---
title: JUnit 4
description: Learn how to integrate Allure with JUnit 4 to generate rich, interactive test reports. Follow step-by-step setup, test execution, and report generation guidance.
---
# Getting started with Allure JUnit 4
[](https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/io.qameta.allure/allure-junit4)
Generate beautiful HTML reports using [Allure Report](https://allurereport.org/) and your [JUnit 4](https://junit.org/junit4/) tests.
Info:
Check out the example projects at [github.com/allure-examples](https://github.com/orgs/allure-examples/repositories?q=visibility%3Apublic+archived%3Afalse+topic%3Aexample+topic%3Ajunit4+-topic%3Acucumber) to see Allure JUnit 4 in action.
## Setting up
To integrate [Allure](https://allurereport.org) into an existing **JUnit 4** project, you need to:
1. Add Allure dependencies to your project.
1. Set up AspectJ.
1. Designate a location for Allure results storage.
### Add Allure dependencies
**Maven:**
```xml
2.25.0
io.qameta.allure
allure-bom
${allure.version}
pom
import
io.qameta.allure
allure-junit4
test
```
**Gradle (Kotlin):**
```kts
// Define the version of Allure you want to use via the allureVersion property
val allureVersion = "2.25.0"
// ...
dependencies {
// Import allure-bom to ensure correct versions of all the dependencies are used
testImplementation(platform("io.qameta.allure:allure-bom:$allureVersion"))
// Add necessary Allure dependencies to dependencies section
testImplementation("io.qameta.allure:allure-junit4")
}
```
**Gradle (Groovy):**
```groovy
// Define the version of Allure you want to use via the allureVersion property
def allureVersion = "2.25.0"
dependencies {
// Import allure-bom to ensure correct versions of all the dependencies are used
testImplementation platform("io.qameta.allure:allure-bom:$allureVersion")
// Add necessary Allure dependencies to dependencies section
testImplementation "io.qameta.allure:allure-junit4"
}
```
### Configure AspectJ
AspectJ is required for registering Allure JUnit 4 as a listener for events that occur during the test execution. Additionally, Allure and some other frameworks (such as [allure-assertj](https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/io.qameta.allure/allure-assertj)) leverage AspectJ for various integrations, including the `@Step` and `@Attachment` annotations.
**Maven:**
```xml
1.9.21
org.apache.maven.plugins
maven-surefire-plugin
3.2.3
false
-Dfile.encoding=${project.build.sourceEncoding}
-javaagent:"${settings.localRepository}/org/aspectj/aspectjweaver/${aspectj.version}/aspectjweaver-${aspectj.version}.jar"
listener
io.qameta.allure.junit4.AllureJunit4
org.aspectj
aspectjweaver
${aspectj.version}
io.qameta.allure
allure-junit4-aspect
test
```
**Gradle (Kotlin):**
```kts
// Define the version of AspectJ
val aspectJVersion = "1.9.21"
// Define configuration for AspectJ agent
val agent: Configuration by configurations.creating {
isCanBeConsumed = true
isCanBeResolved = true
}
dependencies {
// Add aspectjweaver dependency
agent("org.aspectj:aspectjweaver:${aspectJVersion}")
// Add AspectJ integration for Allure
testImplementation("io.qameta.allure:allure-junit4-aspect")
}
// Configure javaagent for test execution
tasks.test {
useJUnit()
jvmArgs = listOf(
"-javaagent:${agent.singleFile}"
)
}
```
**Gradle (Groovy):**
```groovy
// Define the version of AspectJ
def aspectJVersion = '1.9.21'
// Define configuration for AspectJ agent
configurations {
agent {
canBeResolved = true
canBeConsumed = true
}
}
dependencies {
// Add aspectjweaver dependency
agent "org.aspectj:aspectjweaver:$aspectJVersion"
// Add AspectJ integration for Allure
testImplementation "io.qameta.allure:allure-junit4-aspect"
}
// Configure javaagent for test execution
test {
useJUnit()
jvmArgs = [ "-javaagent:${configurations.agent.singleFile}" ]
}
```
### Specifying Allure Results location
Allure, by default, saves test results in the project's root directory.
However, it is recommended to store your test results in the build output directory.
To configure this, create an `allure.properties` file and place it in the test resources directory of
your project, which is typically located at `src/test/resources`:
**Maven:**
```properties
allure.results.directory=target/allure-results
```
**Gradle (Kotlin):**
```properties
allure.results.directory=build/allure-results
```
**Gradle (Groovy):**
```properties
allure.results.directory=build/allure-results
```
### Run tests
Run your JUnit 4 tests the same way as you would run them usually. For example:
For Gradle:
**MacOS/Linux:**
```bash
./gradlew test
```
**Windows:**
```bash
gradlew test
```
For Maven:
**MacOS/Linux:**
```bash
./mvnw verify
```
**Windows:**
```bash
mvnw verify
```
After running the tests, Allure will gather the test execution data and store it in the `allure-results` directory.
