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JUnit 5 - Applying DisplayNameGenerator Globally

[Last Updated: Dec 2, 2025]

JUnit 5 lets you choose a default global DisplayNameGenerator for the entire test run via the junit-platform.properties file. This avoids adding @DisplayNameGeneration to every class while still producing readable names in IDEs and build reports.

Overview

  • Place a file src/test/resources/junit-platform.properties in your project.
  • Set the property junit.jupiter.displayname.generator.default to any generator class.
  • Built-in options: DisplayNameGenerator.Standard, Simple, ReplaceUnderscores, IndicativeSentences.
  • Class-level @DisplayNameGeneration and method-level @DisplayName still take precedence.
  • Works with Maven Surefire, Gradle, and IDEs.

Examples

Project property file

src/main/resources/src/test/resources/junit-platform.properties

junit.jupiter.displayname.generator.default=org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayNameGenerator$ReplaceUnderscores

Global generator in action (ReplaceUnderscores)

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;

import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;

class GlobalReplaceUnderscoresExampleTest {

  @Test
  void my_test_method() {
      assertTrue(true);
  }

  @Test
  void adds_two_numbers() {
      assertEquals(4, 2 + 2);
  }
}

mvn test -Dtest=GlobalReplaceUnderscoresExampleTest

Output

D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator>mvn test -Dtest=GlobalReplaceUnderscoresExampleTest
[INFO] Scanning for projects...
[INFO] 
[INFO] -----< com.logicbig.example:junit-5-global-display-name-generator >-----
[INFO] Building junit-5-global-display-name-generator 1.0-SNAPSHOT
[INFO]   from pom.xml
[INFO] --------------------------------[ jar ]---------------------------------
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:resources (default-resources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] skip non existing resourceDirectory D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator\src\main\resources
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:compile (default-compile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] No sources to compile
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:testResources (default-testResources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] Copying 1 resource from src\test\resources to target\test-classes
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:testCompile (default-testCompile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Recompiling the module because of added or removed source files.
[INFO] Compiling 3 source files with javac [debug target 25] to target\test-classes
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- surefire:3.5.3:test (default-test) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Using auto detected provider org.apache.maven.surefire.junitplatform.JUnitPlatformProvider
[INFO] 
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO]  T E S T S
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] +--com.logicbig.example.GlobalReplaceUnderscoresExampleTest - 0.083 ss
[INFO] |  +-- [OK] my test method - 0.032 ss
[INFO] |  '-- [OK] adds two numbers - 0.011 ss
[INFO] 
[INFO] Results:
[INFO] 
[INFO] Tests run: 2, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0
[INFO] 
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time:  3.752 s
[INFO] Finished at: 2025-12-02T20:50:19+08:00
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Method @DisplayName overrides global

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;

import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;

class MethodDisplayNameOverridesGlobalTest {

  @Test
  @DisplayName("overridden method display name")
  void my_test_method_with_custom_name() {
      assertTrue(true);
  }

  @Test
  void another_test_method_with_underscores() {
      assertEquals(9, 4 + 5);
  }
}

mvn test -Dtest=MethodDisplayNameOverridesGlobalTest

Output

D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator>mvn test -Dtest=MethodDisplayNameOverridesGlobalTest
[INFO] Scanning for projects...
[INFO] 
[INFO] -----< com.logicbig.example:junit-5-global-display-name-generator >-----
[INFO] Building junit-5-global-display-name-generator 1.0-SNAPSHOT
[INFO]   from pom.xml
[INFO] --------------------------------[ jar ]---------------------------------
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:resources (default-resources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] skip non existing resourceDirectory D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator\src\main\resources
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:compile (default-compile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] No sources to compile
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:testResources (default-testResources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] Copying 1 resource from src\test\resources to target\test-classes
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:testCompile (default-testCompile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Nothing to compile - all classes are up to date.
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- surefire:3.5.3:test (default-test) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Using auto detected provider org.apache.maven.surefire.junitplatform.JUnitPlatformProvider
[INFO] 
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO]  T E S T S
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] +--com.logicbig.example.MethodDisplayNameOverridesGlobalTest - 0.071 ss
[INFO] |  +-- [OK] overridden method display name - 0.036 ss
[INFO] |  '-- [OK] another test method with underscores - 0.009 ss
[INFO] 
[INFO] Results:
[INFO] 
[INFO] Tests run: 2, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0
[INFO] 
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time:  2.915 s
[INFO] Finished at: 2025-12-02T20:50:24+08:00
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Class-level @DisplayNameGeneration overrides global

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayNameGeneration;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayNameGenerator;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;

import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;

@DisplayNameGeneration(DisplayNameGenerator.Simple.class)
class ClassLevelGenerationOverridesGlobalTest {

  @Test
  void my_test_method_has_no_parentheses_in_simple() {
      assertTrue(true);
  }

