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When should I use a TestRunner in Business Central AL?

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Posted on by SR-19090744-0

I have a question about TestRunner usage in Business Central AL.

I know that test codeunits can be executed through the Test Tool. But where and when do you use a TestRunner codeunit?

I understand that it can be called with Codeunit.Run, but I am not sure in which scenarios this is actually needed.

Is a TestRunner mainly for automation, for example in pipelines or custom execution flows, or does it also have a purpose during normal development?

In short: When should I use a TestRunner instead of just running test codeunits directly in the Test Tool?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Dynamics 365 Business Central

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Gerardo Rentería Ga... 25,975 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi, good day
I hope this can help you, and give you some hints.

al test runner – James Pearson

Use Test Runner app to test your app and mock your outbound API calls - Business Central Musings

Best Regards
Gerardo

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YUN ZHU 99,611 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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In the latest version, you can run tests while developing.

Business Central 2026 release wave 1 (BC28): Run AL tests from Visual Studio Code (Test codeunits and test methods)

https://yzhums.com/72045/

Thanks.

ZHU

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Khushbu Rajvi. 22,283 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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It acts as the execution engine that runs your test cases and manages how they are executed.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/developer/devenv-testrunner-codeunits

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OussamaSabbouh 13,852 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

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Hello ,

Use a TestRunner only when you need to orchestrate tests, not just run them. For normal development, the Test Tool (and now also VS Code test execution) is usually enough for running/debugging test codeunits directly. A TestRunner becomes useful when you want custom behavior around the run itself, like choosing and ordering test codeunits, doing setup/cleanup with OnBeforeTestRun and OnAfterTestRun, capturing/logging results, controlling rollback/isolation with TestIsolation, or integrating with automation/unattended execution such as pipelines. So in practice: manual dev work = Test Tool/VS Code, custom flow or automation = TestRunner.

Regards,
Oussama Sabbouh

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