Fire-test theater

A test that re-implements the guard's comparison inline instead of calling the deployed guard. It stays green forever while the real guard is broken, and the suite reports a passing test named after the check. The evidence has to come from the production code path, not from a second copy of the rule.

Principle 6 · Test that a check fires, not that it exists

Where does Fire-test theater come from?

Principle 6 of the Kymira doctrine, Test that a check fires, not that it exists. Fire-test theater is the name the doctrine gives to what that principle requires in practice.

What failure is Fire-test theater named after?

Fire-test theater. The test re-implements the guard's comparison inline and stays green forever while the deployed guard is broken.

What does it look like on a real file?

The test compares two numbers it computed itself, passes forever, and never touches the guard it is named after.

Not for

Not an accusation of bad faith. The inline copy usually starts as a convenience and then outlives the guard it was copied from.

Nearest terms

Fire testA test that feeds a guard known bad input through the deployed production path and watches it...Borrowed evidenceTwo or more checks citing the same fire test log as proof, so one captured red run stands in...Painted rowA check row whose verdict text is fixed in the template while the scan's real findings are...

Last updated 2026-09-02 · Dylan, founder · one of 40 terms in the Kymira glossary, each one named after something we watched go wrong in a real build or in our own audits.

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