> Most examples have a Jest and Karma example. See the Karma examples only as explanation to what's going on in the code, should you stumble over some usescases during your discovery. The Jest examples are the one you should follow.
While GitLab is switching over to [Jest](https://jestjs.io) you'll still find Karma tests in our application. [Karma](http://karma-runner.github.io/) is a test runner which uses [Jasmine](https://jasmine.github.io/) as its test
- Jest runs in a Node.js environment, not in a browser. Support for running Jest tests in a browser [is planned](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/26982).
- Because Jest runs in a Node.js environment, it uses [jsdom](https://github.com/jsdom/jsdom) by default. See also its [limitations](#limitations-of-jsdom) below.
- Jest does not have access to Webpack loaders or aliases.
Running `yarn jest-debug` will run Jest in debug mode, allowing you to debug/inspect as described in the [Jest docs](https://jestjs.io/docs/en/troubleshooting#tests-are-failing-and-you-don-t-know-why).
Libraries are an integral part of any JavaScript developer's life. The general advice would be to not test library internals, but expect that the library knows what it's supposed to do and has test coverage on its own.
It does not make sense to test our `getFahrenheit` function because underneath it does nothing else but invoking the library function, and we can expect that one is working as intended. (Simplified, I know)
Let's take a short look into Vue land. Vue is a critical part of the GitLab JavaScript codebase. When writing specs for Vue components, a common gotcha is to actually end up testing Vue provided functionality, because it appears to be the easiest thing to test. Here's an example taken from our codebase.
Testing the `hasMetricTypes` computed prop would seem like a given, but to test if the computed property is returning the length of `metricTypes`, is testing the Vue library itself. There is no value in this, besides it adding to the test suite. Better is to test it in the way the user interacts with it. Probably through the template.
Keep an eye out for these kinds of tests, as they just make updating logic more fragile and tedious than it needs to be. This is also true for other libraries.
Another common gotcha is that the specs end up verifying the mock is working. If you are using mocks, the mock should support the test, but not be the target of the test.
For example, it's better to use the generated markup to trigger a button click and validate the markup changed accordingly than to call a method manually and verify data structures or computed properties. There's always the chance of accidentally breaking the user flow, while the tests pass and provide a false sense of security.
Following you'll find some general common practices you will find as part of our testsuite. Should you stumble over something not following this guide, ideally fix it right away. 🎉
When it comes to querying DOM elements in your tests, it is best to uniquely target the element, without adding additional attributes specifically for testing purposes. Sometimes this cannot be done feasibly. In these cases, adding test attributes to simplify the selectors might be the best option.
Preferentially, in component testing with `@vue/test-utils`, you should query for child components using the component itself. This helps enforce that specific behavior can be covered by that component's individual unit tests. Otherwise, try to use:
- A behavioral attribute like `name` (also verifies that `name` was setup properly)
- A `data-testid` attribute ([recommended by maintainers of `@vue/test-utils`](https://github.com/vuejs/vue-test-utils/issues/1498#issuecomment-610133465))
When testing Promises you should always make sure that the test is asynchronous and rejections are handled. It's now possible to use the `async/await` syntax in the test suite:
You can also work with Promise chains. In this case, you can make use of the `done` callback and `done.fail` in case an error occurred. Following are some examples:
Sometimes we have to test time-sensitive code. For example, recurring events that run every X amount of seconds or similar. Here you'll find some strategies to deal with that:
If you are not able to register handlers to the `Promise`, for example because it is executed in a synchronous Vue life cycle hook, please take a look at the [waitFor](#wait-until-axios-requests-finish) helpers or you can flush all pending `Promise`s:
Tests are normally architected in a pattern which requires a recurring setup and breakdown of the component under test. This is done by making use of the `beforeEach` and `afterEach` hooks.
Example
```javascript
let wrapper;
beforeEach(() => {
wrapper = mount(Component);
});
afterEach(() => {
wrapper.destroy();
});
```
When looking at this initially you'd suspect that the component is setup before each test and then broken down afterwards, providing isolation between tests.
This is however not entirely true as the `destroy` method does not remove everything which has been mutated on the `wrapper` object. For functional components, destroy only removes the rendered DOM elements from the document.
