Groups in TestNG: How to Create a Group of Tests or a MetaGroups of Groups

One of the coolest features in TestNG is the ability to group test methods. By grouping tests, you can separate different sections or features of a project you are working on. It also enables extending to the dependency feature so that a particular group of tests are executed only if one group or method has passed.

Tests can belong to a single or multiple groups. And again, you can have a group of different groups called MetaGroups. To use this feature, you have to provide the group name(s) as an array in the group attribute:

@Test(groups = { "Group-A" })

Now let’s look at a code example.

Tests in Single or Multiple Groups

The below example shows three groups that belong to at least one group.

File: GroupDemo.java

package TestNGDemo;

import org.testng.annotations.Test;

public class GroupDemo {
@Test(groups = { "Group-A" })
    public void testA() {
        System.out.println("I belong to Group A");
    }
 
    @Test(groups = { "Group-A", "Group-B" })
    public void testB() {
        System.out.println("I belong to Group A and Group B");
    }
 
    @Test(groups = { "Group-B" })
    public void testC() {
        System.out.println("I belong to Group B");
    }
}

testA() and testC() belong to “Group-A” and “Group-B,” respectively, while testB() is a member of both “Group-A” and “Group-B.”

Run a TestNG Group using testng.xml

Executing this XML file as a TestNG suite will run both A and B groups:

File: testng.xml

<!DOCTYPE suite SYSTEM "http://testng.org/testng-1.0.dtd" >
<suite name="Group Demo">
    <test name="Group A">
        <groups>
            <run>
                <include name="Group-A" />
            </run>
        </groups>
        <classes>
            <class name="TestNGDemo.GroupDemo" />
        </classes>
    </test>
    <test name="Group B">
        <groups>
            <run>
                <include name="Group-B" />
            </run>
        </groups>
        <classes>
            <class name="TestNGDemo.GroupDemo" />
        </classes>
    </test>
</suite>

Group TestNG Class

Just like methods, Classes can also be grouped in TestNG. In below example, every public method of the class “GroupDemo” belong to group “Group-A”.

File: GroupDemo.java

package TestNGDemo;

import org.testng.annotations.Test;

@Test(groups = { "Group-A" })
public class GroupDemo {
    public void testA() {
        System.out.println("I belong to Group A");
    }
 
    public void testB() {
        System.out.println("I belong to Group A");
    }
 
}

Exclude a Group from Running

Using <exclude> tag we can prevent a particular group of tests from running:

File: testng.xml

<!DOCTYPE suite SYSTEM "http://testng.org/testng-1.0.dtd" >
<suite name="Exclude/Include Group Demo">
    <test name="Group Demo">
        <groups>
            <run>
                <include name="Group-A" />
                <exclude name="Group-B" />
            </run>
        </groups>
        <classes>
            <class name="TestNGDemo.GroupDemo" />
        </classes>
    </test>
</suite>

MetaGroup: Create groups of groups

Using TestNG XML file, we can create a group of groups called MetaGroup.

File: testng.xml

<!DOCTYPE suite SYSTEM "http://testng.org/testng-1.0.dtd" >
<suite name="MetaGroup">
    <test name="MetaGroup Demo">
        <groups>
            <define name="all-groups">
                <include name="Group-A" />
                <include name="Group-B" />
            </define>
            <run>
                <include name="all-groups" />
            </run>
        </groups>
        <classes>
            <class name="TestNGDemo.GroupDemo" />
        </classes>
    </test>
</suite>

In the above example, we have created a new group called “all-groups” with the methods of Group-A and Group-B. Calling the new MetaGroup, we can execute all the tests inside the sub groups.