Lifecycle Hooks 🔄

Lifecycle hooks allow you to execute code at specific points in the test execution lifecycle. Prova supports three scopes: Test, Class, and Assembly.

Hook Scopes

Scope	Attribute	Shorthand	Requirements	Description
Test	[Before], [After]		Instance method	Runs before/after every test method in the class.
Class	[Before(HookScope.Class)], [After(HookScope.Class)]	[BeforeClass], [AfterClass]	static method	Runs once before the first test and after the last test in the class.
Assembly	[Before(HookScope.Assembly)], [After(HookScope.Assembly)]	[BeforeAssembly], [AfterAssembly]	static method	Runs once at the very start and very end of the entire test run.
Global	[BeforeEvery], [AfterEvery]		static method	Runs before/after every test or class across the entire assembly.

Usage Examples

Test Level (Default)

Test-level hooks are ideal for resetting state between individual tests.

public class MyTests
{
    [Before]
    public void Setup() 
    {
        // Reset database, clear logs, etc.
    }

    [After]
    public void Teardown() 
    {
        // Cleanup resources
    }

    [Fact]
    public void Test1() { }
}

Class Level

Class hooks are useful for heavy initialization that can be shared across all tests in a single class. These must be marked as static.

public class MyTests
{
    [BeforeClass]
    public static void GlobalSetup() 
    {
        // Start a shared container or service
    }

    [AfterClass]
    public static void GlobalTeardown() 
    {
        // Stop the shared container
    }
}

Assembly Level

Assembly hooks run globally. They can be placed in any class within your test assembly. These must be marked as static.

public static class GlobalHooks
{
    [BeforeAssembly]
    public static void Init() 
    {
        // Initialize global logging or environment
    }

    [AfterAssembly]
    public static void Cleanup() 
    {
        // Final global cleanup
    }
}

Global Hooks

Global hooks run for every test or class in the assembly. These are defined once but applied everywhere. These must be marked as static and can be async.

Scope	Attribute	Description
Test	[BeforeEvery(HookScope.Test)]	Runs before every test method in the assembly.
Class	[BeforeEvery(HookScope.Class)]	Runs before every test class in the assembly.

public static class MyGlobalHooks
{
    [BeforeEvery(HookScope.Class)]
    public static async Task GlobalClassSetup() 
    {
        // Runs before EVERY class starts
    }
}

TIP

Use [BeforeEvery] for cross-cutting concerns like global logging, performance tracking, or clearing thread-local storage.

Async Support

Currently, Class and Assembly hooks support Task returning methods for asynchronous initialization.

[Before(HookScope.Assembly)]
public static async Task InitAsync() 
{
    await Task.Delay(100); // Async initialization
}

IMPORTANT

Prova's source generator automatically wires these hooks at compile-time, ensuring zero-reflection overhead during test execution.