testcontainers-go

Testcontainers for Go Integration Testing

You are an expert Go developer specializing in integration testing with Testcontainers. When this skill is active, you should:

• Always prefer pre-configured modules over generic containers when a module exists
• Follow the cleanup-before-error-check pattern in every test you write
• Use proper wait strategies instead of time.Sleep() — never suggest time.Sleep() as a synchronization mechanism
• Generate complete, runnable test code including all necessary imports
• Apply Go testing conventions such as table-driven tests, t.Parallel(), build tags, and subtests

Description

This skill helps you write integration tests using Testcontainers for Go, a Go library that provides lightweight, throwaway instances of common databases, message queues, web browsers, or anything that can run in a Docker container.

Key capabilities:

• Use 62+ pre-configured modules for common services (databases, message queues, cloud services, etc.)
• Set up and manage Docker containers in Go tests
• Configure networking, volumes, and environment variables
• Implement proper cleanup and resource management
• Debug and troubleshoot container issues

When to Use This Skill

Trigger keywords: integration test, testcontainers, docker test, container test, database test, test with postgres, test with redis, test with kafka, real database test, end-to-end test infrastructure, test environment setup, test cleanup, test isolation.

Use this skill when you need to:

• Write integration tests that require real services (databases, message queues, etc.)
• Test against multiple versions or configurations of dependencies
• Create reproducible test environments
• Avoid mocking external dependencies in integration tests
• Set up ephemeral test infrastructure
• Run integration tests in CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.)
• Share container setup across multiple tests in a package

Prerequisites

• Docker or Podman installed and running
• Go 1.24+ (check go.mod for project-specific requirements)
• Docker socket accessible at standard locations (Docker Desktop on macOS/Windows, /var/run/docker.sock on Linux)

Decision Guide

Use this decision tree to choose the right approach:

Need a container for testing?
├── Is there a pre-configured module? (check module list below)
│   ├── YES → Use the module (Section 2)
│   └── NO  → Use a generic container (Section 3)
│
├── Need multiple containers to communicate?
│   └── YES → Create a custom network (Section 5)
│
├── Need shared setup across tests in a package?
│   └── YES → Use TestMain pattern (Section 10)
│
├── Need to separate integration tests from unit tests?
│   └── YES → Use build tags (Section 10)
│
└── Running in CI/CD?
    └── YES → See CI/CD Integration (Section 11)

Instructions

1. Installation & Setup

Add testcontainers-go to your project:

go get github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go

For pre-configured modules (recommended):

# Example: PostgreSQL module
go get github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres

# Example: Kafka module
go get github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/kafka

# Example: Redis module
go get github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/redis

Verify Docker availability:

func TestDockerAvailable(t *testing.T) {
    testcontainers.SkipIfProviderIsNotHealthy(t)
    // Test will skip if Docker is not running
}

---

2. Using Pre-Configured Modules (Recommended Approach)

Testcontainers for Go provides 62+ pre-configured modules that offer production-ready configurations, sensible defaults, and helper methods. Always prefer modules over generic containers when available.

Why Use Modules?

• Sensible defaults: Pre-configured ports, environment variables, and wait strategies
• Connection helpers: Built-in methods like ConnectionString(), Endpoint()
• Specialized features: Module-specific functionality (e.g., Postgres snapshots, Kafka topic management)
• Automatic credentials: Secure credential generation and management
• Battle-tested: Used in production by thousands of projects

Available Module Categories

Databases (17 modules):

• postgres, mysql, mariadb, mongodb, redis, valkey
• cockroachdb, clickhouse, memcached, influxdb
• arangodb, cassandra, scylladb, dynamodb
• dolt, databend, surrealdb

Message Queues (6 modules):

• kafka, rabbitmq, nats, pulsar, redpanda, solace

Search & Vector Databases (9 modules):

• elasticsearch, opensearch, meilisearch
• weaviate, qdrant, chroma, milvus, vearch, pinecone

Cloud & Infrastructure (6 modules):

• gcloud, azure, azurite, localstack, dind, k3s

Services & Tools (13 modules):

• consul, etcd, neo4j, couchbase, vault, openldap
• artemis, inbucket, mockserver, nebulagraph, minio
• toxiproxy, aerospike

Development (10 modules):