  @Test
  void adds_two_numbers() {
      assertEquals(7, 3 + 4);
  }
}

mvn test -Dtest=ClassLevelGenerationOverridesGlobalTest

Output

D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator>mvn test -Dtest=ClassLevelGenerationOverridesGlobalTest
[INFO] Scanning for projects...
[INFO] 
[INFO] -----< com.logicbig.example:junit-5-global-display-name-generator >-----
[INFO] Building junit-5-global-display-name-generator 1.0-SNAPSHOT
[INFO]   from pom.xml
[INFO] --------------------------------[ jar ]---------------------------------
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:resources (default-resources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] skip non existing resourceDirectory D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator\src\main\resources
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:compile (default-compile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] No sources to compile
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:testResources (default-testResources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] Copying 1 resource from src\test\resources to target\test-classes
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:testCompile (default-testCompile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Nothing to compile - all classes are up to date.
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- surefire:3.5.3:test (default-test) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Using auto detected provider org.apache.maven.surefire.junitplatform.JUnitPlatformProvider
[INFO] 
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO]  T E S T S
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] +--com.logicbig.example.ClassLevelGenerationOverridesGlobalTest - 0.067 ss
[INFO] |  +-- [OK] my_test_method_has_no_parentheses_in_simple - 0.025 ss
[INFO] |  '-- [OK] adds_two_numbers - 0.020 ss
[INFO] 
[INFO] Results:
[INFO] 
[INFO] Tests run: 2, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0
[INFO] 
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time:  3.110 s
[INFO] Finished at: 2025-12-02T20:50:29+08:00
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Run everything

mvn test

Output

D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator>mvn test
[INFO] Scanning for projects...
[INFO] 
[INFO] -----< com.logicbig.example:junit-5-global-display-name-generator >-----
[INFO] Building junit-5-global-display-name-generator 1.0-SNAPSHOT
[INFO]   from pom.xml
[INFO] --------------------------------[ jar ]---------------------------------
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:resources (default-resources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] skip non existing resourceDirectory D:\example-projects\junit-5\junit-5-test-display-name\junit-5-global-display-name-generator\src\main\resources
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:compile (default-compile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] No sources to compile
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- resources:3.3.1:testResources (default-testResources) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[WARNING] Using platform encoding (UTF-8 actually) to copy filtered resources, i.e. build is platform dependent!
[INFO] Copying 1 resource from src\test\resources to target\test-classes
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- compiler:3.14.1:testCompile (default-testCompile) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Nothing to compile - all classes are up to date.
[INFO] 
[INFO] --- surefire:3.5.3:test (default-test) @ junit-5-global-display-name-generator ---
[INFO] Using auto detected provider org.apache.maven.surefire.junitplatform.JUnitPlatformProvider
[INFO] 
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO]  T E S T S
[INFO] -------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] +--com.logicbig.example.ClassLevelGenerationOverridesGlobalTest - 0.056 ss
[INFO] |  +-- [OK] my_test_method_has_no_parentheses_in_simple - 0.025 ss
[INFO] |  '-- [OK] adds_two_numbers - 0.008 ss
[INFO] +--com.logicbig.example.GlobalReplaceUnderscoresExampleTest - 0.005 ss
[INFO] |  +-- [OK] my test method - 0.001 ss
[INFO] |  '-- [OK] adds two numbers - 0.002 ss
[INFO] +--com.logicbig.example.MethodDisplayNameOverridesGlobalTest - 0.005 ss
[INFO] |  +-- [OK] overridden method display name - 0.001 ss
[INFO] |  '-- [OK] another test method with underscores - 0.001 ss
[INFO] 
[INFO] Results:
[INFO] 
[INFO] Tests run: 6, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0
[INFO] 
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time:  2.884 s
[INFO] Finished at: 2025-12-02T20:50:34+08:00
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Example Project

Dependencies and Technologies Used:

  • junit-jupiter-api 6.0.1 (Module "junit-jupiter-api" of JUnit)
  • junit-jupiter-engine 6.0.1 (Module "junit-jupiter-engine" of JUnit)
     Version Compatibility: 5.7.0 - 6.0.1Version List
    ×

    Version compatibilities of junit-jupiter-engine with this example:

    • 5.7.0
    • 5.7.1
    • 5.7.2
    • 5.8.0
    • 5.8.1
    • 5.8.2
    • 5.9.0
    • 5.9.1
    • 5.9.2
    • 5.9.3
    • 5.10.0
    • 5.10.1
    • 5.10.2
    • 5.10.3
    • 5.10.4
    • 5.10.5
    • 5.11.0
    • 5.11.1
    • 5.11.2
    • 5.11.3
    • 5.11.4
    • 5.12.0
    • 5.12.1
    • 5.12.2
    • 5.13.0
    • 5.13.1
    • 5.13.2
    • 5.13.3
    • 5.13.4
    • 5.14.0
    • 5.14.1
    • 6.0.0
    • 6.0.1

    Versions in green have been tested.

  • JDK 25
  • Maven 3.9.11
JUnit 5 - Global Display Name Generator Select All Download
  • junit-5-global-display-name-generator
    • src
      • test
        • java
          • com
            • logicbig
              • example
        • resources
          • junit-platform.properties

    See Also