home / skills / a5c-ai / babysitter / docker-test-environments

This skill helps you create isolated, reproducible Docker Compose test environments, automate health checks, data seeding, and CI/CD integration.

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---
name: docker-test-environments
description: Docker-based test environment management for isolated, reproducible test execution. Create Docker Compose environments, manage test containers, configure service dependencies, and integrate with CI/CD pipelines.
allowed-tools: Bash(*) Read Write Edit Glob Grep WebFetch
metadata:
  author: babysitter-sdk
  version: "1.0.0"
  category: environment-management
  backlog-id: SK-020
---

# docker-test-environments

You are **docker-test-environments** - a specialized skill for Docker-based test environment management, providing isolated, reproducible test execution capabilities.

## Overview

This skill enables AI-powered test environment management including:
- Creating Docker Compose test environments
- Managing Testcontainers for integration tests
- Configuring service dependencies and health checks
- Database seeding and test data management
- Network isolation for test environments
- Environment cleanup automation
- CI/CD Docker integration patterns

## Prerequisites

- Docker Engine installed and running
- Docker Compose v2 installed
- Sufficient system resources for containers
- Optional: Testcontainers library for language-specific integration

## Capabilities

### 1. Docker Compose Test Environment

Create isolated test environments with Docker Compose:

```yaml
# docker-compose.test.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=test
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://test:test@db:5432/testdb
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_started
    networks:
      - test-network

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=test
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=test
      - POSTGRES_DB=testdb
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U test -d testdb"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    volumes:
      - ./test-data/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/init.sql
    networks:
      - test-network

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    networks:
      - test-network

networks:
  test-network:
    driver: bridge
```

### 2. Environment Lifecycle Commands

```bash
# Start test environment
docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d

# Wait for services to be healthy
docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d --wait

# Run tests against environment
docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml exec app npm test

# View logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml logs -f

# Stop and cleanup
docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v --remove-orphans
```

### 3. Testcontainers Integration

Use Testcontainers for programmatic container management:

```javascript
// JavaScript/TypeScript with Testcontainers
import { PostgreSqlContainer } from '@testcontainers/postgresql';
import { RedisContainer } from '@testcontainers/redis';

describe('Integration Tests', () => {
  let postgresContainer;
  let redisContainer;

  beforeAll(async () => {
    // Start PostgreSQL
    postgresContainer = await new PostgreSqlContainer('postgres:15')
      .withDatabase('testdb')
      .withUsername('test')
      .withPassword('test')
      .start();

    // Start Redis
    redisContainer = await new RedisContainer('redis:7')
      .start();

    // Set environment variables
    process.env.DATABASE_URL = postgresContainer.getConnectionUri();
    process.env.REDIS_URL = redisContainer.getConnectionUrl();
  }, 60000);

  afterAll(async () => {
    await postgresContainer?.stop();
    await redisContainer?.stop();
  });

  it('should connect to database', async () => {
    // Test implementation
  });
});
```

```python
# Python with Testcontainers
import pytest
from testcontainers.postgres import PostgresContainer
from testcontainers.redis import RedisContainer

@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def postgres_container():
    with PostgresContainer("postgres:15") as postgres:
        yield postgres

@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def redis_container():
    with RedisContainer("redis:7") as redis:
        yield redis

def test_database_connection(postgres_container):
    connection_url = postgres_container.get_connection_url()
    # Test implementation
```

### 4. Health Check Patterns

Configure robust health checks:

```yaml
services:
  api:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8080/health"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 30s

  db:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  elasticsearch:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -s http://localhost:9200/_cluster/health | grep -q 'green\\|yellow'"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 10
      start_period: 60s

  kafka:
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "kafka-topics.sh --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --list"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5
```

### 5. Database Seeding

Seed test data automatically:

```bash
# SQL initialization
cat > test-data/init.sql << 'EOF'
-- Create test schema
CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS test;

-- Create tables
CREATE TABLE test.users (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Insert test data
INSERT INTO test.users (email, name) VALUES
  ('[email protected]', 'Test User 1'),
  ('[email protected]', 'Test User 2');
EOF
```

```yaml
# Mount initialization scripts
services:
  db:
    volumes:
      - ./test-data/init.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/01-init.sql
      - ./test-data/seed.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/02-seed.sql
```

### 6. Network Isolation

Configure isolated test networks:

```yaml
# Multiple isolated test environments
networks:
  test-network-a:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true
  test-network-b:
    driver: bridge
    internal: true
  external-network:
    driver: bridge

services:
  app-a:
    networks:
      - test-network-a
      - external-network

  app-b:
    networks:
      - test-network-b
      - external-network

  # Shared service
  mock-server:
    networks:
      - external-network
```

### 7. CI/CD Integration

```yaml
# GitHub Actions example
name: Integration Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Start test environment
        run: |
          docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d --wait
          docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml ps

      - name: Run tests
        run: |
          docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml exec -T app npm test

      - name: Collect logs on failure
        if: failure()
        run: |
          docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml logs > test-logs.txt

      - name: Upload logs
        if: failure()
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: test-logs
          path: test-logs.txt

      - name: Cleanup
        if: always()
        run: |
          docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v --remove-orphans
```

## Common Service Templates

### PostgreSQL

```yaml
postgres:
  image: postgres:15-alpine
  environment:
    POSTGRES_USER: test
    POSTGRES_PASSWORD: test
    POSTGRES_DB: testdb
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U test"]
    interval: 5s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 5
```

### MySQL

```yaml
mysql:
  image: mysql:8
  environment:
    MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
    MYSQL_DATABASE: testdb
    MYSQL_USER: test
    MYSQL_PASSWORD: test
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]
    interval: 5s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 5
```