• compose, registry, k6, ollama, grafana-lgtm
• dockermodelrunner, dockermcpgateway, socat, mssql

Basic Module Usage Pattern

package myapp_test

import (
    "context"
    "testing"

    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres"
)

func TestWithPostgres(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Start PostgreSQL container with sensible defaults
    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine")
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get connection string - credentials auto-generated
    connStr, err := pgContainer.ConnectionString(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)
    // connStr: "postgres://postgres:password@localhost:49153/postgres?sslmode=disable"

    // Use connection string with your database driver
    db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    require.NoError(t, err)
    defer db.Close()

    // Run your tests...
}

Module Configuration with Options

Modules support three levels of customization:

Level 1: Simple Options (via testcontainers.CustomizeRequestOption)

pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(
    ctx,
    "postgres:16-alpine",
    testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
        "POSTGRES_DB": "myapp_test",
    }),
    testcontainers.WithLabels(map[string]string{
        "env": "test",
    }),
)

Level 2: Module-Specific Options

// PostgreSQL with init scripts
pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(
    ctx,
    "postgres:16-alpine",
    postgres.WithInitScripts("./testdata/init.sql"),
    postgres.WithDatabase("myapp_test"),
    postgres.WithUsername("custom_user"),
    postgres.WithPassword("custom_pass"),
)

// Redis with configuration
redisContainer, err := redis.Run(
    ctx,
    "redis:7-alpine",
    redis.WithSnapshotting(10, 1),
    redis.WithLogLevel(redis.LogLevelVerbose),
)

// Kafka with custom config
kafkaContainer, err := kafka.Run(
    ctx,
    "confluentinc/confluent-local:7.5.0",
    kafka.WithClusterID("test-cluster"),
)

Level 3: Advanced Configuration with Lifecycle Hooks

// PostgreSQL with custom initialization
pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(
    ctx,
    "postgres:16-alpine",
    postgres.WithDatabase("myapp"),
    testcontainers.WithLifecycleHooks(
        testcontainers.ContainerLifecycleHooks{
            PostStarts: []testcontainers.ContainerHook{
                func(ctx context.Context, c testcontainers.Container) error {
                    // Custom initialization after container starts
                    return nil
                },
            },
        },
    ),
)

Module-Specific Helper Methods

Most modules provide convenience methods beyond ConnectionString():

// PostgreSQL: Snapshot & Restore for test isolation
func TestDatabaseIsolation(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine")
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    connStr, _ := pgContainer.ConnectionString(ctx)
    db, _ := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)

    // Create initial data
    db.Exec("CREATE TABLE users (id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)")
    db.Exec("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES ('Alice')")

    // Close connection before snapshot (PostgreSQL can't snapshot with active connections)
    db.Close()

    // Take snapshot
    err = pgContainer.Snapshot(ctx, postgres.WithSnapshotName("initial"))
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Reconnect and make changes
    db, _ = sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    db.Exec("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES ('Bob')")

    // Close connection before restore
    db.Close()

    // Restore to snapshot
    err = pgContainer.Restore(ctx, postgres.WithSnapshotName("initial"))
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Reconnect — Bob is gone, only Alice remains
    db, _ = sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    defer db.Close()
}

// Kafka: Get bootstrap servers
kafkaContainer, _ := kafka.Run(ctx, "confluentinc/confluent-local:7.5.0")
brokers, _ := kafkaContainer.Brokers(ctx)

Finding the Right Module

1. Browse available modules: https://testcontainers.com/modules/?language=go (complete, up-to-date list)
2. Check the modules directory: /modules/ in the testcontainers-go GitHub repository
3. Module documentation: https://golang.testcontainers.org/modules/ (online docs for each module)
4. Browse by category (see lists above)
5. Search for examples: Each module has examples_test.go in its directory

Module location pattern:

github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/<module-name>

---

3. Using Generic Containers (Fallback)

When no pre-configured module exists, use generic containers.

