# Testing the Tarballer Utility

This directory contains test scripts for validating the functionality of the Tarballer utility.

## Test Environment

All tests run in a Docker container with temporary files stored in the `/test-tmp` directory. This directory is:

1. Git-ignored to prevent cluttering the repository
2. Automatically created by the Docker container
3. Cleaned up after tests complete (unless you specify otherwise)

## Running Tests

To run the tests, use Docker Compose from the project root:

```bash
# Build and run all tests
docker compose up --build

# Run only the basic test
docker compose run tarballer /bin/test.sh basic

# Run only the tar comparison test
docker compose run tarballer /bin/test.sh tar

# Keep temporary files after tests (for debugging)
docker compose run tarballer /bin/test.sh all 1
```

## Test Types

The test script (`test.sh`) supports several test types:

1. `basic` - Tests basic tarball creation and extraction with various file types and symlinks
2. `tar` - Compares our utility against standard tar functionality
3. `all` - Runs all tests (default)
4. `clean` - Just cleans up temporary files

## Test Directory Structure

The tests create the following structure in the `/test-tmp` directory:

- `/test-tmp/complex/` - Directory with complex nested structure for basic test
- `/test-tmp/complex-extracted/` - Where the complex test tarball is extracted
- `/test-tmp/standard-test/` - Directory with sample app structure for tar comparison
- `/test-tmp/standard-extracted/` - Where our utility's tarball is extracted
- `/test-tmp/reference-extracted/` - Where standard tar's tarball is extracted

## Manual Testing

If you need to manually test the tarballer utility, you can:

1. Build the binaries: `docker compose up --build`
2. Use the binaries in `./bin/` directory:
   ```bash
   # Create a tarball
   ./bin/tarballer-darwin -source /path/to/source -output output.tar.gz -prefix myapp
   
   # Extract and verify a tarball
   ./bin/tarballer-darwin -extract -output output.tar.gz -extractdir /path/to/extract
   ```

## Modifying Tests

When modifying tests, ensure any temporary files are created within the `/test-tmp` directory structure to keep the repository clean.