test_runner: `node --test` silently drops options or args in certain cases

[vassudanagunta]

Version

v26.3.0

Subsystem

test_runner

What steps will reproduce the bug?

Either of the following:

node --test no-tests-here "spec/*.test.js"

node --test "spec/*.test.js" --test-reporter tap

What is the expected behavior? Why is that the expected behavior?

In the first case, since positional args are taken as a path or glob for tests to be run, each arg should result in at least one test found and successfully run, else a warning or error should be printed, e.g.:

No tests were found at "no-tests-here".

In the second case, ideally the CLI parsing is changed to allow options to come after positional args (see also #51384 and nodejs/test-runner#13), and --test-reporter tap results in the TAP test reporter being used. If that is not possible, then warnings or errors like the first case:

No tests were found at "--test-reporter".
No tests were found at "tap".

The reason for the warnings or errors is that when a positional arg does not resolve to a single test file, it is most likely a user mistake/typo, or as in the second case, the natural but incorrect assumption that options can be specified at the end.

What do you see instead?

"no-tests-here" in the first case and "--test-reporter tap" in the second are dropped without warning or error.