IMPORTANT: Always add a wait strategy when exposing ports to ensure the container is ready before tests run. This is critical for reliability, especially in CI environments. Never use time.Sleep as a substitute - it's an anti-pattern that leads to flaky tests.

func TestCustomContainer(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(
        ctx,
        "custom-image:latest",
        testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("8080/tcp"),
        testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
            "APP_ENV": "test",
        }),
        // CRITICAL: Always add wait strategy for exposed ports
        testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
            wait.ForListeningPort("8080/tcp").WithStartupTimeout(time.Second*30),
        ),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get endpoint
    endpoint, err := ctr.Endpoint(ctx, "http")
    require.NoError(t, err)
}

Common generic container options:

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "image:tag",

    // Ports
    testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("80/tcp", "443/tcp"),

    // Environment
    testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
        "KEY": "value",
    }),

    // Files
    testcontainers.WithFiles(testcontainers.ContainerFile{
        Reader:            strings.NewReader("content"),
        ContainerFilePath: "/app/config.yml",
        FileMode:          0o644,
    }),

    // Volumes
    testcontainers.WithHostConfigModifier(func(hc *container.HostConfig) {
        hc.Binds = []string{"/host/path:/container/path"}
    }),

    // Wait strategies (REQUIRED when using WithExposedPorts)
    // Use wait.ForListeningPort for reliability - never use time.Sleep!
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForListeningPort("80/tcp"),
        // Or use other strategies: wait.ForLog(), wait.ForHTTP(), etc.
    ),

    // Commands
    testcontainers.WithAfterReadyCommand(
        testcontainers.NewRawCommand([]string{"echo", "initialized"}),
    ),

    // Labels
    testcontainers.WithLabels(map[string]string{
        "app": "myapp",
    }),
)

---

4. Writing Integration Tests

Test Structure Best Practices

package myapp_test

import (
    "context"
    "testing"

    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres"
)

func TestDatabaseOperations(t *testing.T) {
    // 1. Setup: Create context
    ctx := context.Background()

    // 2. Start container
    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine")

    // 3. CRITICAL: Register cleanup BEFORE error check
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)

    // 4. Check for errors
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // 5. Get connection details
    connStr, err := pgContainer.ConnectionString(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // 6. Connect to service
    db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    require.NoError(t, err)
    defer db.Close()

    // 7. Run your tests
    err = db.Ping()
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Test your application logic here...
}

Critical pattern: Cleanup BEFORE error checking

// CORRECT:
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)  // Register cleanup immediately
require.NoError(t, err)                   // Then check error

// WRONG: Creates resource leaks
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
require.NoError(t, err)                   // If this fails...
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)  // ...cleanup never registers

Table-Driven Tests with Containers

func TestMultipleVersions(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    versions := []struct {
        name  string
        image string
    }{
        {"Postgres 14", "postgres:14-alpine"},
        {"Postgres 15", "postgres:15-alpine"},
        {"Postgres 16", "postgres:16-alpine"},
    }

    for _, tc := range versions {
        t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, tc.image)
            testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
            require.NoError(t, err)

            // Run tests against this version...
        })
    }
}

Parallel Test Execution

func TestParallelContainers(t *testing.T) {
    t.Parallel()  // Enable parallel execution

    ctx := context.Background()

    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine")
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Each parallel test gets its own container
}

---

5. Container Networking

Connecting Multiple Containers

import "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/network"

func TestMultipleServices(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Create custom network
    nw, err := network.New(ctx)
    testcontainers.CleanupNetwork(t, nw)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Start database on network
    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(
        ctx,
        "postgres:16-alpine",
        network.WithNetwork([]string{"database"}, nw),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Start application on same network
    appContainer, err := testcontainers.Run(
        ctx,
        "myapp:latest",
        testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
            "DB_HOST": "database",  // Can reach via network alias
            "DB_PORT": "5432",      // Use internal port, not mapped port
        }),
        network.WithNetwork([]string{"app"}, nw),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, appContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Test application can communicate with database...
}

Accessing Container Ports

func TestPortAccess(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(
        ctx,
        "nginx:alpine",
        testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("80/tcp"),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Method 1: Get full endpoint (recommended)
    endpoint, err := ctr.Endpoint(ctx, "http")
    require.NoError(t, err)
    // endpoint = "http://localhost:49153"

    // Method 2: Get mapped port only
    port, err := ctr.MappedPort(ctx, "80/tcp")
    require.NoError(t, err)
    portNum := port.Int()  // e.g., 49153

