lines before/after spec groups
 - Deprecate 
Test.Hspec.Formatters.newParagraph 
Changes in 1.11.4
- Make test suite independent from QuickCheck seed (see #187)
 
Changes in 1.11.3
- Depend on 
hspec-expectations-0.6.1 
Changes in 1.11.2
- Add 
beforeAll 
Changes in 1.11.1
- Add 
specifyas an alias forit 
Changes in 1.11.0
- Add 
BuildSpecsconstructor to internalSpecTreedata structure. This allows you to doIOwhile constructing the spec tree. - Add 
runIO 
Changes in 1.10.0
- Do not use exception type to distinguish between synchronous/asynchronous exceptions (thanks to Michael Snoyman)
 - Remove 
Exampleinstance forTest.HUnit.Test(#101), useTest.Hspec.HUnit.fromHUnitTestinstead. - Do not reexport 
propertyfromTest.Hspec.QuickCheck - Move 
ProgressCallbackout ofParams - Add show instance for 
Params - Move requirement text from 
ItemtoSpecItemconstructor - Remove deprecated modules and functions
 
Changes in 1.9.5
- Make sure that ctrl-c works properly with GHC 7.8.* and QuickCheck-2.6
 
Changes in 1.9.4
- Compatibility with transformers-0.4.0.0
 
Changes in 1.9.3
- Make internal Tree data structure more strict (#169)
 
Changes in 1.9.2
- Print type of exceptions that are raised from QuickCheck properties (#94)
 
Changes in 1.9.1
- Bring back compatibility with older versions of QuickCheck (#166)
 
Changes in 1.9.0
- Depend on QuickCheck 2.7
 
Changes in 1.8.3
- Do not use color if 
TERM=dumb(see #158) 
Changes in 1.8.2
hspec-discovernow accepts--no-mainwhich results in a top-level spec being generated instead of a test driver (thanks @DanielG)- Make sure that 
afteris run on failing tests (see #159) 
Changes in 1.8.1
- Add 
shouldMatchList 
Changes in 1.8.0
- Run 
before/after/aroundfor each single check of a QuickCheck property - Add 
Test.Hspec.Core.mapSpecItem - Add 
modifyMaxSuccess,modifyMaxDiscardRatioandmodifyMaxSizetoTest.Hspec.QuickCheck - Don’t fail if callback is not called in 
around hspec-discover: Remove--nestedoptionhspec-discover: IgnoreSpec.hs/Spec.lhs
Changes in 1.7.2
- Add 
afterandaround 
Changes in 1.7.1
- Add 
shouldContain(thanks to Alfredo Di Napoli) - When printing progress, skip total if it is 0
 - Do not colorize the description/requirement in failure list
 
Changes in 1.7.0
- Add 
--depthfor use withhspec-smallcheck 
Change in 1.6.2
- Add 
before - Add 
--qc-max-discardand--qc-max-size 
Changes in 1.6.1
- Allow to specify the output file with 
--out 
Changes in 1.6.0
- Add support for parallelization
 - Change license to MIT
 - Add MonadIO instance for FormatM
 - Add support for custom formatters to hspec-discover
 - Add hspecResult
 - Rename 
--re-runto--rerun+ add documentation (#95) - Remove 
configVerbose - Use same 
--qc-max-successon--rerun(#125) - Add command-line option 
--no-color,--colordoes not accept arguments anymore (#130) 
Changes in 1.5.4
- Make sure that QuickCheck is never chatty
 - Make sure progress for QuickCheck examples is shown
 
Changes in 1.5.3
- Print “Randomized with seed …” only once
 
Changes in 1.5.2
- Add 
--seed, it can be used to specify the seed for QuickCheck properties - Reuse previous seed on 
--re-run 
Changes in 1.5.1
- Depend on quickcheck-io
 
Changes in 1.5.0
- Allow to use expectations as QuickCheck properties (#80)
 - Do not suppress output to 
stdout - Change type of 
pendingtoExpectation, addpendingWith(#121) - Add the 
examplefunction, it fixes the type of an Expectation (#86) - Rename 
--fast-failto--fail-fast(for consistency with RSpec) - Do not clutter Cabal test suite logs with QuickCheck output (#112)
 - Skip redundant output from QuickCheck failure messages (#102)
 
Changes in 1.4.5
- hspec-discover now discovers .lhs files, too
 
Changes in 1.4.4
- Visually distinguish error message from requirements in the summary (#100)
 - Export 
formatExceptionfromTest.Hspec.Formatters - Add 
--fast-fail(#82) - Print a summary on UserInterrupt/ctrl-c (#107)
 
