From db92664e5513fc56183f15621953ad0539ad16a3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chemaclass <chemaclass@outlook.es>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:08:12 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 1/6] fix(runner): fail test file with syntax error instead of
 silent halt

Capture stderr and exit code of `source "$test_file"`. On syntax error
or non-zero exit, record a source hook failure and skip the file so the
suite surfaces the problem instead of continuing silently.

Closes #220
---
 CHANGELOG.md                                  |  1 +
 src/runner.sh                                 | 20 +++++++++++++-
 .../acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh  | 26 +++++++++++++++++++
 .../test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh        | 15 +++++++++++
 4 files changed, 61 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
 create mode 100644 tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0fb99422..221122a2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 - Fix `clock::now` shell-time parsing when `EPOCHREALTIME` uses a comma decimal separator
 - Fix LCOV and HTML coverage reports generating incomplete/empty output due to post-increment operator causing silent exit under `set -e` (#618)
 - Enable parallel test execution on Alpine Linux; previously gated off due to race conditions, now resolved (#370)
+- Fix syntax error in test file silently passing; now reported as a failing test (#220)
 
 ## [0.34.1](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/compare/0.34.0...0.34.1) - 2026-03-20
 
diff --git a/src/runner.sh b/src/runner.sh
index 1feab35a..76e0c655 100755
--- a/src/runner.sh
+++ b/src/runner.sh
@@ -72,8 +72,26 @@ function bashunit::runner::load_test_files() {
     scripts_ids[scripts_ids_count]="${BASHUNIT_CURRENT_SCRIPT_ID}"
     scripts_ids_count=$((scripts_ids_count + 1))
     bashunit::internal_log "Loading file" "$test_file"
+    local source_err_file source_err source_status
+    source_err_file="$(bashunit::temp_file "source_err")"
     # shellcheck source=/dev/null
-    source "$test_file"
+    source "$test_file" 2>"$source_err_file"
+    source_status=$?
+    source_err=""
+    if [ -s "$source_err_file" ]; then
+      source_err="$(cat "$source_err_file")"
+    fi
+    rm -f "$source_err_file"
+    if [ "$source_status" -ne 0 ] || [ "$(printf '%s' "$source_err" \
+      | "$GREP" -cE 'syntax error|unexpected EOF' || true)" -gt 0 ]; then
+      local message="$source_err"
+      [ -z "$message" ] && message="Failed to source '$test_file' (exit $source_status)"
+      bashunit::runner::record_file_hook_failure \
+        "source" "$test_file" "$message" 1 true
+      bashunit::runner::clean_set_up_and_tear_down_after_script
+      bashunit::runner::restore_workdir
+      continue
+    fi
     # Update function cache after sourcing new test file
     _BASHUNIT_CACHED_ALL_FUNCTIONS=$(declare -F | awk '{print $3}')
     # Check if any tests match the filter before rendering header or running hooks
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..446fbffc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+function set_up_before_script() {
+  TEST_ENV_FILE="tests/acceptance/fixtures/.env.default"
+}
+
+function strip_ansi() {
+  sed -E 's/\x1B\[[0-9;]*[A-Za-z]//g'
+}
+
+function test_bashunit_when_test_file_has_syntax_error() {
+  local test_file=./tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
+
+  local actual_raw
+  set +e
+  actual_raw="$(./bashunit --no-parallel --detailed --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" "$test_file" 2>&1)"
+  set -e
+
+  local actual
+  actual="$(printf "%s" "$actual_raw" | strip_ansi)"
+
+  assert_contains "syntax error" "$actual"
+  assert_contains "failed" "$actual"
+  assert_general_error "$(./bashunit --no-parallel --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" "$test_file" 2>&1)"
+}
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh b/tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..84c6cd03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+function test_good() {
+  assert_equals 1 1
+}
+
+function test_with_syntax_error() {
+  if [ 1 -eq 1 ]
+    echo "missing then keyword"
+  fi
+}
+
+function test_another() {
+  assert_equals 2 2
+}

From e45105922af06b39a3d1e06f86e326b5da8805d8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chemaclass <chemaclass@outlook.es>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:17:46 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 2/6] fix(ci): make syntax-error test locale-independent and
 skip fixture in shellcheck

- Force LC_ALL=C/LANG=C in the acceptance test so bash's "syntax error"
  message stays English; assert on "Error" + "failed" which the runner
  renders regardless of locale.
- Exclude fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh from the ShellCheck
  workflow; the fixture intentionally contains a parse error.
---
 .github/workflows/static_analysis.yml          | 2 ++
 tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh | 8 +++++---
 2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml b/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
index 169229ab..7ba1576f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
@@ -25,4 +25,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: ludeeus/action-shellcheck@master
         env:
           SHELLCHECK_OPTS: -e SC1091 -e SC2155 -e SC2016
+        with:
+          ignore_paths: tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
 