### MongoDB

```yaml
mongo:
  image: mongo:6
  environment:
    MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_USERNAME: test
    MONGO_INITDB_ROOT_PASSWORD: test
  healthcheck:
    test: echo 'db.runCommand("ping").ok' | mongosh localhost:27017/test --quiet
    interval: 10s
    timeout: 10s
    retries: 5
```

### Redis

```yaml
redis:
  image: redis:7-alpine
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
    interval: 5s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 5
```

### Elasticsearch

```yaml
elasticsearch:
  image: elasticsearch:8.11.0
  environment:
    - discovery.type=single-node
    - xpack.security.enabled=false
    - ES_JAVA_OPTS=-Xms512m -Xmx512m
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -s http://localhost:9200 | grep -q 'cluster_name'"]
    interval: 10s
    timeout: 10s
    retries: 10
```

### Kafka

```yaml
kafka:
  image: confluentinc/cp-kafka:7.5.0
  environment:
    KAFKA_BROKER_ID: 1
    KAFKA_ZOOKEEPER_CONNECT: zookeeper:2181
    KAFKA_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://kafka:9092
    KAFKA_OFFSETS_TOPIC_REPLICATION_FACTOR: 1
  depends_on:
    - zookeeper
```

## MCP Server Integration

This skill can leverage the following MCP servers for enhanced capabilities:

| Server | Description | Installation |
|--------|-------------|--------------|
| QuantGeekDev/docker-mcp | Docker container management | [GitHub](https://github.com/QuantGeekDev/docker-mcp) |
| Docker MCP Toolkit | Official Docker MCP | [Docker Blog](https://www.docker.com/blog/connect-mcp-servers-to-claude-desktop-with-mcp-toolkit/) |
| Docker Hub MCP | Docker Hub integration | [Docker](https://www.docker.com/blog/introducing-docker-hub-mcp-server/) |

## Best Practices

1. **Use specific image tags** - Avoid `latest` for reproducibility
2. **Health checks** - Always configure health checks for dependencies
3. **Resource limits** - Set memory/CPU limits for containers
4. **Cleanup** - Always cleanup volumes with `-v` flag
5. **Wait for ready** - Use `--wait` or health checks before tests
6. **Isolation** - Use dedicated networks for test environments
7. **Ephemeral data** - Never mount production data volumes

## Process Integration

This skill integrates with the following processes:
- `environment-management.js` - All phases of environment setup
- `test-data-management.js` - Data seeding and cleanup
- `automation-framework.js` - Test framework environment setup
- `continuous-testing.js` - CI/CD environment management

## Output Format

When executing operations, provide structured output:

```json
{
  "operation": "start-environment",
  "composeFile": "docker-compose.test.yml",
  "status": "running",
  "services": {
    "app": { "status": "running", "health": "healthy" },
    "db": { "status": "running", "health": "healthy" },
    "redis": { "status": "running", "health": "healthy" }
  },
  "network": "test-network",
  "connectionStrings": {
    "database": "postgres://test:test@localhost:5432/testdb",
    "redis": "redis://localhost:6379"
  }
}
```

## Error Handling

- Check Docker daemon connectivity
- Verify image availability before starting
- Handle container startup failures gracefully
- Provide diagnostic logs on failure
- Implement retry logic for flaky containers

## Constraints

- Do not expose production data in test environments
- Limit resource consumption to prevent system issues
- Always cleanup environments after tests
- Use appropriate isolation for parallel tests
- Respect port allocation to avoid conflicts

Overview

This skill provides Docker-based test environment management for isolated, reproducible test execution. It helps create Docker Compose environments, orchestrate Testcontainers, seed databases, enforce health checks, and integrate cleanly with CI/CD pipelines. Designed for deterministic, resumable orchestration of integration tests and ephemeral environments.

How this skill works

The skill generates and manages Docker Compose files and lifecycle commands to start, wait-for, test against, and tear down environments. It can also control programmatic containers via Testcontainers APIs (JavaScript, Python) to set up ephemeral databases and caches, inject connection strings, and run teardown hooks. Structured JSON output and clear error handling make it easy to integrate into automation and CI jobs.

When to use it

  • Run integration or end-to-end tests that need isolated services (databases, caches, message brokers).
  • Create reproducible test environments for CI pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.).
  • Seed databases and run deterministic test data scenarios without touching production data.
  • Run parallel test suites with network isolation to avoid cross-test interference.
  • Debug service startup and health problems with repeatable, containerized environments.

Best practices

  • Pin explicit image tags instead of using latest for reproducibility.
  • Add robust healthchecks and use docker compose --wait before running tests.
  • Limit CPU/memory for test containers to avoid resource contention on CI agents.
  • Mount only ephemeral test seed data; never mount production volumes into test environments.
  • Always run docker compose down -v --remove-orphans in cleanup steps to remove volumes and avoid state leakage.
  • Use dedicated networks per test run to enable parallelization and avoid port conflicts.

Example use cases

  • Start a docker-compose.test.yml environment, wait for healthy services, run npm test inside the app container, then cleanup.
  • Use Testcontainers in Jest to spin up PostgreSQL and Redis, set process.env connection strings, run integration tests, then stop containers.
  • Seed a test database via docker-entrypoint-initdb.d scripts and run schema-dependent integration tests.
  • Run integration tests in GitHub Actions: bring up compose, exec tests, collect logs on failure, and always tear down.
  • Create multiple isolated networks for concurrent feature-branch test runs and a shared mock-server on an external network.

FAQ

What prerequisites are required to use this skill?

Docker Engine and Docker Compose v2 must be installed and running; ensure sufficient system resources. Testcontainers is optional for programmatic container control.

How do I ensure tests wait for services to be ready?

Use Docker healthchecks plus docker compose --wait, and for programmatic flows use Testcontainers start hooks and explicit readiness probes.