    // Method 3: Get host and port separately
    host, err := ctr.Host(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)
    // host = "localhost" (or docker host IP)
}

---

6. Resource Management & Cleanup

Cleanup Methods

Method 1: testcontainers.CleanupContainer() (Recommended)

func TestRecommendedCleanup(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)  // Registers with t.Cleanup
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Container automatically cleaned up when test ends
}

Method 2: t.Cleanup() (Manual)

func TestManualCleanup(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    t.Cleanup(func() {
        err := testcontainers.TerminateContainer(ctr)
        require.NoError(t, err)
    })
}

Method 3: defer (Legacy)

func TestDeferCleanup(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    defer func() {
        err := testcontainers.TerminateContainer(ctr)
        require.NoError(t, err)
    }()
}

Cleanup Options

// Cleanup with custom timeout
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr,
    testcontainers.StopTimeout(10*time.Second),
)

// Cleanup and remove volumes
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr,
    testcontainers.RemoveVolumes("volume1", "volume2"),
)

// Combine options
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr,
    testcontainers.StopTimeout(5*time.Second),
    testcontainers.RemoveVolumes("data"),
)

Automatic Cleanup with Ryuk

Testcontainers for Go uses Ryuk, a garbage collector that automatically cleans up containers even if tests crash or timeout:

• Runs as a sidecar container (testcontainers/ryuk:0.13.0)
• Monitors test session lifecycle
• Cleans up containers when session ends
• Handles parallel test execution

Control Ryuk behavior:

// Disable Ryuk (not recommended)
os.Setenv("TESTCONTAINERS_RYUK_DISABLED", "true")

// Enable verbose logging
os.Setenv("RYUK_VERBOSE", "true")

// Adjust timeouts
os.Setenv("RYUK_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT", "2m")
os.Setenv("RYUK_RECONNECTION_TIMEOUT", "30s")

---

7. Configuration Patterns

Environment Variables

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
        "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/db",
        "LOG_LEVEL":    "debug",
        "API_KEY":      "test-key",
    }),
)

Executing Commands in Containers

When executing commands with Exec(), it's recommended to use exec.Multiplexed() to properly handle Docker's output format:

import "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/exec"

// Execute command with Multiplexed option
exitCode, reader, err := ctr.Exec(ctx, []string{"sh", "-c", "echo 'hello'"}, exec.Multiplexed())
require.NoError(t, err)
require.Equal(t, 0, exitCode)

// Read the output
output, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
require.NoError(t, err)
fmt.Println(string(output))

Why use exec.Multiplexed()?

• Removes Docker's multiplexing headers from the output
• Combines stdout and stderr into a single clean stream
• Makes the output easier to read and parse

Without exec.Multiplexed(), you'll get Docker's raw multiplexed stream which includes header bytes that are difficult to parse.

Files and Directories

// Copy single file
testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "nginx:alpine",
    testcontainers.WithFiles(testcontainers.ContainerFile{
        Reader:            strings.NewReader("server { listen 80; }"),
        ContainerFilePath: "/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf",
        FileMode:          0o644,
    }),
)

// Copy multiple files
testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithFiles(
        testcontainers.ContainerFile{...},  // config.yml
        testcontainers.ContainerFile{...},  // secrets.json
    ),
)

// Copy from container after start
ctr, _ := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
reader, err := ctr.CopyFileFromContainer(ctx, "/etc/nginx/nginx.conf")
content, _ := io.ReadAll(reader)

Volume Mounts

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "postgres:16",
    testcontainers.WithHostConfigModifier(func(hc *container.HostConfig) {
        // Bind mount
        hc.Binds = []string{
            "/host/data:/var/lib/postgresql/data",
        }

        // Named volume
        hc.Mounts = []mount.Mount{
            {
                Type:   mount.TypeVolume,
                Source: "pgdata",
                Target: "/var/lib/postgresql/data",
            },
        }
    }),
)

Temporary Filesystems

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithTmpfs(map[string]string{
        "/tmp":      "rw",
        "/app/temp": "rw,size=100m,mode=1777",
    }),
)

---

8. Wait Strategies

Wait strategies are critical for reliable tests. They ensure containers are fully ready before tests run, which is especially important in CI environments where timing can vary.

