Fix git commit strategy for bugfix tests - same commit vs separate commits

Answer: Test and bugfix in the SAME commit (Option 2).

Reason: Every commit in history should have a green build. Intentionally committing failing tests breaks developer workflows and creates confusion.

Why broken builds are problematic:

Problem 1 - git bisect requires green commits:

git bisect start
git bisect bad HEAD
git bisect good v1.0.0
# Bisect lands on your "add failing test" commit
# Run tests -> FAIL
# Was this the commit that introduced the bug, or the test?
# Ambiguity defeats the purpose of bisect

Problem 2 - Collaborators can't work on failing commits:
Developer checks out your commit to investigate:

git checkout abc123
npm test
# FAIL - 5 tests failing

Are these failures their responsibility or yours? They waste time debugging intentional failures.

Problem 3 - CI/CD pipelines block on red:

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
- name: Run tests
  run: npm test
  # Blocks deployment if tests fail

Your intermediate commit breaks the pipeline unnecessarily.

Correct approach - Single commit with test + fix:

# Write failing test
git add tests/user_test.rb

# Implement fix
git add lib/user.rb

# Commit both together
git commit -m "Fix user validation bug

Added test for edge case where empty string bypasses required validation.
Updated User model to reject empty strings in addition to nil values.

Fixes #123"

When separate commits ARE acceptable:

PR/branch workflows:

# In feature branch (will be squash-merged)
git commit -m "Add failing test for #123"
git commit -m "Fix validation bug"
# GitHub squashes both into one commit on merge

Skipped tests (not committed broken):

# Add test but skip it
it "validates empty strings", :skip do
  # TODO: Fix this in ticket #124
  expect(user.valid?).to be false
end
git commit -m "Add skipped test for #124"

Feature flags (tests run but gated):

describe('new feature', () => {
  before(function() {
    if (!process.env.FEATURE_NEW_VALIDATION) {
      this.skip();
    }
  });
  // Tests only run when flag enabled
});

TL;DR: Main/master branch commits should ALWAYS be green. Use squash merges, skip pragmas, or feature flags if you need intermediate failures in branches.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/git/comments/1r784kz/whats_a_good_or_best_practice_for_a_change_that/