rust-lang / rust-lang/rust-clippy
`tests_outside_test_module` is triggered when using "complex" `cfg` attributes
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Description
Summary
Using a "complex" cfg attribute like #[cfg(all(test))] on a module that contains a function with the test attribute causes tests_outside_test_module to incorrectly fire. In my case I know the tests in the module will panic due to OOM when using a 16-bit architecture since more than i16::MAX bytes is needed, so my actual example was using #[cfg(all(test, not(target_pointer_width = "16")))].
Lint Name
tests_outside_test_module
Reproducer
I tried this code:
#[deny(clippy::tests_outside_test_module, reason = "example")]
#[expect(clippy::non_minimal_cfg, reason = "example")]
#[cfg(all(test))]
mod tests {
#[test]
fn foo() {}
}
I saw this happen:
error: this function marked with #[test] is outside a #[cfg(test)] module
--> src/lib.rs:6:5
|
6 | fn foo() {}
| ^^^^^^^^^^^
|
= note: move it to a testing module marked with #[cfg(test)]
= help: for further information visit https://rust-lang.github.io/rust-clippy/rust-1.93.0/index.html#tests_outside_test_module
= note: example
note: the lint level is defined here
--> src/lib.rs:1:8
|
1 | #[deny(clippy::tests_outside_test_module, reason = "example")]
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
error: could not compile `example` (lib test) due to 1 previous error
I expected to see this happen: no lints to fire
Version
rustc 1.93.0 (254b59607 2026-01-19)
binary: rustc
commit-hash: 254b59607d4417e9dffbc307138ae5c86280fe4c
commit-date: 2026-01-19
host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
release: 1.93.0
LLVM version: 21.1.8
Additional Labels
No response
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the tests_outside_test_module lint and reproduce the report's src/lib.rs example using #[cfg(all(test))] and the nested #[test] function. Compare the lint's handling of simple and complex cfg attributes; done means the reproducer emits no lint while the lint still catches genuinely unguarded test functions.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- testing-qa
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100