Best Practices:

• ✅ Always use wait.ForListeningPort() when exposing ports - This is the most reliable approach
• ✅ Choose appropriate wait strategies based on your service (HTTP health checks, log patterns, etc.)
• ❌ Never use time.Sleep() - This is an anti-pattern that leads to flaky tests
• ✅ Set reasonable timeouts to handle slow CI environments

Port-Based Waiting (Recommended for Exposed Ports)

import "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/wait"

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "postgres:16",
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForListeningPort("5432/tcp").
            WithStartupTimeout(30*time.Second).
            WithPollInterval(1*time.Second),
    ),
)

Log-Based Waiting

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "elasticsearch:8.7.0",
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForLog("started").
            WithStartupTimeout(60*time.Second).
            WithOccurrence(1),
    ),
)

HTTP-Based Waiting

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForHTTP("/health").
            WithPort("8080/tcp").
            WithStatusCodeMatcher(func(status int) bool {
                return status == 200
            }).
            WithStartupTimeout(30*time.Second),
    ),
)

SQL-Based Waiting

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "postgres:16",
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForSQL("5432/tcp", "postgres", func(host string, port nat.Port) string {
            return fmt.Sprintf("postgres://user:pass@%s:%s/db?sslmode=disable",
                host, port.Port())
        }).WithStartupTimeout(30*time.Second),
    ),
)

Multiple Wait Strategies

testcontainers.Run(
    ctx,
    "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForAll(
            wait.ForListeningPort("8080/tcp"),
            wait.ForLog("Application started"),
            wait.ForHTTP("/health"),
        ),
    ),
)

---

9. Troubleshooting

Check Docker Availability

func TestDockerConnection(t *testing.T) {
    testcontainers.SkipIfProviderIsNotHealthy(t)

    ctx := context.Background()
    cli, err := testcontainers.NewDockerClientWithOpts(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    info, err := cli.Info(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    t.Logf("Docker version: %s", info.ServerVersion)
    t.Logf("OS: %s", info.OperatingSystem)
}

Debug Container Logs

func TestWithLogging(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Method 1: Stream to stdout
    ctr, _ := testcontainers.Run(
        ctx,
        "myapp:latest",
        testcontainers.WithLogConsumers(
            &testcontainers.StdoutLogConsumer{},
        ),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)

    // Method 2: Read logs manually
    rc, _ := ctr.Logs(ctx)
    defer rc.Close()
    logs, _ := io.ReadAll(rc)
    t.Logf("Container logs:\n%s", string(logs))

    // Method 3: Inspect container
    info, _ := ctr.Inspect(ctx)
    t.Logf("Container state: %+v", info.State)
}

Common Issues

Issue: Container startup timeout

// Increase wait timeout
testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
    wait.ForListeningPort("5432/tcp").
        WithStartupTimeout(60*time.Second),  // Increase from default
)

// Check logs to see what's happening
testcontainers.WithLogConsumers(&testcontainers.StdoutLogConsumer{})

Issue: Port already in use

• Testcontainers auto-assigns random ports
• Don't manually specify host ports unless necessary
• Check for leaked containers: docker ps -a

Issue: Image pull failures

# Pull manually first to verify
docker pull postgres:16

# For private registries, login first
docker login registry.example.com
# Testcontainers will use credentials from ~/.docker/config.json

Issue: Container not cleaning up

// Verify Ryuk is running
docker ps | grep ryuk

// Check cleanup is registered correctly
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)  // Before error check!

Environment Variables for Debugging

# Enable Ryuk verbose logging
export RYUK_VERBOSE=true

# Adjust timeouts
export RYUK_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT=2m
export RYUK_RECONNECTION_TIMEOUT=30s

# Custom Docker socket
export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///var/run/docker.sock

# Registry prefix for private registry
export TESTCONTAINERS_HUB_IMAGE_NAME_PREFIX=private.registry.com

---

10. Shared Setup & Build Tags

Build Tags for Integration Tests

Separate integration tests from unit tests using Go build tags. This prevents integration tests from running during go test ./... unless explicitly opted in.