You can then generate an HTML report from these results using Allure's reporting tools.
### Generate a report
Finally, convert the test results into an HTML report. This can be done by one of two commands:
- `allure generate` processes the test results and saves an HTML report into the `allure-report` directory. To view the report, use the `allure open` command.
- `allure serve` creates the same report as `allure generate`, then automatically opens the main page of the report in a web browser.
## Writing tests
The Allure JUnit 4 integration not only collects the data provided by JUnit 4's standard features, but also provides additional features for writing even better tests. This section lists the most notable ways to improve your tests, using both JUnit 4's and Allure JUnit 4's features.
With Allure JUnit 4, you can:
- provide [description, links and other metadata](#specify-description-links-and-other-metadata),
- [organize tests](#organize-tests) into hierarchies,
- divide the test into smaller, easier-to-read [test steps](#divide-a-test-into-steps),
- describe parameters used when running [parametrized tests](#describe-parametrized-tests),
- make the test save [screenshots and other files](#attach-screenshots-and-other-files) during execution,
- [select which tests to run](#select-tests-via-a-test-plan-file) via a test plan file,
- provide arbitrary [environment information](#environment-information) for the whole test report.
### Specify description, links and other metadata
There is a lot of [metadata](/docs/v2/readability/#description-links-and-other-metadata) you can add to each test so that it would appear in the report. See the [reference](/docs/junit4-reference/#metadata) for more details.
For each of the metadata fields, there are two ways to assign it: via an annotation before a test method or via a method call inside a test method's body. The second way is called “dynamic”, because it allows you to construct strings and other values at runtime before passing to the methods. Note, however, that it is highly recommended to assign all metadata as early as possible. Otherwise, there is a risk of the test failing before having all metadata set, which is bad for the test report's readability.
**Annotations API:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Description;
import io.qameta.allure.Issue;
import io.qameta.allure.Link;
import io.qameta.allure.Owner;
import io.qameta.allure.Severity;
import io.qameta.allure.TmsLink;
import io.qameta.allure.junit4.DisplayName;
import org.junit.Test;
import static io.qameta.allure.SeverityLevel.*;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
@DisplayName("Test Authentication")
@Description("This test attempts to log into the website using a login and a password. Fails if any error happens.\n\nNote that this test does not test 2-Factor Authentication.")
@Severity(CRITICAL)
@Owner("John Doe")
@Link(name = "Website", url = "https://dev.example.com/")
@Issue("AUTH-123")
@TmsLink("TMS-456")
public void testAuthentication() {
// ...
}
}
```
**Runtime API:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import org.junit.Test;
import static io.qameta.allure.SeverityLevel.*;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
public void testAuthentication() {
Allure.getLifecycle().updateTestCase(result -> result.setName("Test Authentication"));
Allure.description("This test attempts to log into the website using a login and a password. Fails if any error happens.\n\nNote that this test does not test 2-Factor Authentication.");
Allure.label("severity", "critical");
Allure.label("owner", "John Doe");
Allure.link("Website", "https://dev.example.com/");
Allure.issue("AUTH-123", "https://example.com/issues/AUTH-123");
Allure.tms("TMS-456", "https://example.com/tms/TMS-456");
// ...
}
}
```
### Organize tests
As described in [Improving navigation in your test report](/docs/v2/navigation/), Allure supports multiple ways to organize tests into hierarchical structures. Allure JUnit 4 provides functions to assign the relevant fields to tests either by adding annotations or “dynamically” (same as for the [metadata fields](#specify-description-links-and-other-metadata)).
To specify a test's location in the [behavior-based hierarchy](/docs/v2/navigation/#behavior-based-hierarchy):
**Annotations API:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Epic;
import io.qameta.allure.Feature;
import io.qameta.allure.Story;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
@Epic("Web interface")
@Feature("Essential features")
@Story("Authentication")
public void testAuthentication() {
// ...
}
}
```
**Runtime API:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
public void testAuthentication() {
Allure.epic("Web interface");
Allure.feature("Essential features");
Allure.story("Authentication");
// ...
}
}
```
To specify a test's location in the [suite-based hierarchy](/docs/v2/navigation/#suite-based-hierarchy):
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
public void testAuthentication() {
Allure.label("parentSuite", "Tests for web interface");
Allure.suite("Tests for essential features");
Allure.label("subSuite", "Tests for authentication");
// ...
}
}
```
A test's location in the [package-based hierarchy](/docs/v2/navigation/#package-based-hierarchy) is defined by the fully qualified names of the classes they are declared in, with common prefixes shown as parent packages.
### Divide a test into steps
Allure JUnit 4 provides three ways of [creating steps and sub-steps](/docs/steps/): “annotated steps”, “lambda steps” and “no-op steps”, see the [reference](/docs/junit4-reference/#test-steps).
