No tautological assertions

Tautological assertions — expect(true).toBe(true), assert(true), expect(1).toBe(1) — are placeholders that AI scaffolding generates and never replaces. They pass unconditionally, so a completely broken implementation looks identical to a working one in your test output. Teams relying on green CI as a signal of correctness are flying blind: the assertion validates the literal true you typed, not the behavior of your code. ISO-25010:2011 testability requires assertions that can actually fail when the system under test is defective.

Search for expect(true).toBe(true), assert(true), and expect(1).toBe(1) across all test files and replace each with an assertion against a real value returned or produced by the code under test. Delete the test entirely if the behavior isn't yet defined — a missing test is less dangerous than a permanently-passing fake one:

// Before: always passes
it('handles edge case', () => {
  expect(true).toBe(true)
})

// After: fails if the production code returns the wrong shape
it('handles empty input', () => {
  expect(parseInput('')).toEqual({ error: 'empty', input: '' })
})

• ID: ai-slop-test-theater.assertion-quality.no-tautology-assertions

• Severity: critical

• What to look for: Walk all test files. Before evaluating, extract and quote each assertion line that matches any of these literal patterns: expect(true).toBe(true), expect(true).toEqual(true), expect(false).toBe(false), expect(1).toBe(1), expect(null).toBe(null), expect(undefined).toBe(undefined), expect('').toBe(''), expect(0).toBe(0), assert(true), assert.ok(true), assert.equal(1, 1), expect.assertions(0). Count all tautology assertions found.

• Pass criteria: 0 tautology assertions in test files. Report: "X test files inspected, 0 tautology assertions found."

• Fail criteria: At least 1 tautology assertion exists in any test file.

• Skip (N/A) when: Project has 0 test files.

• Detail on fail: "2 tautology assertions: tests/auth.test.ts line 12 'expect(true).toBe(true)' (placeholder never replaced), tests/utils.test.ts line 34 'expect(1).toBe(1)' (always passes)"

• Remediation: Tautology assertions like expect(true).toBe(true) are placeholders the AI generated but never replaced — they pass no matter what the production code does. Replace with real assertions or delete the test:

  // Bad: passes regardless of implementation
  it('handles edge case', () => {
    expect(true).toBe(true)  // placeholder
  })
  
  // Good: assert actual behavior
  it('handles empty input', () => {
    expect(parseInput('')).toEqual({ error: 'empty' })
  })