Jest
No testing solution out there is perfect. That said, jest is an excellent unit testing option which provides great TypeScript support.
Note: We assume you start off with a simple node package.json setup. Also all TypeScript files should be in a
src
folder which is always recommended (even without Jest) for a clean project setup.
Step 1: Install
Install the following using npm:
Explanation:
Install
jest
framework (jest
)Install the types for
jest
(@types/jest
)Install the TypeScript preprocessor for jest (
ts-jest
) which allows jest to transpile TypeScript on the fly and have source-map support built in.Install the TypeScript compiler ('typescript') which is prerequisite for 'ts-jest'.
Save all of these to your dev dependencies (testing is almost always a npm dev-dependency)
Step 2: Configure Jest
Add the following jest.config.js
file to the root of your project:
(If your package.json
file contains "type": "module"
, which causes Node to assume modules are in es6 format, you can convert the above to es6 format by replacing the top line to export default {
.)
Explanation:
We always recommend having all TypeScript files in a
src
folder in your project. We assume this is true and specify this using theroots
option.The
testMatch
config is a glob pattern matcher for discovering .test / .spec files in ts / tsx / js format.The
transform
config just tellsjest
to usets-jest
for ts / tsx files.
Step 3: Run tests
Run npx jest
from your project root and jest will execute any tests you have.
Optional: Add script target for npm scripts
Add package.json
:
This allows you to run the tests with a simple
npm t
.And even in watch mode with
npm t -- --watch
.
Optional: Run jest in watch mode
npx jest --watch
Example
For a file
foo.ts
:A simple
foo.test.ts
:
Notes:
Jest provides the global
test
function.Jest comes prebuilt with assertions in the form of the global
expect
.
Example async
Jest has built-in async/await support. e.g.
Example enzyme
Enzyme allows you to test react components with dom support. There are three steps to setting up enzyme:
Install enzyme, types for enzyme, a better snapshot serializer for enzyme, enzyme-adapter-react for your react version
npm i enzyme @types/enzyme enzyme-to-json enzyme-adapter-react-16 -D
Add
"snapshotSerializers"
and"setupTestFrameworkScriptFile"
to yourjest.config.js
:Create
src/setupEnzyme.ts
file.
Now here is an example react component and test:
checkboxWithLabel.tsx
:checkboxWithLabel.test.tsx
:
Reasons why we like jest
Built-in assertion library.
Great TypeScript support.
Very reliable test watcher.
Snapshot testing.
Built-in coverage reports.
Built-in async/await support.
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