Use Compact Test Output to Preserve Your Context Window

Verbose test output bloats your context window with hundreds of passing-test lines before Claude even gets to see the failures. Using compact or quiet output flags keeps things lean and fast.

Pest (Laravel):

php artisan test --compact

pytest:

python -m pytest -q
python -m pytest --tb=short   # shorter tracebacks on failures

Jest / Vitest:

npm test -- --silent
npx vitest run --reporter=dot

RSpec:

bundle exec rspec --format progress

For targeted testing, combine with filter flags to focus Claude on the problem area:

# Laravel/Pest
php artisan test --compact --filter="user can vote"

# pytest
python -m pytest -q -k "test_user_can_vote"

# Jest
npm test -- --silent --testNamePattern="user can vote"

Document the flags in your CLAUDE.md so Claude always reaches for compact output automatically:

## Testing
- `php artisan test --compact` — run all tests
- `npm test -- --silent` — run Jest tests
- `python -m pytest -q` — run pytest

Compact output keeps Claude's context focused on what matters — failures, not noise.