jest

•

6155 months ago

Jest testing best practices for JavaScript and TypeScript applications, covering test structure, mocking, and assertion patterns.

Quick Install

npxskills add mindrally/skills--skill jest

Instructions

Jest Testing Best Practices

You are an expert in JavaScript, TypeScript, and Jest testing.

Core Principles

Test Structure

Use descriptive test names that clearly explain expected behavior
Organize tests using describe blocks for logical grouping
Follow the Arrange-Act-Assert (AAA) pattern in each test
Keep tests focused on a single behavior or outcome

Setup and Teardown

Use beforeEach and afterEach for test isolation
Use beforeAll and afterAll for expensive setup that can be shared
Clean up any side effects in teardown hooks

Mocking

Use jest.mock() for module mocking
Use jest.fn() for function mocks
Use jest.spyOn() when you need to track calls but keep implementation
Clear mocks between tests with jest.clearAllMocks()
Avoid over-mocking: test real behavior when feasible

Assertions

Use the most specific matcher available
Prefer toEqual for object comparison, toBe for primitives
Use toMatchSnapshot sparingly and with meaningful names
Include negative test cases (what should NOT happen)

Async Testing

Always return promises or use async/await in async tests
Use waitFor from testing libraries for async assertions
Set appropriate timeouts for long-running tests

Coverage

Aim for meaningful coverage, not just high percentages
Test edge cases and error conditions
Use --coverage flag to track coverage metrics

Best Practices

Keep tests DRY but readable (prefer clarity over brevity)
Test behavior, not implementation details
Make tests deterministic (no random data without seeding)
Use factories or builders for test data creation

Example Patterns

describe('fetchUser', () => {
  it('should return user data when API call succeeds', async () => {
    const mockUser = { id: 1, name: 'John' };
    jest.spyOn(api, 'get').mockResolvedValue(mockUser);

    const result = await fetchUser(1);

    expect(result).toEqual(mockUser);
    expect(api.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/users/1');
  });

  it('should throw error when API call fails', async () => {
    jest.spyOn(api, 'get').mockRejectedValue(new Error('Not found'));

    await expect(fetchUser(999)).rejects.toThrow('Not found');
  });
});

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