Rstest is a VS Code extension that discovers, displays, and runs tests in your workspace. It builds a rich Test Explorer tree from your test files and keeps it up to date as files change.
Features
Discovers test files via configurable glob patterns
Parses test structure to build a nested tree (describe/suite/test)
Runs individual tests, suites, or entire files
Watches the filesystem and updates the tree on create/change/delete
Shows editor diagnostics for failed tests
Activation
The extension activates automatically when your workspace contains Rstest configuration files (e.g., rstest.config.*, rstest.workspace.*, rstest.projects.*). On activation, it eagerly scans the workspace and populates the Test Explorer.
Configuration
Setting
Type
Default
Description
rstest.rstestPackagePath
string
undefined
The path to a package.json file of a Rstest executable (it's usually inside node_modules) in case the extension cannot find it. It will be used to resolve Rstest API paths. This should be used as a last resort fix. Supports ${workspaceFolder} placeholder.
rstest.configFileGlobPattern
string[]
["**/rstest.config.{mjs,ts,js,cjs,mts,cts}"]
Glob patterns used to discover config files.
rstest.testCaseCollectMethod
"ast" \| "runtime"
"ast"
"ast": Fast, only supports basic test cases. "runtime": Slow, supports all test cases, including dynamic test generation methods (each/for/extend).
rstest.applyDiagnostic
boolean
true
Show diagnostics in editor and Problems panel for failed tests.
Error lens compatibility
If you use the Error Lens extension and want to avoid duplicated inline diagnostics, add this to your settings.json:
errorLens.excludeBySource: ['rstest']
This extension does not apply this setting automatically.
How it works
On activation, the extension scans for test files using rstest.testFileGlobPattern and creates a Test Explorer tree.
File system watchers keep the tree synchronized as files are created, modified, or deleted.
Test content is parsed to identify nested suites and tests so you can run them granularly.
Development
Common commands (run from this package):
npm run build — Build with rslib
npm run watch — Rebuild on change
npm run typecheck — TypeScript noEmit check
npm run test:unit — Unit tests via Rstest
npm run test:e2e — VS Code Extension Host E2E tests
Packaging & publishing
Local package (current platform): npm run package:vsix
Publish (current platform): npm run publish:vsce (requires VSCE_PAT)
CI
On tag push or manual dispatch, GitHub Actions runs on Linux and publishes for all platforms using vsce publish --target (win32/darwin/linux; x64 and arm64).
Configure the VSCE_PAT repository secret for Marketplace publishing.
