diff --git a/spec/helpers.moon b/spec/helpers.moon
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5ddf9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/helpers.moon
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+
+-- remove front indentation from a multiline string, making it suitable to be
+-- parsed
+unindent = (str) ->
+  indent = str\match "^%s+"
+  return str unless indent
+  (str\gsub("\n#{indent}", "\n")\gsub "%s+$", "")
+
+{ :unindent }