Rails 2.3 tests can fail with NoMethodError: undefined method 'cache' for Gem:Module when used with newer RubyGems; downgrading RubyGems restores generator lookup behavior.

Linux screen reader testing can be noisy and hard to inspect; capturing Orca speech in real time makes spoken output readable during accessibility checks.

Uploaded test files can linger after Cucumber feature runs; placing cleanup code in features/support/ removes them automatically.

Accessing state hidden in JavaScript closures can simplify tests and let Jasmine spies mock private methods or inspect local variables.

Cucumber steps can verify that a form select contains or excludes a specific option, without checking the currently selected value.

Hidden form inputs are ignored by default in Capybara, causing find_field to fail unless type: :hidden is specified. This helps when tests must wait for JavaScript widgets to populate a field value.

Default Rails generators create different combinations of models, controllers, migrations, routes, views, and tests, helping choose the right generator from the command line.

size is usually the right way to count associated records in Rails; count can ignore loaded children, while length loads everything.

Pending RSpec examples need a failing body; otherwise a passing pending example is treated as a failure. Omit the body, add fail, or skip with xit/xdescribe.

RCov defaults fail to aggregate RSpec and Cucumber coverage cleanly; a custom rake rcov:all task produces a Rails report for app/**/*.rb only.

RSpec 3 deprecates :should expectations, causing warnings in older test suites and gems that need backward compatibility. RSpec.configure can re-enable both syntax styles.

MiniTest deprecation warnings in Rails 4 often come from older test gems using the outdated API; adding minitest can silence one warning, but some require gem updates.

Pending AJAX requests can die when a Capybara test ends or switches scenarios, causing flaky JavaScript specs. Waiting for the page to load helps avoid the failure.

Thin prints startup messages that clutter parallel test output. Logging can be silenced with Thin::Logging.silent = true or redirected to a custom logger.

Pagination tests in Cucumber often need fewer records than the default will_paginate page size. Stubbing per_page per model keeps feature scenarios small.

Flaky specs often come from brittle matchers, nondeterministic record limits, and UI components that load or animate asynchronously.

Run only modified or new Cucumber feature files from git status, reducing test time by avoiding unchanged specs.

Freezing Firefox versions for broken Selenium tests is a poor long-term fix because old releases stop receiving security patches. Auto-update can be disabled via about:config, but keeping Firefox current is safer.

RSpec tests are easier to maintain with clearer structure and disciplined style, but recommendations still need judgment; the Self-Contained Test is a complementary approach.

Capybara request helpers can send non-GET actions for destructive tests, letting RackTest and Selenium submit DELETE requests instead of only visiting pages.

Geordi 5.4.0 adds geordi branch, MySQL dump speedups, Pivotal Tracker ID support in global config, and fixes for dump load requirements and test processor documentation.

Cucumber step for HTTP basic auth in Capybara, Rack::Test, or Selenium when visiting protected admin pages via path_to.

Unicode character class escapes let JavaScript regular expressions match letters, numbers, and symbols beyond ASCII, making password checks work with umlauts and non-Latin digits.