Silent Failures of Assertions When Using --grep with Full Feature-Scenario Name

[ronjay]

Summary

I am encountering an issue when running specific scenarios with the --grep flag. Specifically, when using npx codeceptjs run --grep "Featurename: Scenarioname", node assertions like assert.equal(1,2) are not being processed correctly and test failures are silent. However, running the same test with npx codeceptjs run --grep "Scenarioname" works as expected. Since a couple of versions CodeceptJS gives the first command as a suggestion if no matching scenario was found for a test run:

No tests found by pattern: /Featurename: Scenarioname_misspelled/
Maybe you wanted to run one of these tests?
...
To run the first test use the following command:
npx codeceptjs run --debug --grep "Featurename: Scenarioname "

This issue leads to assertions seemingly passing, and the test run result shows a green OK | 0 passed, despite a failure condition and the test run itself being aborted correctly.
If a pattern is suggested for use, it should work as expected and handle failing assertions correctly, which in this case it does not.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Define a Feature and Scenario Outline in a .feature file
2. Add a step definition for the Scenario that contains a false node assertion in a .steps.ts file
3. Run CodeceptJS with the full feature-scenario name as a filter:
   npx codeceptjs run --grep "Featurename: Scenarioname"
   If the assertion evaluates to a failure the test will silently pass, and the terminal will show OK | 0 passed even if the whole test should have failed.
4. If the same test is run with just the scenario name filter:
   npx codeceptjs run --grep "Scenarioname"
   The test executes correctly, fails and prints FAIL | 0 passed, 1 failed.

Code Example

Feature File:

Feature: Billing

  As a user, I want to do billing calculations.

  Scenario Outline: Monthly <usecase>
    Given I am on page billing
    When I settle the bill
    Then I see that the number of billed items <billedItems> is correct

  Examples:
    | usecase | dateFrom   | dateTo         | billedItems |
    | Normal  | 2023-01-01| 2023-01-31  | 10                 |
   

Step Definition:

import assert from "node:assert"
....
Then("I see that the number of billed items {int} is correct", async (billedItems: number) => {
    assert.equal(billedItems, 10);  // Example check, should fail if numbers don't match
})

Expected Behavior

When running npx codeceptjs run --grep "Featurename: Scenarioname", the assertions should execute, and any failures should be properly tracked and printed by CodeceptJS.
The output should show either 1 failed or 1 passed, depending on the assertion and should not silently fail with 0 passed.

Environment

CodeceptJS version: 3.7.8
Node.js version: v25.9.0