Test runner#
Source Code: lib/test.js
The node:test
module facilitates the creation of JavaScript tests that
report results in TAP format. To access it:
import test from 'node:test';
const test = require('node:test');
This module is only available under the node:
scheme. The following will not
work:
import test from 'test';
const test = require('test');
Tests created via the test
module consist of a single function that is
processed in one of three ways:
- A synchronous function that is considered failing if it throws an exception,
and is considered passing otherwise.
- A function that returns a
Promise
that is considered failing if the
Promise
rejects, and is considered passing if the Promise
resolves.
- A function that receives a callback function. If the callback receives any
truthy value as its first argument, the test is considered failing. If a
falsy value is passed as the first argument to the callback, the test is
considered passing. If the test function receives a callback function and
also returns a
Promise
, the test will fail.
The following example illustrates how tests are written using the
test
module.
test('synchronous passing test', (t) => {
assert.strictEqual(1, 1);
});
test('synchronous failing test', (t) => {
assert.strictEqual(1, 2);
});
test('asynchronous passing test', async (t) => {
assert.strictEqual(1, 1);
});
test('asynchronous failing test', async (t) => {
assert.strictEqual(1, 2);
});
test('failing test using Promises', (t) => {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setImmediate(() => {
reject(new Error('this will cause the test to fail'));
});
});
});
test('callback passing test', (t, done) => {
setImmediate(done);
});
test('callback failing test', (t, done) => {
setImmediate(() => {
done(new Error('callback failure'));
});
});
As a test file executes, TAP is written to the standard output of the Node.js
process. This output can be interpreted by any test harness that understands
the TAP format. If any tests fail, the process exit code is set to 1
.
Subtests#
The test context's test()
method allows subtests to be created. This method
behaves identically to the top level test()
function. The following example
demonstrates the creation of a top level test with two subtests.
test('top level test', async (t) => {
await t.test('subtest 1', (t) => {
assert.strictEqual(1, 1);
});
await t.test('subtest 2', (t) => {
assert.strictEqual(2, 2);
});
});
In this example, await
is used to ensure that both subtests have completed.
This is necessary because parent tests do not wait for their subtests to
complete. Any subtests that are still outstanding when their parent finishes
are cancelled and treated as failures. Any subtest failures cause the parent
test to fail.
Skipping tests#
Individual tests can be skipped by passing the skip
option to the test, or by
calling the test context's skip()
method. Both of these options support
including a message that is displayed in the TAP output as shown in the
following example.
test('skip option', { skip: true }, (t) => {
});
test('skip option with message', { skip: 'this is skipped' }, (t) => {
});
test('skip() method', (t) => {
t.skip();
});
test('skip() method with message', (t) => {
t.skip('this is skipped');
});
describe
/it
syntax#
Running tests can also be done using describe
to declare a suite
and it
to declare a test.
A suite is used to organize and group related tests together.
it
is an alias for test
, except there is no test context passed,
since nesting is done using suites.
describe('A thing', () => {
it('should work', () => {
assert.strictEqual(1, 1);
});
it('should be ok', () => {
assert.strictEqual(2, 2);
});
describe('a nested thing', () => {
it('should work', () => {
assert.strictEqual(3, 3);
});
});
});
describe
and it
are imported from the node:test
module.
import { describe, it } from 'node:test';
const { describe, it } = require('node:test');
only
tests#
If Node.js is started with the --test-only
command-line option, it is
possible to skip all top level tests except for a selected subset by passing
the only
option to the tests that should be run. When a test with the only
option set is run, all subtests are also run. The test context's runOnly()
method can be used to implement the same behavior at the subtest level.
test('this test is run', { only: true }, async (t) => {
await t.test('running subtest');
t.runOnly(true);
await t.test('this subtest is now skipped');
await t.test('this subtest is run', { only: true });
t.runOnly(false);
await t.test('this subtest is now run');
await t.test('skipped subtest 3', { only: false });
await t.test('skipped subtest 4', { skip: true });
});
test('this test is not run', () => {
throw new Error('fail');
});
Extraneous asynchronous activity
Once a test function finishes executing, the TAP results are output as quickly
as possible while maintaining the order of the tests. However, it is possible
for the test function to generate asynchronous activity that outlives the test
itself. The test runner handles this type of activity, but does not delay the
reporting of test results in order to accommodate it.
