diff --git a/canonical_test.go b/canonical_test.go
index a9384d56..545e6432 100644
--- a/canonical_test.go
+++ b/canonical_test.go
@@ -1,161 +1,126 @@
 package capnp
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/hex"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestCanonicalize(t *testing.T) {
-	{
-		// null
-		b, err := Canonicalize(Struct{})
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(Struct{}):", err)
-		}
-		if want := ([]byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}); !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(Struct{}) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// empty struct
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{})
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(empty struct):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{0xfc, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0, 0, 0, 0})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(empty struct) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// zero data, zero pointer struct
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8, PointerCount: 1})
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(zero data, zero pointer struct):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{0xfc, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0, 0, 0, 0})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(zero data, zero pointer struct) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// one word data struct
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8, PointerCount: 1})
-		s.SetUint16(0, 0xbeef)
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(one word data struct):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		f    func() Struct
+		want []byte
+	}{{
+		name: "Struct{}",
+		f:    func() Struct { return Struct{} },
+		want: []byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0},
+	}, {
+		name: "empty struct",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{})
+			return s
+		},
+		want: []byte{0xfc, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0, 0, 0, 0},
+	}, {
+		name: "zero data, zero pointer struct",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8, PointerCount: 1})
+			return s
+		},
+		want: []byte{0xfc, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0, 0, 0, 0},
+	}, {
+		name: "one word data struct",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8, PointerCount: 1})
+			s.SetUint16(0, 0xbeef)
+			return s
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0,
 			0xef, 0xbe, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(one word data struct) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// two pointers to zero structs
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 2})
-		e1, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8})
-		e2, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8})
-		s.SetPtr(0, e1.ToPtr())
-		s.SetPtr(1, e2.ToPtr())
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(two pointers to zero structs):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "two pointers to zero structs",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 2})
+			e1, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8})
+			e2, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8})
+			s.SetPtr(0, e1.ToPtr())
+			s.SetPtr(1, e2.ToPtr())
+			return s
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0,
 			0xfc, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0, 0, 0, 0,
 			0xfc, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0, 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(two pointers to zero structs) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// pointer to interface
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 2})
-		iface := NewInterface(seg, 1)
-		s.SetPtr(0, iface.ToPtr())
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(pointer to interface):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "pointer to interface",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 2})
+			iface := NewInterface(seg, 1)
+			s.SetPtr(0, iface.ToPtr())
+			return s
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
 			3, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(pointer to interface) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// int list
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
-		l, _ := NewInt8List(seg, 5)
-		s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
-		l.Set(0, 1)
-		l.Set(1, 2)
-		l.Set(2, 3)
-		l.Set(3, 4)
-		l.Set(4, 5)
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(int list):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "int list",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
+			l, _ := NewInt8List(seg, 5)
+			s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
+			l.Set(0, 1)
+			l.Set(1, 2)
+			l.Set(2, 3)
+			l.Set(3, 4)
+			l.Set(4, 5)
+			return s
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
 			0x01, 0, 0, 0, 0x2a, 0, 0, 0,
 			1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(int list) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// zero int list
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
-		l, _ := NewInt8List(seg, 5)
-		s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(zero int list):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "zero int list",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
+			l, _ := NewInt8List(seg, 5)
+			s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
+			return s
+
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
 			0x01, 0, 0, 0, 0x2a, 0, 0, 0,
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(zero int list) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// struct list
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
-		l, _ := NewCompositeList(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8, PointerCount: 1}, 2)
-		s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
-		l.Struct(0).SetUint64(0, 0xdeadbeef)
-		txt, _ := NewText(seg, "xyzzy")
-		l.Struct(1).SetPtr(0, txt.ToPtr())
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(struct list):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "struct list",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
+			l, _ := NewCompositeList(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 8, PointerCount: 1}, 2)
+			s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
+			l.Struct(0).SetUint64(0, 0xdeadbeef)
+			txt, _ := NewText(seg, "xyzzy")
+			l.Struct(1).SetPtr(0, txt.ToPtr())
+			return s
+
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
 			0x01, 0, 0, 0, 0x27, 0, 0, 0,
 			0x08, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0,
@@ -164,47 +129,46 @@ func TestCanonicalize(t *testing.T) {
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
 			0x01, 0, 0, 0, 0x32, 0, 0, 0,
 			'x', 'y', 'z', 'z', 'y', 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(struct list) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// zero struct list
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
-		l, _ := NewCompositeList(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 16, PointerCount: 2}, 3)
-		s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(zero struct list):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "zero struct list",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
+			l, _ := NewCompositeList(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 16, PointerCount: 2}, 3)
+			s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
+			return s
+
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
 			0x01, 0, 0, 0, 0x07, 0, 0, 0,
 			0x0c, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
-		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(zero struct list) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
-	}
-	{
-		// zero-length struct list
-		_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
-		s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
-		l, _ := NewCompositeList(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 16, PointerCount: 2}, 0)
-		s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
-		b, err := Canonicalize(s)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal("Canonicalize(zero-length struct list):", err)
-		}
-		want := ([]byte{
+		},
+	}, {
+		name: "zero-length struct list",
+		f: func() Struct {
+			_, seg, _ := NewMessage(SingleSegment(nil))
+			s, _ := NewStruct(seg, ObjectSize{PointerCount: 1})
+			l, _ := NewCompositeList(seg, ObjectSize{DataSize: 16, PointerCount: 2}, 0)
+			s.SetPtr(0, l.ToPtr())
+			return s
+
+		},
+		want: []byte{
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
 			0x01, 0, 0, 0, 0x07, 0, 0, 0,
 			0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
+		},
+	}}
+
+	for i := range tests {
+		tc := tests[i]
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			b, err := Canonicalize(tc.f())
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Equal(t, tc.want, b)
 		})
-		if !bytes.Equal(b, want) {
-			t.Errorf("Canonicalize(zero-length struct list) =\n%s\n; want\n%s", hex.Dump(b), hex.Dump(want))
-		}
 	}
+
 }