Minimal Reproducible Example

Last updated: Tue Jun 16 21:34:48 EEST 2026

What is a minimum reproducible example and why do they matter?

The idea is probably a lot older than StackOverflow but it is often associated with it.

The MRE is a self-contained example that demonstrates a specific problem or issue and leaves out any unnecessary details.

In other words it’s like you’re shipping an easily runnable test suite showing in the most straightforward way possible what you did, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened.

The value is the same as with a good bug report: it makes the issue reproducible allows one to study and debug the problem and ultimately fix it.

The three requirements for an MRE

1. It must be minimal: it should contain only the code necessary to reproduce the problem.

2. It must be reproducible: it should be possible for anyone else to run the code and see the same problem or issue.

3. It must be complete: it should be a self-contained piece of code that can be run on its own without any additional setup or configuration.