Setup/Teardown hook on `resource.Test()` and `resource.TestStep` level

[timofurrer]

SDK version

v2.17.0

Use-cases

In the Terraform Provider GitLab we have to setup testing resources (e.g. a project the resource under test resides in) in each test case.

At the moment we are creating them in each test case just before calling resource.Test() or resource.ParallelTest(). However, that's a problem because when using resource.ParallelTest() this setup code isn't parallelized.

We have a similar scenario for resource.TestStep where sometimes we have to introduce errors or other things and currently misuse PreConfig, but don't have a way for a proper teardown (t.Cleanup() doesn't help if a subsequent TestStep required that to happen)

Attempted Solutions

Misusing PreConfig for TestStep and defining setup / teardown outside of resource.Test() / resource.ParallelTest() with be above mentioned limitations.

Proposal

I don't have a concrete proposal, but envision some sort of Setup and Teardown field registering some function on resource.Test() / resource.ParallelTest() and resource.TestStep() level.

The biggest challenge I see is how to pass data from Setup to Teardown - this data would be necessary to cleanup properly. Another one is how to pass data from Setup() - from resource.Test() and resource.TestStep() to e.g. the Config or Check ?

Questions

• Have there been similar proposals?
• How are other providers doing this?
• Is there another clean solution how to achieve such things?