How to control test class execution order in JUnit 5 suites?

[abhiramreddy1818]

How to control test class execution order in JUnit 5 suites?**

I'm organizing my tests using JUnit 5's @Suite and @SelectClasses but need to control the execution sequence of the test classes. According to the documentation, @SelectClasses doesn't guarantee execution order, but I have a specific sequence requirement for my test pipeline.

Here's my current suite setup:

import org.junit.platform.suite.api.SelectClasses;
import org.junit.platform.suite.api.Suite;

@Suite
@SelectClasses({
    Test1.class,        // Should run FIRST
    Suite1.class,       // Should run after Test1 but before Test2
    Suite2.class,       
    Suite3.class,       
    Test2.class         // Should run LAST
})
public class SuiteA {
}

The subordinate suites look like:

@Suite
@SelectClasses({TestXxx.class, SuiteXxx.class})
public class Suite1 {
}

My test dependencies require that:

• Test1 executes first (initial setup and validation)
• Suite1, Suite2, Suite3 execute in between (main test batches)
• Test2 executes last (cleanup and final verification)

What I've tried/researched:

• I know about @TestMethodOrder for ordering methods within a class, but I need class-level ordering across the suite
• I've looked at @Suite documentation but didn't find explicit ordering controls
• I considered separate suites but need this specific sequence in a single execution

Question:
What is the standard JUnit 5 approach to enforce test class execution order within a suite? If declarative ordering isn't supported, what are the recommended patterns or workarounds to achieve this test sequence?

I'm using JUnit 5.8+/Jupiter with the junit-platform-suite engine.

[marcphilipp]

That's currently not possible since Test1/Test2 and Suite1/Suite2/Suite3 are executed by different engines.

If you're looking for a lifecycle hook to run some code before the first test in the suite (or after the last), have you considered using @BeforeSuite (and @AfterSuite) methods instead? The were introduced in junit-platform-suite-api 1.11.

[abhiramreddy1818]

That's currently not possible since Test1/Test2 and Suite1/Suite2/Suite3 are executed by different engines.

If you're looking for a lifecycle hook to run some code before the first test in the suite (or after the last), have you considered using @BeforeSuite (and @AfterSuite) methods instead? The were introduced in junit-platform-suite-api 1.11.

Thanks, @marcphilipp. That makes sense.

I can move the setup and cleanup logic from Test1 and Test2 into @BeforeSuite and @AfterSuite.

However, both Test1 and Test2 rely on multiple extensions (via @ExtendWith). Since @ExtendWith isn’t supported at the suite level, I’d have to manually move or re-implement that extension logic inside the @BeforeSuite and @AfterSuite methods, which complicates things.

It would be really helpful if future versions of JUnit 5 supported @ExtendWith (or similar extension registration) at the suite level.

Our organization uses a large number of tests with heavy pre- and post-test setups that worked seamlessly in JUnit 4. During migration to JUnit 5, we’re facing significant issues because of this limitation.

Could you please consider adding this capability or plan it for a future release? It would make migration smoother for many teams using complex test pipelines.

[marcphilipp]

Where is this ordering requirement coming from? Is it only due to certain test classes requiring certain setup/teardown logic? Assuming your tests are all written using JUnit Jupiter, I think you might not even need the Suite engine, but use the lazy resource creation pattern from the User Guide (see HttpServerExtension). Each test class/method could then get the resources it needs injected and the Jupiter engine would take care of cleaning up after all of them are done.