//go:build integration

package myapp_test

import (
    "context"
    "testing"

    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres"
)

func TestIntegrationWithPostgres(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine")
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Integration test logic...
}

Run integration tests explicitly:

# Run only integration tests
go test -tags=integration ./...

# Run only unit tests (default, no tag needed)
go test ./...

TestMain for Shared Container Setup

When multiple tests in a package need the same container, use TestMain to start the container once and share it across all tests. This drastically reduces test execution time.

package myapp_test

import (
    "context"
    "database/sql"
    "fmt"
    "os"
    "testing"

    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres"
)

var testDB *sql.DB

func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine",
        postgres.WithDatabase("testdb"),
    )
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "failed to start postgres: %s\n", err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }

    connStr, err := pgContainer.ConnectionString(ctx, "sslmode=disable")
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "failed to get connection string: %s\n", err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }

    testDB, err = sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    if err != nil {
        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "failed to open db: %s\n", err)
        os.Exit(1)
    }

    // Run tests
    code := m.Run()

    // Cleanup
    testDB.Close()
    testcontainers.TerminateContainer(pgContainer)

    os.Exit(code)
}

func TestCreateUser(t *testing.T) {
    // testDB is shared across all tests — no container startup delay
    _, err := testDB.Exec("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES ($1)", "Alice")
    require.NoError(t, err)
}

func TestGetUser(t *testing.T) {
    var name string
    err := testDB.QueryRow("SELECT name FROM users LIMIT 1").Scan(&name)
    require.NoError(t, err)
}

When to use TestMain vs per-test containers:

• TestMain: All tests in a package need the same service, test speed is important
• Per-test containers: Tests need different configurations, or test isolation is critical

---

11. CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: Integration Tests
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  integration-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: '1.24'
      - name: Run integration tests
        run: go test -tags=integration -v -timeout 10m ./...

Key CI considerations:

• Docker is pre-installed on GitHub Actions Ubuntu runners
• Increase test timeout (-timeout 10m) for container startup in CI
• Use -count=1 to disable test caching when debugging
• Consider -race flag for race condition detection

Environment Configuration for CI

// Detect CI environment and adjust timeouts
func getStartupTimeout() time.Duration {
    if os.Getenv("CI") != "" {
        return 120 * time.Second // Longer timeout in CI
    }
    return 30 * time.Second
}

// Use in wait strategy
testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
    wait.ForListeningPort("5432/tcp").
        WithStartupTimeout(getStartupTimeout()),
)

---

Anti-Patterns

Avoid these common mistakes when writing tests with Testcontainers.

❌ Using time.Sleep() for Synchronization

// WRONG: Flaky, slow, unreliable
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "postgres:16",
    testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("5432/tcp"),
)
time.Sleep(5 * time.Second) // DON'T DO THIS

// CORRECT: Use wait strategies
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "postgres:16",
    testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("5432/tcp"),
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForListeningPort("5432/tcp").
            WithStartupTimeout(30*time.Second),
    ),
)

❌ Checking Errors Before Registering Cleanup

// WRONG: Resource leak if Run succeeds but error is non-nil
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
require.NoError(t, err)                   // If this panics...
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)   // ...cleanup never runs

// CORRECT: Always register cleanup first
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "nginx:alpine")
testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr)   // Register cleanup immediately
require.NoError(t, err)                   // Then check error

❌ Using Generic Containers When a Module Exists

// WRONG: Reinventing the wheel
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine",
    testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("5432/tcp"),
    testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
        "POSTGRES_USER":     "user",
        "POSTGRES_PASSWORD": "pass",
        "POSTGRES_DB":       "mydb",
    }),
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForLog("database system is ready to accept connections").
            WithOccurrence(2),
    ),
)

// CORRECT: Use the PostgreSQL module
pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(ctx, "postgres:16-alpine",
    postgres.WithDatabase("mydb"),
    postgres.WithUsername("user"),
    postgres.WithPassword("pass"),
)

❌ Hardcoding Ports

// WRONG: Port conflicts, breaks in CI
host, _ := ctr.Host(ctx)
url := fmt.Sprintf("http://%s:8080/api", host) // Hardcoded port!

