flutter test --tags does not correctly parse boolean selectors

[ThomasDuffinMears]

Steps to reproduce

"flutter help test" points to the test package (which flutter test proxies into) which mentions boolean selectors: https://pub.dev/packages/test#tagging-tests

These do not work, no matter how I've tried (different terminals, platforms, etc) as the tags are unwrapped and/or parsed before proxying to dart, which internally causes the tags to be executed as terminal commands.

1. run flutter test --tags="(golden||ci)"

• other permutations such as "golden||ci" have the same behaviour

Expected results

Tests only run if the test tag evaluates true for "golden" OR "ci"

Actual results

>$ flutter test -x='golden||ci'  

Resolving dependencies in [redacted]
# Redacted flutter pub get output...
Try `flutter pub outdated` for more information.
expected expression.

Usage: dart test [files or directories...]

-h, --help                            Show this usage information.
    --version                         Show the package:test version.
# Redacted dart help test output...
    --[no-]color                      Use terminal colors.
                                      (auto-detected by default)
# Note that the 2nd part of the boolean op is executed as a command! 
# What if your boolean syntax evaluated to something destructive?
'ci' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Code sample

N/A

Screenshots or Video

N/A

Logs

Exact same output as actual section

Flutter Doctor output

Doctor output

[√] Flutter (Channel stable, 3.44.1, on Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.8655], locale en-GB) [547ms]
    • Flutter version 3.44.1 on channel stable at C:\Users\redacted\flutter\flutter
    • Upstream repository https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
    • Framework revision 924134a44c (6 weeks ago), 2026-05-29 12:13:22 -0400
    • Engine revision c416acfeb8
    • Dart version 3.12.1
    • DevTools version 2.57.0
    • Feature flags: enable-web, enable-linux-desktop, enable-macos-desktop, enable-windows-desktop, enable-android, enable-ios,
      cli-animations, enable-native-assets, enable-swift-package-manager, omit-legacy-version-file, enable-lldb-debugging,
      enable-uiscene-migration

[√] Windows Version (Windows 11 or higher, 25H2, 2009) [2.1s]

[√] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 36.1.0) [1,819ms]
    • Android SDK at C:\Users\redacted\AppData\Local\Android\sdk
    • Emulator version 36.3.10.0 (build_id 14472402) (CL:N/A)
    • Platform android-36, build-tools 36.1.0
    • Java binary at: C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr\bin\java
      This is the JDK bundled with the latest Android Studio installation on this machine.
      To manually set the JDK path, use: `flutter config --jdk-dir="path/to/jdk"`.
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.8+-14196175-b1038.72)
    • All Android licenses accepted.

[√] Chrome - develop for the web [296ms]
    • Chrome at C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

[!] Visual Studio - develop Windows apps (SQL Server Management Studio 21 21.6.17) [295ms]
    • Visual Studio at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 21\Release
    • SQL Server Management Studio 21 version 21.6.36603.0
    X The current Visual Studio installation is incomplete.
      Please use Visual Studio Installer to complete the installation or reinstall Visual Studio.

[√] Connected device (4 available) [353ms]
    • sdk gphone64 x86 64 (mobile) • emulator-5554 • android-x64    • Android 16 (API 36) (emulator)
    • Windows (desktop)            • windows       • windows-x64    • Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.8655]
    • Chrome (web)                 • chrome        • web-javascript • Google Chrome 150.0.7871.47
    • Edge (web)                   • edge          • web-javascript • Microsoft Edge 150.0.4078.48

[√] Network resources [309ms]
    • All expected network resources are available.

! Doctor found issues in 1 category.

[suryaKommana2662]

@ThomasDuffinMears Thanks for the detailed report. I was able to reproduce the issue using the provided command. Running flutter test -x='golden||ci' in the terminal results in the following error:

'ci' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Based on the reproduction, I'm routing this issue to theTeam-toolfor further investigation.

[github-actions]

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