Changes in 1.4.3
- Add 
--dry-run(#111) 
Changes in 1.4.2
- Properly handle ctrl-c while running QuickCheck properties (#93)
 - Default to 
--color=alwayswhen--coloris used without argument (#106) - treat 
--qc-max-successas an alias for--maximum-generated-tests 
Changes in 1.4.1
- Used CPU time is now only included in the test summary if run with
--print-cpu-time. 
Changes in 1.4.0
- We now have a manual at http://hspec.github.io/.  The sources are in
doc/. It’s still work in progress. Contributions are very welcome! - The Haddock documentation now indicates the stability of each exposed
module.  
Test.Hspecis now considered stable. hspecnow supports command-line options--colorcan be used to enable/disable colored output--formatcan be used to pick a specific formatter--htmlcan be used to produce an HTML report--maximum-generated-testscan be used to specify QuickCheck’smaxSuccess--matchonly runs spec items that match a given string--re-runonly runs spec items that previously failed. This is undocumented, experimental and only works within GHCi (use:reload/:main)!
- Runner functions exported from 
Test.Hspec.Runnernew expect a monadic spec. fromHUnitTesthas been added. It can be used to run existing HUnit test suites with Hspec.- The 
Exampleinstance for HUnitTests has been deprecated.fromHUnitTestcan be used instead. The primary motivation is, thatfromHUnitTestgives more detailed reporting for nested HUnit test suites. Test.Hspec.Monadichas been deprecated, all functionality is available through one ofTest.Hspec,Test.Hspec.CoreorTest.Hspec.Runner.- More of Hspec’s internals are now exposed from 
Test.Hspec.Core - All runner functions for the core spec type (aka as non-monadic spec) have
been deprecated, use e.g. 
Test.Hspec.hspec . fromSpecListinstead. The motivation is to provide an API that does not expose colliding names. - Some other stuff from 
Test.Hspec.Corethat collides with other parts of the API has been deprecated. Compatible alternatives are given in each deprecation message. - The default formatter now produces less whitespace (#73) + other minor improvements
 - The formatter API has been revamped.
 - The exception type is now printed if an example fails due to an exception (#50)
 - The number of pending examples is now printed after each test run (#85)
 --verbosehas been added (#87)
Changes in 1.3.0
- 
Test.Hspecnow re-exports the monadic API. If you still use the non-monadic API, you can useTest.Hspec.Coreas a drop-in replacement. - 
hspec-expectations, a set of combinators that allow to express expectations about the outcome of code examples, is now included with Hspec. Have a look at the [README ofhspec-expectations] (https://github.com/sol/hspec-expectations#readme) for a short introduction. - 
hspec-discover, a mechanism for automatic spec discovery, is now an official part of Hspec. Have a look at [hspec-discover’s README] (https://github.com/hspec/hspec/tree/master/hspec-discover#readme) for a short introduction. 
Changes in 1.2.0
- 
hspechas been removed, andhspecXhas been renamed tohspec(see #71) - 
hHspecnow returns a summary of the test run. - 
The time reporting after a test run is not colored anymore.
 
Changes in 1.1.3
- 
Test.Hspecwarns now about future changes: It will re-exportTest.Hspec.Monadicin the future. If you still use the non-monadic API, you can either useTest.Hspec.Coreas a drop-in replacement, or migrate your code to the monadic API.The monadic API is more stable and easier to use. Now is a good time to switch!
 - 
Test.Hspec.Coreis now a proper superset ofTest.Hspec 
Changes in 1.1.2
- 
All descriptions of nested examples are now included in summary for failing examples
 - 
contextis now an alias fordescribe 
Changes in 1.1.1
- Specs from Test.Hspec.Monadic has been renamed to Spec. For backward compatibility Specs is still kept as an alias.
 
Changes in 1.1.0
The reason for pending examples is now optional
With this change, both of the following code snippets work.
it "some behavior" $
  pending  -- no reason given
it "some other behavior" $
  pending "some reason"
Hspec does not rely on ExistentialQuantification anymore
The type used to represent specs is now abstract
This should give more useful error messages when adapting old specs that use
the non-monadic API for hspec-1.0/hspec-1.1.
Several internal types and functions have been deprecated
Those are internal functions, and they will be removed/hidden with the next release. If you use any of those, update your code. If you really need them, open a ticket and describe your use case.
Changes in 1.0.0
Hspec now re-uses QuickCheck’s property function
Test.Hspec.QuickCheck.property is now simply a re-exports of
Test.QuickCheck.property.  This has the advantage that you do not get a name
collision if you import both, Test.Hspec.QuickCheck and Test.QuickCheck.
Better support for nested specs
NOTE: This is a breaking change to the non-monadic API. The monadic API is not affected.
In some situations parent descriptions for nested specs were not included in the generated report. Solving this required a change to the data structure that is used to represent specs (it was not a proper tree, now it is).
Updating specs that use the non-monadic API
The runner functions (hspec, hspecB and hspecX) now take a list of
descriptions.
The following works with hspec-0.9, but not with hspec-1.0.
main = hspecX $
  describe "reverse" [
    it "reverses a list" $
      reverse [1, 2, 3] == [3, 2, 1],
    it "gives the original list, if applied twice" $ property $
      \xs -> reverse (reverse xs) == (xs :: [Int])
  ]
For hspec-1.0, you need to wrap it into a list.
main = hspecX [
    describe "reverse" [
      it "reverses a list" $
        reverse [1, 2, 3] == [3, 2, 1],
      it "gives the original list, if applied twice" $ property $
        \xs -> reverse (reverse xs) == (xs :: [Int])
    ]
  ]
Specs consisting of several desribes, combined with descriptions, continue
to work unchanged.  But descriptions is now a noop, and it will be removed in
a future release.  So it is a good idea to drop it.
The following works with both hspec-0.9 and hspec-1.0.
main = hspecX $ descriptions [  -- descriptions is redundant
    describe "Foo" [
      it "has some behavior" True
    ]
  , describe "Bar" [
      it "has some behavior" True
    ]
  ]
But the following is recommended instead.
main = hspecX [
    describe "Foo" [
      it "has some behavior" True
    ]
  , describe "Bar" [
      it "has some behavior" True
    ]
  ]
A new monadic API for custom Formatters
For all the details, have a look at the [docs] (http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/hspec/latest/doc/html/Test-Hspec-Formatters.html).
The total time required to run a spec is now included in the summary
In addition to the used CPU time, the total time required to run a spec is now include in the summary. This is useful for specs that do non-CPU-intensive stuff, or fork subprocesses.