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
index 446fbffc..12ea3fcb 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
+++ b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
@@ -14,13 +14,15 @@ function test_bashunit_when_test_file_has_syntax_error() {
 
   local actual_raw
   set +e
-  actual_raw="$(./bashunit --no-parallel --detailed --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" "$test_file" 2>&1)"
+  actual_raw="$(LC_ALL=C LANG=C ./bashunit \
+    --no-parallel --detailed --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" "$test_file" 2>&1)"
   set -e
 
   local actual
   actual="$(printf "%s" "$actual_raw" | strip_ansi)"
 
-  assert_contains "syntax error" "$actual"
   assert_contains "failed" "$actual"
-  assert_general_error "$(./bashunit --no-parallel --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" "$test_file" 2>&1)"
+  assert_contains "Error" "$actual"
+  assert_general_error "$(LC_ALL=C LANG=C ./bashunit \
+    --no-parallel --env "$TEST_ENV_FILE" "$test_file" 2>&1)"
 }

From bb58b7b56a2b2b0bad435fee0b7dfb68f1384c17 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chemaclass <chemaclass@outlook.es>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:20:57 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 3/6] fix(ci): rename syntax-error fixture to .bash so
 shellcheck skips it

ShellCheck's find-based scanner matched the fixture even with ignore_paths,
so rename to .bash to keep it out of both the CI scanner and `make sa`.
---
 .github/workflows/static_analysis.yml                           | 2 --
 tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh                  | 2 +-
 ...hen_syntax_error.sh => test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.bash} | 0
 3 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 3 deletions(-)
 rename tests/acceptance/fixtures/{test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh => test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.bash} (100%)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml b/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
index 7ba1576f..169229ab 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
@@ -25,6 +25,4 @@ jobs:
         uses: ludeeus/action-shellcheck@master
         env:
           SHELLCHECK_OPTS: -e SC1091 -e SC2155 -e SC2016
-        with:
-          ignore_paths: tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
 
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
index 12ea3fcb..2785ed22 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
+++ b/tests/acceptance/bashunit_syntax_error_test.sh
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ function strip_ansi() {
 }
 
 function test_bashunit_when_test_file_has_syntax_error() {
-  local test_file=./tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
+  local test_file=./tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.bash
 
   local actual_raw
   set +e
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh b/tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.bash
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.sh
rename to tests/acceptance/fixtures/test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.bash

From ebbaef94c3d95dd30df2767b8a50cabe9db40146 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chemaclass <chemaclass@outlook.es>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:41:44 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 4/6] fix(ci): use shellcheck ignore_names for syntax-error
 fixture

ignore_paths only matches directory prefixes; ignore_names skips by
basename, which is what we need for a single fixture file.
---
 .github/workflows/static_analysis.yml | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml b/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
index 169229ab..538e1602 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/static_analysis.yml
@@ -25,4 +25,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: ludeeus/action-shellcheck@master
         env:
           SHELLCHECK_OPTS: -e SC1091 -e SC2155 -e SC2016
+        with:
+          ignore_names: test_bashunit_when_syntax_error.bash
 

From 78cb2c3f3ecf6bbced70d4d86f11d66febf1b64a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chemaclass <chemaclass@outlook.es>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:56:14 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 5/6] docs(test-files): document syntax-error handling

---
 docs/test-files.md | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+)

diff --git a/docs/test-files.md b/docs/test-files.md
index 9e9e066f..36a23b0b 100644
--- a/docs/test-files.md
+++ b/docs/test-files.md
@@ -129,3 +129,23 @@ function tear_down_after_script() {
 }
 ```
 :::
+
+## Syntax errors in test files
+
+If a test file contains a Bash syntax error, **bashunit** records a failing
+test for that file instead of silently skipping the remaining tests. The exact
+error message from Bash (including file path and line number) is shown in the
+summary, and the suite exits with a non-zero status.
+
+```
+Running tests/example_test.sh
+✗ Error: Source
+    tests/example_test.sh: line 10: syntax error near unexpected token `fi'
+    tests/example_test.sh: line 10: `  fi'
+
+Tests:      1 failed, 1 total
+Some tests failed
+```
+
+This guarantees a broken test file always fails the suite — it never passes
+by absence.

From 94b0b175687415a70f18765be60c7a126bafc530 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chemaclass <chemaclass@outlook.es>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:06:21 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 6/6] docs(test-files): remove em-dash

---
 docs/test-files.md | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/test-files.md b/docs/test-files.md
index 36a23b0b..9a7339c4 100644
--- a/docs/test-files.md
+++ b/docs/test-files.md
@@ -147,5 +147,5 @@ Tests:      1 failed, 1 total
 Some tests failed
 ```
 
-This guarantees a broken test file always fails the suite — it never passes
-by absence.
+This guarantees a broken test file always fails the suite, so it never
+passes by absence.