Optimize the planning step

Test Parallelization adds a planning step that discovers tests before execution. For example, RSpec projects use dry-run discovery, pytest projects use collection, and Jest projects use --listTests. Keep this step lightweight so the time saved by parallel execution is not offset by planning overhead.

Preinstall system dependencies with Docker

If your tests need operating system packages, include them in a CI base image instead of installing them during every CI run.

FROM ruby:3.3
RUN apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends imagemagick libpq-dev \
 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
WORKDIR /app

Cache project dependencies

Use your CI provider dependency cache. For example, GitHub Actions can cache Bundler dependencies with ruby/setup-ruby:

- uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
  with:
    ruby-version: 3.3
    bundler-cache: true

For Python projects, use actions/setup-python with pip caching:

- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: "3.12"
    cache: pip

For JavaScript projects, use actions/setup-node with npm caching:

- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
  with:
    node-version: "22"
    cache: npm

Skip database setup during discovery

Discovery does not execute tests, so database setup, migrations, seeds, and fixtures are often unnecessary during the planning step.

During discovery, DD_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_DISCOVERY_ENABLED is set to 1. Use this variable to skip expensive setup code during planning.

For example, in Rails:

# in seeds.rb
return if ENV["DD_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_DISCOVERY_ENABLED"].present?
# your seeds here

# in rails_helper.rb
ActiveRecord::Migration.maintain_test_schema! unless ENV["DD_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_DISCOVERY_ENABLED"].present?

RSpec.configure do |config|
  unless ENV["DD_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_DISCOVERY_ENABLED"].present?
    config.use_transactional_fixtures = true
  else
    config.use_transactional_fixtures = false
    config.use_active_record = false
  end
end

After these changes, test discovery can run faster and avoid failures when the database is unavailable during planning.

Cache test discovery

If full test discovery takes too long, cache the ddtest discovery file between CI runs. Restore your CI cache before planning, and pass the restored file to ddtest:

DD_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_RUNNER_TEST_DISCOVERY_CACHE=.ddtest-cache/tests-discovery.json ddtest plan

After planning, save the refreshed internal discovery file back to your CI cache:

if [ -f .testoptimization/tests-discovery/tests.json ]; then
  mkdir -p .ddtest-cache
  cp .testoptimization/tests-discovery/tests.json .ddtest-cache/tests-discovery.json
fi

ddtest invalidates the cache when any test file changes. The set of test files is determined by --tests-location and --tests-exclude-pattern.

Use suite-level skipping for Ruby

If Ruby test discovery remains a bottleneck after applying these optimizations, configure Test Impact Analysis to use suite-level skipping. This mode lets ddtest plan use test file discovery instead of discovering every individual test. It trades test-level skipping precision for lower planning overhead because Test Impact Analysis skips or runs an entire suite.

Suite-level skipping requires datadog-ci >= 1.34.0. Set DD_TESTOPTIMIZATION_TIA_TEST_SKIPPING_MODE=suite for both planning and test execution:

DD_TESTOPTIMIZATION_TIA_TEST_SKIPPING_MODE=suite ddtest plan
DD_TESTOPTIMIZATION_TIA_TEST_SKIPPING_MODE=suite ddtest run

If you execute tests with another command, set the same environment variable for that command. In CI workflows that plan and run tests in separate jobs, set the variable in both jobs.

Configure pytest

ddtest runs pytest as python -m pytest and appends the selected test files. It appends --ddtrace to PYTEST_ADDOPTS, preserving any existing value, so the ddtrace pytest plugin loads without changing your pytest config.

For test discovery, ddtest reads testpaths and python_files from pytest.ini, pyproject.toml, tox.ini, or setup.cfg. If no pytest config defines those settings, ddtest uses **/{test_*,*_test}.py.

During discovery, DD_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_DISCOVERY_ENABLED is set to 1. Use this variable to skip expensive setup code during planning, similar to skipping database setup during discovery.

Configure Jest

ddtest runs Jest through the local node_modules/.bin/jest executable when it exists, or through npx jest otherwise. Use --command when your project runs Jest through a package manager or wrapper:

bin/ddtest run --platform javascript --framework jest --command "pnpm jest --runInBand"

Do not include test files or a -- separator in the command. ddtest appends the file list and Jest flags itself.

ddtest prepends -r dd-trace/ci/init to NODE_OPTIONS for worker processes unless it is already present. Ensure dd-trace is resolvable from the project where ddtest runs.

ddtest discovers and splits test files and suites, not individual Jest tests.

Configure Minitest in non-Rails projects

For non-Rails Minitest projects, ddtest uses bundle exec rake test and passes selected files in the TEST_FILES environment variable. Configure your Rake::TestTask to read TEST_FILES:

Rake::TestTask.new(:test) do |test|
  test.test_files = ENV["TEST_FILES"] ? ENV["TEST_FILES"].split : ["test/**/*.rb"]
end

Further reading

Más enlaces, artículos y documentación útiles:

Set up Test ParallelizationDOCUMENTATION Configure Test ParallelizationDOCUMENTATION Troubleshooting Test ParallelizationDOCUMENTATION