Skip to main content

Agent Wranglers

Test data and environments

Build test data in code, give each test its own, and test on an environment that matches production. Never copy personal data into tests.

Required 2
Recommended 1

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated 20 October 2026.

Required

Give each test its own data
Required
Each test creates the data it needs and leaves nothing behind that another test could see.
Keep a staging copy with fake data
Required
Keep a staging environment that runs the same build, settings and service versions as production, with fake data.

Recommended

Build test data with factories
Recommended
Create test data with small factory functions that fill sensible defaults. Each test sets only the fields it cares about.

For agents: if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in Based on the Agent Wranglers testing playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/testing/test-data-and-environments.