In order to ensure that a clean wrapper object and DOM are being used in each test, the breakdown of the component should rather be performed as follows:
If a manual mock is needed for a `node_modules` package, please use the `spec/frontend/__mocks__` folder. Here's an example of
a [Jest mock for the package `monaco-editor`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/b7f914cddec9fc5971238cdf12766e79fa1629d7/spec/frontend/__mocks__/monaco-editor/index.js#L1).
- Files in `spec/frontend/mocks/ce` will mock the corresponding CE module from `app/assets/javascripts`, mirroring the source module's path.
- Example: `spec/frontend/mocks/ce/lib/utils/axios_utils` will mock the module `~/lib/utils/axios_utils`.
- We don't support mocking EE modules yet.
- If a mock is found for which a source module doesn't exist, the test suite will fail. 'Virtual' mocks, or mocks that don't have a 1-to-1 association with a source module, are not supported yet.
This mock is helpful because we don't want any unmocked requests to pass any tests. Also, we are able to inject some test helpers such as `axios.waitForAll`.
This mock is helpful because the module itself uses amd format which webpack understands, but is incompatible with the jest environment. This mock doesn't remove
any behavior, only provides a nice es6 compatible wrapper.
This mock is helpful because the monaco package is completely incompatible in a Jest environment. In fact, webpack requires a special loader to make it work. This mock
When creating a new fixture, it often makes sense to take a look at the corresponding tests for the endpoint in `(ee/)spec/controllers/` or `(ee/)spec/requests/`.
RSpec runs complete [feature tests](testing_levels.md#frontend-feature-tests), while the Jest and Karma directories contain [frontend unit tests](testing_levels.md#frontend-unit-tests), [frontend component tests](testing_levels.md#frontend-component-tests), and [frontend integration tests](testing_levels.md#frontend-integration-tests).
All tests in `spec/javascripts/` will eventually be migrated to `spec/frontend/` (see also [#52483](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/issues/52483)).
Before May 2018, `features/` also contained feature tests run by Spinach. These tests were removed from the codebase in May 2018 ([#23036](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/issues/23036)).
Check an example in [spec/javascripts/ide/stores/actions_spec.jsspec/javascripts/ide/stores/actions_spec.js](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/spec/javascripts/ide/stores/actions_spec.js).
The axios utils mock module located in `spec/frontend/mocks/ce/lib/utils/axios_utils.js` contains two helper methods for Jest tests that spawn HTTP requests.
These are very useful if you don't have a handle to the request's Promise, for example when a Vue component does a request as part of its life cycle.
-`waitFor(url, callback)`: Runs `callback` after a request to `url` finishes (either successfully or unsuccessfully).
-`waitForAll(callback)`: Runs `callback` once all pending requests have finished. If no requests are pending, runs `callback` on the next tick.
Both functions run `callback` on the next tick after the requests finish (using `setImmediate()`), to allow any `.then()` or `.catch()` handlers to run.
## Testing with older browsers
Some regressions only affect a specific browser version. We can install and test in particular browsers with either Firefox or Browserstack using the following steps:
### Browserstack
[Browserstack](https://www.browserstack.com/) allows you to test more than 1200 mobile devices and browsers.
You can use it directly through the [live app](https://www.browserstack.com/live) or you can install the [chrome extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/browserstack/nkihdmlheodkdfojglpcjjmioefjahjb) for easy access.
You can find the credentials on 1Password, under `frontendteam@gitlab.com`.
### Firefox
#### macOS
You can download any older version of Firefox from the releases FTP server, <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/>:
1. From the website, select a version, in this case `50.0.1`.
1. Go to the mac folder.
1. Select your preferred language, you will find the dmg package inside, download it.
1. Drag and drop the application to any other folder but the `Applications` folder.
1. Rename the application to something like `Firefox_Old`.
1. Move the application to the `Applications` folder.
1. Open up a terminal and run `/Applications/Firefox_Old.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox-bin -profilemanager` to create a new profile specific to that Firefox version.
1. Once the profile has been created, quit the app, and run it again like normal. You now have a working older Firefox version.