Testing Tools

Flicker includes a comprehensive suite of testing tools in the test_tools/ directory. These are useful for verifying configuration, performance, and reliability.

1. HTTP Receiver

A simple Python-based HTTP server that accepts Flicker batches and prints them to stdout.

./test_tools/test-receiver.py
# Listening on http://0.0.0.0:8000/ingest

2. Log Generator

Generates realistic log data at configurable volumes. Useful for stress testing.

# High volume: ~100 entries/sec
./test_tools/test-log-generator.py --volume high --path /tmp/test.log

# Low volume: ~1 entry/sec (test time-based flushing)
./test_tools/test-log-generator.py --volume low --path /tmp/test.log

3. End-to-End Tests

File Tailing E2E

The test-e2e.sh script spins up the receiver, the generator, and Flicker itself to verify the full pipeline for local file tailing.

./test_tools/test-e2e.sh

Docker E2E

The docker-test-e2e.sh script verifies the Docker log capture pipeline by starting a test container that emits logs to stdout/stderr.

./test_tools/docker-test-e2e.sh

4. Docker Test Container

Runs a standalone container that emits structured logs (INFO, WARN, ERROR, DEBUG) to stdout/stderr. Useful for manually testing Docker integration.

./test_tools/docker-test-container.sh

5. Buffering Logic Test

The test-buffering.sh script demonstrates the dual-trigger buffering logic in action. It verifies:

1. Size Trigger: Flushes immediately when the line count is reached.
2. Time Trigger: Flushes when the time interval elapses, even if the buffer isn't full.

./test_tools/test-buffering.sh

6. mTLS & Security Testing

Tools for verifying mutual TLS authentication.

Generate Certificates

Creates a local Certificate Authority (CA), server certificate, and client certificate/key pair for testing.

./test_tools/generate-test-certs.sh

• Outputs keys to test_tools/certs/

mTLS Receiver

A specialized HTTP receiver that enforces client certificate authentication.

./test_tools/test-mtls-receiver.py
# Listening on https://0.0.0.0:8443/ingest

mTLS End-to-End

Automated test that generates certs, starts the mTLS receiver, and runs Flicker with mTLS configuration to verify secure delivery.

./test_tools/test-mtls-e2e.sh