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authorUlises Mendez Martinez <umendez@google.com>2026-09-04 15:07:09 +0000
committerJosh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@kernel.org>2026-09-13 18:15:43 -0700
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treee6080164b2f4c4c419894bdb3ce4d956ca9a98c5 /Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst
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objtool: Validate disassembler headers in libopcodes probegrafted
commit 3f2de814c059 ("objtool: Fix libopcodes linking with static libraries") tested for libopcodes availability by linking a test snippet with a forward declaration of disassemble_init_for_target(). However, testing symbol linkage with an extern declaration only verifies the presence of the library (.so/.a) and bypasses checking for development headers (binutils-dev). On systems where libopcodes is present without development headers installed, the probe succeeds, enabling BUILD_DISAS. Subsequent compilation of objtool then fails: fatal error: 'bfd.h' file not found 113 | #include <bfd.h> Additionally, the probe invokes $(HOSTCC) without $(HOSTCFLAGS), ignoring any sysroot or include flags specified for the host compiler. Fix this by including <bfd.h> and <dis-asm.h> directly in the test snippet, passing $(HOSTCFLAGS) so host compiler options are respected, and defining PACKAGE="objtool" to satisfy the configuration check in <bfd.h>. Fixes: 3f2de814c059 ("objtool: Fix libopcodes linking with static libraries") Fixes: 436326bc525d ("objtool: fix build failure due to missing libopcodes check") Reported-by: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@google.com> Assisted-by: Antigravity:Gemini-Next Signed-off-by: Ulises Mendez Martinez <umendez@google.com> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260904150710.2997558-1-umendez@google.com Signed-off-by: Josh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@kernel.org>
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+=================================
+KUnit - Linux Kernel Unit Testing
+=================================
+
+.. toctree::
+ :maxdepth: 2
+ :caption: Contents:
+
+ start
+ architecture
+ run_wrapper
+ run_manual
+ usage
+ api/index
+ style
+ faq
+ running_tips
+
+This section details the kernel unit testing framework.
+
+Introduction
+============
+
+KUnit (Kernel unit testing framework) provides a common framework for
+unit tests within the Linux kernel. Using KUnit, you can define groups
+of test cases called test suites. The tests either run on kernel boot
+if built-in, or load as a module. KUnit automatically flags and reports
+failed test cases in the kernel log. The test results appear in
+:doc:`KTAP (Kernel - Test Anything Protocol) format</dev-tools/ktap>`.
+It is inspired by JUnit, Python’s unittest.mock, and GoogleTest/GoogleMock
+(C++ unit testing framework).
+
+KUnit tests are part of the kernel, written in the C (programming)
+language, and test parts of the Kernel implementation (example: a C
+language function). Excluding build time, from invocation to
+completion, KUnit can run around 100 tests in less than 10 seconds.
+KUnit can test any kernel component, for example: file system, system
+calls, memory management, device drivers and so on.
+
+KUnit follows the white-box testing approach. The test has access to
+internal system functionality. KUnit runs in kernel space and is not
+restricted to things exposed to user-space.
+
+In addition, KUnit has kunit_tool, a script (``tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py``)
+that configures the Linux kernel, runs KUnit tests under QEMU or UML
+(:doc:`User Mode Linux </virt/uml/user_mode_linux_howto_v2>`),
+parses the test results and
+displays them in a user friendly manner.
+
+Features
+--------
+
+- Provides a framework for writing unit tests.
+- Runs tests on any kernel architecture.
+- Runs a test in milliseconds.
+
+Prerequisites
+-------------
+
+- Any Linux kernel compatible hardware.
+- For Kernel under test, Linux kernel version 5.5 or greater.
+
+Unit Testing
+============
+
+A unit test tests a single unit of code in isolation. A unit test is the finest
+granularity of testing and allows all possible code paths to be tested in the
+code under test. This is possible if the code under test is small and does not
+have any external dependencies outside of the test's control like hardware.
+
+
+Write Unit Tests
+----------------
+
+To write good unit tests, there is a simple but powerful pattern:
+Arrange-Act-Assert. This is a great way to structure test cases and
+defines an order of operations.
+
+- Arrange inputs and targets: At the start of the test, arrange the data
+ that allows a function to work. Example: initialize a statement or
+ object.
+- Act on the target behavior: Call your function/code under test.
+- Assert expected outcome: Verify that the result (or resulting state) is as
+ expected.
+
+Unit Testing Advantages
+-----------------------
+
+- Increases testing speed and development in the long run.
+- Detects bugs at initial stage and therefore decreases bug fix cost
+ compared to acceptance testing.
+- Improves code quality.
+- Encourages writing testable code.
+
+Read also :ref:`kinds-of-tests`.
+
+How do I use it?
+================
+
+You can find a step-by-step guide to writing and running KUnit tests in
+Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/start.rst
+
+Alternatively, feel free to look through the rest of the KUnit documentation,
+or to experiment with tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py and the example test under
+lib/kunit/kunit-example-test.c
+
+Happy testing!