SpecFlow
SpecFlow was a popular behaviour-driven development (BDD) framework for .NET that allowed teams to write automated tests in plain language using Gherkin syntax (Given-When-Then). It bridged communication between business stakeholders and developers by expressing requirements as executable specifications. Tests written in natural language served as both documentation and automated verification. For non-technical readers, SpecFlow made it possible to write test scenarios in everyday language that both business people and developers could understand. Instead of technical test code, you'd write statements like "Given a customer with items in their basket, when they proceed to checkout, then they should see a payment form." The framework then executed these statements automatically. In December 2024, SpecFlow was officially deprecated by its maintainers. The project has been succeeded by Reqnroll, a community-driven fork that continues development with the same functionality and an easy migration path.
Official WebsiteMigration Guidance
SpecFlow was deprecated in December 2024. Migration to Reqnroll is recommended and straightforward: Reqnroll maintains compatibility with SpecFlow syntax and provides migration tooling. Most projects can migrate with minimal changes. Plan your migration soon to avoid accumulating technical debt on an unsupported framework and to benefit from ongoing improvements in Reqnroll.
When to use SpecFlow
New projects should use Reqnroll rather than SpecFlow. Existing SpecFlow projects should plan migration to Reqnroll to ensure continued support and compatibility with modern .NET versions.
If you currently maintain SpecFlow tests, they will continue to work, but you won't receive updates, security fixes, or support for new .NET releases.
Why choose SpecFlow?
Teams historically chose SpecFlow for its mature BDD implementation, strong Visual Studio integration, and large community. It enabled collaboration between technical and non-technical team members and created living documentation that stayed in sync with the actual system behaviour.