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Clicking "debug" on a specific test runs ALL the tests in the case. #1773
Description
When I mouse over a specific test and then click on the "debug" icon, all the tests in the containing case are also run.
The above screenshot shows the "PersistentObjectTests" TestCase. When I mouse over the debug icon in the circled test ("testGateRegistryCleanup"), a "Debug Test" flyover shows. When I click that, all 7 tests run (in debug mode) instead of just the selected test.
When I want to run all the tests, I click the "debug" icon of "PersistentObjectTests". That behaves as expected.
When I click the debug icon of a specific test, I expect just that selected test to run.
I'm using JUnit 4.13.2 (according to "pom.xml". I don't know how to tell which JDK I'm running. This is all in a RockyLinux system.
Here is the content of the "Test Result" view in VSC after clicking the single test:
%TESTC 7 v2
%TSTTREE1,org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest,true,7,false,-1,org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest,,
%TSTTREE2,testGateRegistryCleanup(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testGateRegistryCleanup(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TSTTREE3,testGateRegistryReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testGateRegistryReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TSTTREE4,testRestartAlreadyStarted(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testRestartAlreadyStarted(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TSTTREE5,testGateIDCreate(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testGateIDCreate(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TSTTREE6,testRestart(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testRestart(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TSTTREE7,testLastIDReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testLastIDReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TSTTREE8,testStartUp(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),false,1,false,-1,testStartUp(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest),,
%TESTS 2,testGateRegistryCleanup(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 2,testGateRegistryCleanup(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTS 3,testGateRegistryReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 3,testGateRegistryReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTS 4,testRestartAlreadyStarted(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 4,testRestartAlreadyStarted(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTS 5,testGateIDCreate(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 5,testGateIDCreate(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTS 6,testRestart(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 6,testRestart(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTS 7,testLastIDReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 7,testLastIDReset(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTS 8,testStartUp(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%TESTE 8,testStartUp(org.zeetix.gate.daemon.persistent_objects.PersistentObjectTest)
%RUNTIME1733
This behavior is certainly unexpected, if not an outright bug. It make test-driven development tedious.
Activity
github-actions commentedon Nov 13, 2025
Hi SomervilleTom, I'm an AI Support assistant here to help with your issue. While the team reviews your request, I wanted to provide some possible tips and documentation that might help you in the meantime.
This behavior is a known limitation in the Java Test Runner: the testController logic currently defaults to running the entire class when you invoke Debug, even if you target a single method. See:
Workarounds
The team will respond to your issue shortly. I hope these suggestions are helpful in the meantime. If this comment helped you, please give it a 👍. If the suggestion was not helpful or incorrect, please give it a 👎. Your feedback helps us improve!
SomervilleTom commentedon Nov 13, 2025
Using the right-button "Debug test method" in any of the views results in the same unwanted behavior -- all tests run.
In order to debug a single test without running all the others, I need to edit the test file ("FoobarTest.java") and comment out each test except the desired test. This is a TERRIBLE practice, forced by this bug.
Perhaps real human will someday pay attention to this issue. The catch-22 is that this issue will stay "Not Planned" until some actual human investigates it.