Keep test dependencies separate from production code dependencies to avoid polluting the main module. Use separate modules for test code when test-specific dependencies would otherwise be included in the main module’s dependency tree.

This prevents test libraries from becoming transitive dependencies for consumers of your module and maintains a cleaner separation between production and test concerns.

Example approach:

// Create separate go.mod for e2e tests
// e2e/go.mod
module github.com/docker/compose/v2/e2e

require (
    github.com/cucumber/godog v0.12.5
    github.com/docker/compose/v2 v0.0.0
)

replace github.com/docker/compose/v2 => ../

This pattern allows test-specific dependencies like testing frameworks, mocking libraries, or specialized test utilities to remain isolated from the main codebase while still allowing tests to import and test the production code.

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