MuSe: a Mutation Testing Plugin for the Remix IDE

2026-03-24

AI Summary

This work addresses the lack of native mutation testing support for Remix IDE, which hinders effective evaluation of test suite quality and security in smart contracts. To bridge this gap, we propose MuSe—the first plug-and-play mutation testing plugin integrated directly into Remix IDE. Implemented in JavaScript/TypeScript, MuSe combines traditional, Solidity-specific, and security-oriented mutation operators to automatically generate mutants and assess test effectiveness without requiring additional configuration. By seamlessly embedding mutation testing into the widely used Remix development environment, MuSe significantly lowers the adoption barrier for developers, enabling rapid identification of test gaps and potential vulnerabilities. This integration enhances both the reliability and security of smart contracts through immediate, actionable feedback during the development process.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Mechanism Design
• Search and Optimization: Metareasoning and Metaheuristics
• Machine Learning: Mixture of Experts (MoE)

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Cryptocurrency and smart contracts
• Responsible Web: Social and technical mechanisms of refusal for web technologies and applications
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems

Abstract

Mutation testing is a technique to assess the effectiveness of test suites by introducing artificial faults into programs. Although mutation testing plugins are available for many platforms and languages, none is currently available for Remix-IDE, the most widely used Integrated Development Environment for the entire contract development journey, used by users of all knowledge levels, and serves as a learning lab for teaching and experimenting with Ethereum. The quality and security of smart contracts are crucial in blockchain systems, as even minor issues can result in substantial financial losses. This paper proposes MuSe, a mutation testing plugin for the Remix-IDE. MuSe includes traditional, Solidity-specific, and security-oriented mutation operators. Its integration into the Remix-IDE eliminates the need for additional setup and lowers the entry barrier. As a result, developers and researchers can immediately leverage mutation testing to assess the effectiveness of their test suites and identify potential issues in smart contracts. We provide a demo video showing MuSe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIFk9exTDu0 and its repository: https://github.com/GerardoIuliano/MuSe-Remix-Plugin.

Problem

• mutation testing
• Remix IDE
• smart contracts
• Ethereum
• software quality

Innovation

• mutation testing
• Remix IDE
• Solidity
• smart contract security
• mutation operators