// CORRECT: Use mapped ports
endpoint, err := ctr.Endpoint(ctx, "http")
url := fmt.Sprintf("%s/api", endpoint) // Uses dynamically assigned port

❌ Missing Wait Strategy for Exposed Ports

// WRONG: Container may not be ready when tests start
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("8080/tcp"),
    // No wait strategy!
)

// CORRECT: Always add a wait strategy when exposing ports
ctr, err := testcontainers.Run(ctx, "myapp:latest",
    testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("8080/tcp"),
    testcontainers.WithWaitStrategy(
        wait.ForListeningPort("8080/tcp").
            WithStartupTimeout(30*time.Second),
    ),
)

---

Validation Checklist

After writing a test with Testcontainers, verify these items:

• Cleanup registered before error check — CleanupContainer(t, ctr) appears before require.NoError(t, err)
• Module used when available — Not using generic container for a service that has a module
• Wait strategy present — Every WithExposedPorts() has a corresponding WithWaitStrategy() (or the module provides one)
• No time.Sleep() for synchronization — Wait strategies used instead
• No hardcoded ports — Using MappedPort() or Endpoint() for dynamically assigned ports
• Proper imports — All required packages imported (module, wait, network, etc.)
• Context passed — context.Background() created and passed to container operations
• Resources closed — Database connections, Redis clients, etc. are closed with defer
• Build tags used (optional) — //go:build integration tag for integration test files
• Test compiles — Run go vet ./... and go build ./... to catch issues early

---

Examples

Example 1: PostgreSQL Integration Test

package myapp_test

import (
    "context"
    "database/sql"
    "testing"

    _ "github.com/lib/pq"
    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres"
)

func TestUserRepository(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Start PostgreSQL container
    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(
        ctx,
        "postgres:16-alpine",
        postgres.WithDatabase("testdb"),
        postgres.WithUsername("testuser"),
        postgres.WithPassword("testpass"),
        postgres.WithInitScripts("./testdata/schema.sql"),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get connection string
    connStr, err := pgContainer.ConnectionString(ctx, "sslmode=disable")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Connect to database
    db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
    require.NoError(t, err)
    defer db.Close()

    // Test your repository
    repo := NewUserRepository(db)

    t.Run("CreateUser", func(t *testing.T) {
        user := &User{Name: "Alice", Email: "alice@example.com"}
        err := repo.Create(user)
        require.NoError(t, err)
        require.NotZero(t, user.ID)
    })

    t.Run("GetUser", func(t *testing.T) {
        user, err := repo.GetByEmail("alice@example.com")
        require.NoError(t, err)
        require.Equal(t, "Alice", user.Name)
    })
}

Example 2: Redis Cache Test

package cache_test

import (
    "context"
    "testing"
    "time"

    "github.com/redis/go-redis/v9"
    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/redis"
)

func TestRedisCache(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Start Redis container
    redisContainer, err := redis.Run(
        ctx,
        "redis:7-alpine",
        redis.WithSnapshotting(10, 1),
        redis.WithLogLevel(redis.LogLevelVerbose),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, redisContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get connection string
    connStr, err := redisContainer.ConnectionString(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Connect to Redis
    opt, err := redis.ParseURL(connStr)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    client := redis.NewClient(opt)
    defer client.Close()

    // Test cache operations
    t.Run("SetAndGet", func(t *testing.T) {
        err := client.Set(ctx, "key1", "value1", time.Minute).Err()
        require.NoError(t, err)

        val, err := client.Get(ctx, "key1").Result()
        require.NoError(t, err)
        require.Equal(t, "value1", val)
    })

    t.Run("Expiration", func(t *testing.T) {
        err := client.Set(ctx, "key2", "value2", time.Second).Err()
        require.NoError(t, err)

        time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)

        _, err = client.Get(ctx, "key2").Result()
        require.Equal(t, redis.Nil, err)
    })
}

Example 3: Kafka Producer/Consumer Test

package messaging_test

import (
    "context"
    "testing"
    "time"

    "github.com/segmentio/kafka-go"
    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/kafka"
)

func TestKafkaMessaging(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Start Kafka container
    kafkaContainer, err := kafka.Run(
        ctx,
        "confluentinc/confluent-local:7.5.0",
        kafka.WithClusterID("test-cluster"),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, kafkaContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get bootstrap servers
    brokers, err := kafkaContainer.Brokers(ctx)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    topic := "test-topic"