**Annotated steps:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Param;
import io.qameta.allure.Step;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
public void testAuthentication() {
testAuthenticationWith("https://1.example.com/", "alice", "qwerty");
testAuthenticationWith("https://2.example.com/", "bob", "asdfgh");
testAuthenticationWith("https://3.example.com/", "charlie", "zxcvbn");
}
@Step("Authenticate on {url}")
void testAuthenticationWith(String url, String login, String password) {
openWebPage(url);
enterCredentials(login, password);
checkIfLoggedInAs(login);
}
@Step("Visit {url}")
void openWebPage(@Param("URL") String url) {
// ...
}
@Step("Enter credentials")
void enterCredentials(
@Param("Login") String login,
@Param("Password") String password
) {
// ...
}
@Step("Check if I am logged in")
void checkIfLoggedInAs(
@Param("Login") String login
) {
// ...
}
}
```
**Lambda steps:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
private static final String[][] authenticationData = new String[][]{
{"https://1.example.com/", "alice", "qwerty"},
{"https://2.example.com/", "bob", "asdfgh"},
{"https://3.example.com/", "charlie", "zxcvbn"},
};
@Test
public void testAuthentication() {
for (String[] data : authenticationData) {
String url = data[0];
String login = data[1];
String password = data[2];
Allure.step("Authenticate on %s".formatted(url), () -> {
Allure.step("Visit %s".formatted(url), stepContext -> {
stepContext.parameter("URL", url);
// ...
});
Allure.step("Enter credentials", stepContext -> {
stepContext.parameter("Login", login);
stepContext.parameter("Password", password);
// ...
});
Allure.step("Check if I am logged in", stepContext -> {
stepContext.parameter("Login", login);
// ...
});
});
}
}
}
```
**No-op steps:**
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import io.qameta.allure.model.Status;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
private static final String[][] authenticationData = new String[][]{
{"https://1.example.com/", "alice", "qwerty"},
{"https://2.example.com/", "bob", "asdfgh"},
{"https://3.example.com/", "charlie", "zxcvbn"},
};
@Test
public void testAuthentication() {
for (String[] data : authenticationData) {
String url = data[0];
String login = data[1];
String password = data[2];
Allure.step("Begin testing %s...".formatted(url));
try {
// ...
Allure.step("Visited %s.".formatted(url));
// ...
Allure.step("Entered credentials.");
// ...
Allure.step("I am logged in!");
} catch (Exception e) {
Allure.step("Failed!", Status.FAILED);
}
}
}
}
```
### Describe parametrized tests
When using the [parametrized tests](/docs/v2/readability/#parametrized-tests) pattern, use the Allure JUnit 4's `parameter()` to add the parameters to the report, see the [reference](/docs/junit4-reference/#parametrized-tests).
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import org.junit.Test;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
public void testAuthenticationWithUsername() {
Allure.parameter("login", "johndoe");
// ...
}
@Test
public void testAuthenticationWithEmail() {
Allure.parameter("login", "johndoe@example.com");
// ...
}
}
```
### Attach screenshots and other files
You can [attach any sorts of files](/docs/attachments/) to your Allure report. For example, a popular way to make a report easier to understand is to attach a screenshot of the user interface at a certain point.
Allure JUnit 4 provides various ways to create an attachment, both from existing files or generated dynamically, see the [reference](/docs/junit4-reference/#attachments).
```java
import io.qameta.allure.Allure;
import org.junit.Test;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
public class TestMyWebsite {
@Test
public void testAuthentication() throws IOException {
// ...
Allure.attachment("data.txt", "This is the file content.");
try (InputStream is = Files.newInputStream(Paths.get("/path/img.png"))) {
Allure.attachment("image.png", is);
}
}
}
```
### Select tests via a test plan file
Warning:
For this feature to work, the [AspectJ integration for Allure Report](#configure-aspectj) must be added to the project.
If the `ALLURE_TESTPLAN_PATH` environment variable is defined and points to an existing file, JUnit 4 will only run tests listed in this file.
Here's an example of running tests according to a file named `testplan.json`:
**MacOS/Linux:**
```bash
export ALLURE_TESTPLAN_PATH=testplan.json
./gradlew test
```
**Windows:**
```powershell
$Env:ALLURE_TESTPLAN_PATH = "testplan.json"
gradlew test
```
### Environment information
For the main page of the report, you can collect various information about the environment in which the tests were executed.
For example, it is a good idea to use this to remember the OS and Java versions. This may help the future reader investigate bugs that are reproducible only in some environments.
Images: /images/java/environment-allure3.png, /images/java/environment-allure2.png
To provide environment information, put a file named `environment.properties` into the `allure-results` directory after running the tests. See the example in [Environment file](/docs/how-it-works-environment-file/).
Note that this feature should be used for properties that do not change for all tests in the report. If you have properties that can be different for different tests, consider using [Parametrized tests](/docs/junit4-reference/#parametrized-tests).