LittleDarwin vs Mutineer
LittleDarwin
aliparsai.github.ioMutineer
github.comSide by side
| Figure | LittleDarwin | Mutineer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Mutation Testing Tools | 8.3 (#4) | 6.5 (#24) |
| License | The project is free software under the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later. | The project is published under the MIT license. |
| Purpose | LittleDarwin generates mutants of Java source code and runs a build command to check whether the test suite detects them. | Mutineer is a mutation testing framework for JavaScript and TypeScript that changes source code and runs existing tests to reveal defects the tests miss. |
| Reports | A full analysis generates a report in the `LittleDarwinResults` directory. | The CLI supports text and JSON reports, with JSON written to mutineer-report.json. |
Plans
In their own words
LittleDarwin
LittleDarwin is a Java mutation testing framework written in Python, available for Linux. It generates altered versions, or mutants, of Java source code, then runs a configured build command for each mutant to check whether the test suite detects the change. Its analysis has a mutation phase and a build phase, where each build is checked for success or failure. Users can select null-check or method-level mutation operators, or use all operators. The --higher-order option sets the mutation order, and the guide demonstrates second-order mutants. Project settings include a test project path and test command, build command, working directory, initial build command, cleanup commands, and build timeout. A Maven example runs `mvn clean test` for each mutant. Whitelist filters restrict analysis to selected packages or files, while blacklist filters exclude them. Generated mutants and full-analysis reports go into a LittleDarwinResults directory, and surviving mutants are reported. Installation uses pip, followed by running LittleDarwin as a Python module. The project is free under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later and is supported through donations.