Global test initialize method for MSTest

Question

Quick question, how do I create a method that is run only once before all tests in the solution are run.

Answer 1

Create a public static method, decorated with the AssemblyInitialize attribute. The test framework will call this Setup method once per test run:

[AssemblyInitialize()]
public static void MyTestInitialize(TestContext testContext)
{}

For TearDown its:

[AssemblyCleanup]
public static void TearDown() 
{}

EDIT:

Another very important detail: the class to which this method belongs must be decorated with [TestClass]. Otherwise, the initialization method will not run.

Answer 2

Just to underscore what @driis and @Malice said in the accepted answer, here's what your global test initializer class should look like:

namespace ThanksDriis
{
    [TestClass]
    class GlobalTestInitializer
    {
        [AssemblyInitialize()]
        public static void MyTestInitialize(TestContext testContext)
        {
            // The test framework will call this method once -BEFORE- each test run.
        }

        [AssemblyCleanup]
        public static void TearDown() 
        {
            // The test framework will call this method once -AFTER- each test run.
        }
    }
}

Answer 3

Sorry for the crappy formatting...

        /// <summary>
        /// Use TestInitialize to run code before running each test
        /// Runs before every test executes
        /// </summary>
        [TestInitialize()]
        public void TestInitialize()
        {
           ...
           ...
        }


        /// <summary>
        /// Use TestCleanup to run code after each test has run
        /// Runs after every test executes
        /// </summary>
        [TestCleanup()]
        public void TestCleanup()
        {
           ...
           ...
        }