diff --git a/bashunit b/bashunit
index 98d9a439..0f435c1c 100755
--- a/bashunit
+++ b/bashunit
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ source "$BASHUNIT_ROOT_DIR/src/runner.sh"
 source "$BASHUNIT_ROOT_DIR/src/bashunit.sh"
 source "$BASHUNIT_ROOT_DIR/src/main.sh"
 
-_ASSERT_FN=""
+_ASSERT_FN_KEY=()
+_ASSERT_FN_VALUES=()
 _FILTER=""
 _ARGS=()
 
@@ -41,8 +42,9 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   argument="$1"
   case $argument in
     -a|--assert)
-      _ASSERT_FN="$2"
-      shift
+      _ASSERT_FN_KEY+=("$2")
+      _ASSERT_FN_VALUES+=("$3")
+      shift 2
       ;;
     -f|--filter)
       _FILTER="$2"
@@ -109,8 +111,28 @@ done
 
 set +eu
 
-if [[ -n "$_ASSERT_FN" ]]; then
-  main::exec_assert "$_ASSERT_FN" "${_ARGS[@]}"
+if [[ ${#_ASSERT_FN_KEY[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+  output=""
+  last_exit_code=0
+
+  for i in "${!_ASSERT_FN_KEY[@]}"; do
+    assert_fn="${_ASSERT_FN_KEY[$i]}"
+    assert_value="${_ASSERT_FN_VALUES[$i]}"
+
+    if [[ -n "$output" ]]; then
+      # Pass the output from the previous assertion as input to the next
+      output=$(main::exec_assert "$assert_fn" "$assert_value" "$output" )
+    else
+      # First assertion, run with original args
+      output=$(main::exec_assert "$assert_fn" "$assert_value" "${_ARGS[@]}" )
+    fi
+
+    last_exit_code=$?
+    if [[ $last_exit_code -ne 0 ]]; then
+      break  # Stop if any assertion fails
+    fi
+  done
+  exit $last_exit_code
 else
   main::exec_tests "$_FILTER" "${_ARGS[@]}"
 fi
diff --git a/src/main.sh b/src/main.sh
index f610b726..ee038677 100644
--- a/src/main.sh
+++ b/src/main.sh
@@ -93,23 +93,24 @@ function main::exec_assert() {
   local inner_exit_code=0
   local bashunit_exit_code=0
 
-  # Handle different assert_* functions
+  # Handle the `assert_exit_code` function by evaluating the command and capturing output
   case "$assert_fn" in
     assert_exit_code)
+      # Evaluate the command and capture both output and exit code
+#      output=$(eval "$last_arg" 2>&1)
       output=$(main::handle_assert_exit_code "$last_arg")
       inner_exit_code=$?
-      # Remove the last argument and append the exit code
+      # Remove the last argument (command) and append the actual exit code
       args=("${args[@]:0:last_index}")
       args+=("$inner_exit_code")
       ;;
     *)
-      # Add more cases here for other assert_* handlers if needed
+      # Any other assertion functions (like assert_contains) are passed normally
       ;;
   esac
 
   if [[ -n "$output" ]]; then
     echo "$output" 1>&1
-    assert_fn="assert_same"
   fi
 
   # Run the assertion function and write into stderr
@@ -132,6 +133,7 @@ function main::handle_assert_exit_code() {
     output=$(eval "$cmd" 2>&1 || echo "inner_exit_code:$?")
     local last_line
     last_line=$(echo "$output" | tail -n 1)
+
     if echo "$last_line" | grep -q 'inner_exit_code:[0-9]*'; then
       inner_exit_code=$(echo "$last_line" | grep -o 'inner_exit_code:[0-9]*' | cut -d':' -f2)
       if ! [[ $inner_exit_code =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
@@ -139,6 +141,7 @@ function main::handle_assert_exit_code() {
       fi
       output=$(echo "$output" | sed '$d')
     fi
+
     echo "$output"
     return "$inner_exit_code"
   else