TestBox 7: Real-Time Feedback, a Browser-Based IDE, and Modern Testing Workflows on the JVM

TestBox 7.x focuses on improving testing workflows for BoxLang and CFML applications. This release introduces improvements to the BoxLang CLI runner , real-time streaming test execution via SSE , dry run capabilities, a browser-based TestBox RUN interface, and several developer experience enhancements.

Check out the what’s new here: https://testbox.ortusbooks.com/readme/release-history/whats-new-with-7.0.0

TestBox RUN: A Browser IDE for Your Tests

The centerpiece of TestBox 7 is TestBox RUN : a self-hosted, single-page web app (bx/tests/index.bxm) that you drop into any BoxLang project and open in a browser. No build toolchain. No external service. Just BoxLang.

It communicates with your existing runner.bxm or runner.cfm endpoints and streams spec results in real time via Server-Sent Events. Results appear in the test tree as each spec finishes, green for passing, red for failures, with full error messages; long before the full suite completes.

What You GetWhat You Get

• Real-time streaming test tree — live updates per spec, not per suite
• Dark / Light theme with localStorage persistence

• Live search + status filters — filter by bundle, suite, or spec name; chips for Passed / Failed / Errored / Skipped

• Per-bundle Run button — re-run a single bundle without touching the rest

• Debug Buffer Panel — captured TestBox debug output surfaced per-bundle

• Floating progress widget — current bundle, specs completed vs. total, animated progress bar

• Configurable settings — runner URL, directory, bundle pattern, labels, excludes — all saved in localStorage

Every setting is also overridable via URL query params, making CI integration clean:

/tests/?directory=tests.specs.integration&labels=slow&runnerUrl=/tests/runner.bxm

Keyboard Shortcuts

Getting Started

TestBox RUN ships automatically with every TestBox 7 install under bx/tests/. ColdBox apps generated via the ColdBox CLI include it out of the box. For new projects:

testbox generate harness --help

Note: TestBox RUN requires a running web server and a runner.bxm`` endpoint with SSE support via BoxLang. For pure CLI apps, use the BoxLang runner with ``--stream (see below).

Coming Soon: TestBox RUN Desktop App

We’re actively building a native desktop app version of TestBox RUN on the BoxLang Desktop Runtime — connect to any local or remote runner URL and get the same streaming UI without a browser. Watch testbox.run for early access.

Streaming Test Execution via SSE

TestBox 7 ships a brand-new StreamingRunner that pushes each spec result to the client the moment it completes, rather than buffering the entire suite.

StreamingRunner (Programmatic)StreamingRunner (Programmatic)

component {
    function streamTests( event, rc, prc ) {
        event.setHTTPHeader( name="Content-Type", value="text/event-stream" );
        event.setHTTPHeader( name="Cache-Control", value="no-cache" );

        new testbox.system.runners.StreamingRunner(
            bundles  = "tests.specs",
            options  = {},
            reporter = "text"
        ).run();
    }
}

BoxLang CLI --stream Flag

The BoxLang CLI runner gets native streaming support:

./testbox/run --stream
./testbox/run --directory=tests.specs --stream

This is especially useful in CI pipelines where live progress matters more than waiting for a buffered final report.

Dry Run & Spec Discovery

Two long-requested features land in TestBox 7: spec discovery and dry run mode. Audit exactly what would run before committing to a full suite execution.

Runner Dry Run

If you call the runner.bxm|cfm with a ?dryRun=true it will return back to you a JSON representation of what the test executions would look like.

Programmatic Dry Run

var tb      = new testbox.system.TestBox( bundles = "tests.specs" );
var results = tb.dryRun();

CLI Dry Run

./testbox/run --dry-run

Lists every suite and spec that would execute, with labels and skip reasons — perfect for coverage audits and CI test inventory reporting.

JSON Output

Need to feed results into another tool?

./testbox/run --dry-run=json
./testbox/run --dry-run=json --bundles=tests.specs.MySpec | jq .

Dry run respects all the same filters as a normal run: --labels, --bundles, --directory, --testSuites, --testSpecs.

BoxLang CLI Runner — New Power Options

The BoxLang runner gets a substantial set of new flags for fine-grained control over output, failures, and performance analysis.

Focus on Failures

./testbox/run --show-failed-only

Stack Trace Control

./testbox/run --stacktrace=short   # condensed (default)
./testbox/run --stacktrace=full    # complete Java/BoxLang trace

Output & Performance Flags

# Suppress passing or skipped specs
./testbox/run --show-passed=false
./testbox/run --show-skipped=false

# Abort after N failures
./testbox/run --max-failures=10

# Flag slow specs
./testbox/run --slow-threshold-ms=500

# Report the N slowest specs at the end
./testbox/run --top-slowest=5

Combine them for a tight CI workflow:

./testbox/run --show-failed-only --stacktrace=short --max-failures=5 --top-slowest=3

Application Mappings Auto-Load (TESTBOX-440)

The BoxLang runner now automatically loads Application.bx mappings from your project root before running tests. Custom path mappings, datasources, and settings are available to your specs with zero extra configuration — bringing the CLI experience much closer to a full web server environment.

Other Notable Improvements

ConsoleReporter — Hide Skipped Tests (TESTBOX-433)

Stop noisy skipped-spec output when you have many pending specs:

var testbox = new testbox.system.TestBox(
    bundles  = "tests.specs",
    reporter = {
        type    : "testbox.system.reports.ConsoleReporter",
        options : { hideSkipped : true }
    }
);

Or from the CLI: --show-skipped=false

Suite Filtering Fixes (TESTBOX-435)

Direct suite name matching is now reliable at any nesting depth. If a suite’s name exactly matches testSuites, it always runs — no more surprises with nested suites getting skipped.

./testbox/run --testSuites="My Integration Suite"

TestBox CLI Updates (v1.8.0)

The testbox-cli CommandBox module hits 1.8.0 with two new commands:

# Show installed version, path, and project config
testbox info

# Force a clean reinstall of the CLI module
testbox reinstall

Streaming is also available via the CLI:

testbox run --streaming
testbox run --streaming --verbose   # include passing specs in live output

Engine Support

Adobe 2021 is no longer supported. Upgrade to Adobe 2023+ or migrate to BoxLang.

Upgrade Now

TestBox 7 is available today via CommandBox:

box install testbox

Or pin to 7.x:

box install testbox@^7.0.0

Full release notes and issue links are in the TestBox documentation . As always, file bugs and feature requests in our JIRA . You can also check out the what’s new guide here: https://testbox.ortusbooks.com/readme/release-history/whats-new-with-7.0.0