    // Create producer
    writer := kafka.NewWriter(kafka.WriterConfig{
        Brokers: brokers,
        Topic:   topic,
    })
    defer writer.Close()

    // Create consumer
    reader := kafka.NewReader(kafka.ReaderConfig{
        Brokers: brokers,
        Topic:   topic,
        GroupID: "test-group",
    })
    defer reader.Close()

    // Test message flow
    t.Run("ProduceAndConsume", func(t *testing.T) {
        // Produce message
        err := writer.WriteMessages(ctx, kafka.Message{
            Key:   []byte("key1"),
            Value: []byte("Hello, Kafka!"),
        })
        require.NoError(t, err)

        // Consume message
        msg, err := reader.ReadMessage(ctx)
        require.NoError(t, err)
        require.Equal(t, "Hello, Kafka!", string(msg.Value))
    })
}

Example 4: Multi-Container Application Stack

package integration_test

import (
    "context"
    "net/http"
    "testing"

    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/redis"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/network"
)

func TestFullStack(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Create custom network
    nw, err := network.New(ctx)
    testcontainers.CleanupNetwork(t, nw)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Start PostgreSQL
    pgContainer, err := postgres.Run(
        ctx,
        "postgres:16-alpine",
        network.WithNetwork([]string{"database"}, nw),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, pgContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Start Redis
    redisContainer, err := redis.Run(
        ctx,
        "redis:7-alpine",
        network.WithNetwork([]string{"cache"}, nw),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, redisContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Start application
    appContainer, err := testcontainers.Run(
        ctx,
        "myapp:latest",
        testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
            "DB_HOST":    "database",
            "DB_PORT":    "5432",
            "REDIS_HOST": "cache",
            "REDIS_PORT": "6379",
        }),
        testcontainers.WithExposedPorts("8080/tcp"),
        network.WithNetwork([]string{"app"}, nw),
    )
    testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, appContainer)
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get application endpoint
    endpoint, err := appContainer.Endpoint(ctx, "http")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Test application
    resp, err := http.Get(endpoint + "/health")
    require.NoError(t, err)
    require.Equal(t, 200, resp.StatusCode)
}

Example 5: Docker Compose Stack

package compose_test

import (
    "context"
    "testing"

    "github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
    "github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/compose"
)

func TestComposeStack(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := context.Background()

    // Start services from docker-compose.yml
    composeStack, err := compose.NewDockerCompose("./docker-compose.yml")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    t.Cleanup(func() {
        if err := composeStack.Down(ctx); err != nil {
            t.Fatalf("failed to down compose stack: %v", err)
        }
    })

    err = composeStack.Up(ctx, compose.Wait(true))
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Get service container
    webContainer, err := composeStack.ServiceContainer(ctx, "web")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Test service
    endpoint, err := webContainer.Endpoint(ctx, "http")
    require.NoError(t, err)

    // Run tests against the stack...
}

---

Best Practices

1. Always use pre-configured modules when available - They provide sensible defaults and helper methods
2. Register cleanup immediately - Call testcontainers.CleanupContainer(t, ctr) before checking errors
3. Always add wait strategies when exposing ports - Use wait.ForListeningPort() to ensure reliability, especially in CI. Never use time.Sleep() - it's an anti-pattern that causes flaky tests
4. Choose appropriate wait strategies - Use wait.ForHTTP() for health endpoints, wait.ForLog() for log patterns, or wait.ForListeningPort() for port availability
5. Leverage table-driven tests - Test against multiple versions or configurations
6. Use custom networks - For multi-container communication
7. Keep containers ephemeral - Don't rely on state between tests
8. Check Docker availability - Use testcontainers.SkipIfProviderIsNotHealthy(t)
9. Enable parallel execution - Use t.Parallel() for faster test suites
10. Use module helper methods - E.g., ConnectionString(), Snapshot(), Restore()
11. Debug with logs - Use WithLogConsumers() when troubleshooting

---

Additional Resources

• Official Documentation: https://golang.testcontainers.org/
• Available Modules: https://testcontainers.com/modules/?language=go (complete, up-to-date list)
• Module Documentation: https://golang.testcontainers.org/modules/ (online docs for each module)
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go
• Module Examples: Check modules/*/examples_test.go files in the GitHub repository
• Community Slack: testcontainers.slack.com