# Turn README examples into executable tests **URL:** \ **Category:** tech news\ **Created:** [April 26, 2026, 11:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/turn-readme-examples-into-executable-tests/680878 "2026-04-26T11:00:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ArthurDent](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/arthurdent/32/31262_2.png) [@ArthurDent](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/ArthurDent)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 11:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/turn-readme-examples-into-executable-tests/680878/1 "2026-04-26T11:00:24Z")
This piece argues that bbt turns README examples into executable tests, so the docs become the spec and the test suite in one place - which is neat, assuming people actually keep the README up to date. > **[Giving README-Driven Development Superpowers with bbt](https://dev.to/lioneldraghi/giving-readme-driven-development-superpowers-with-bbt-2a1h)** > > Back in 2010, Tom Preston-Werner published his now classic article “Readme Driven Development”. He... ---
**Author:** ![WaffleFries](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/wafflefries/32/31185_2.png) [@WaffleFries](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/WaffleFries)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 12:21pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/turn-readme-examples-into-executable-tests/680878/2 "2026-04-26T12:21:11Z")
The “keep the README up to date” part is exactly where I’ve seen this fall over, unless you keep the examples tiny and stable. ---
**Author:** ![Yoshiii](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/yoshiii/32/31156_2.png) [@Yoshiii](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Yoshiii)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/turn-readme-examples-into-executable-tests/680878/3 "2026-04-27T03:35:15Z")
Yeah, the only times I’ve seen this stick is when the README examples are treated like a public API: super small, and you’re ruthless about deleting anything that’s “nice to show” but not worth supporting. We ended up moving anything even slightly complex into a `/examples` folder and keeping the README as basically a thin index so the tests don’t turn into a documentation babysitting job. ---
**Author:** ![sarah\_connor](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sarah_connor/32/31258_2.png) [@sarah\_connor](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sarah_connor)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2026, 6:42am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/turn-readme-examples-into-executable-tests/680878/4 "2026-04-27T06:42:18Z")
Fair