In the following example, a test completes with two setImmediate()
operations still outstanding. The first setImmediate()
attempts to create a
new subtest. Because the parent test has already finished and output its
results, the new subtest is immediately marked as failed, and reported in the
top level of the file's TAP output.
The second setImmediate()
creates an uncaughtException
event.
uncaughtException
and unhandledRejection
events originating from a completed
test are handled by the test
module and reported as diagnostic warnings in
the top level of the file's TAP output.
test('a test that creates asynchronous activity', (t) => {
setImmediate(() => {
t.test('subtest that is created too late', (t) => {
throw new Error('error1');
});
});
setImmediate(() => {
throw new Error('error2');
});
});
Running tests from the command line#
The Node.js test runner can be invoked from the command line by passing the
--test
flag:
node --test
By default, Node.js will recursively search the current directory for
JavaScript source files matching a specific naming convention. Matching files
are executed as test files. More information on the expected test file naming
convention and behavior can be found in the test runner execution model
section.
Alternatively, one or more paths can be provided as the final argument(s) to
the Node.js command, as shown below.
node --test test1.js test2.mjs custom_test_dir/
In this example, the test runner will execute the files test1.js
and
test2.mjs
. The test runner will also recursively search the
custom_test_dir/
directory for test files to execute.
Test runner execution model#
When searching for test files to execute, the test runner behaves as follows:
- Any files explicitly provided by the user are executed.
- If the user did not explicitly specify any paths, the current working
directory is recursively searched for files as specified in the following
steps.
node_modules
directories are skipped unless explicitly provided by the
user.
- If a directory named
test
is encountered, the test runner will search it
recursively for all all .js
, .cjs
, and .mjs
files. All of these files
are treated as test files, and do not need to match the specific naming
convention detailed below. This is to accommodate projects that place all of
their tests in a single test
directory.
- In all other directories,
.js
, .cjs
, and .mjs
files matching the
following patterns are treated as test files:
^test$
- Files whose basename is the string 'test'
. Examples:
test.js
, test.cjs
, test.mjs
.
^test-.+
- Files whose basename starts with the string 'test-'
followed by one or more characters. Examples: test-example.js
,
test-another-example.mjs
.
.+[\.\-\_]test$
- Files whose basename ends with .test
, -test
, or
_test
, preceded by one or more characters. Examples: example.test.js
,
example-test.cjs
, example_test.mjs
.
- Other file types understood by Node.js such as
.node
and .json
are not
automatically executed by the test runner, but are supported if explicitly
provided on the command line.
Each matching test file is executed in a separate child process. If the child
process finishes with an exit code of 0, the test is considered passing.
Otherwise, the test is considered to be a failure. Test files must be
executable by Node.js, but are not required to use the node:test
module
internally.
run([options])
#
Added in: v16.19.0
options
<Object> Configuration options for running tests. The following
properties are supported:
concurrency
<number> | <boolean> If a number is provided,
then that many files would run in parallel.
If truthy, it would run (number of cpu cores - 1)
files in parallel.
If falsy, it would only run one file at a time.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: true
.
files
: <Array> An array containing the list of files to run.
Default matching files from test runner execution model.
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress test execution.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the test execution will
fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
inspectPort
<number> | <Function> Sets inspector port of test child process.
This can be a number, or a function that takes no arguments and returns a
number. If a nullish value is provided, each process gets its own port,
incremented from the primary's process.debugPort
.
Default: undefined
.
- Returns: <TapStream>
run({ files: [path.resolve('./tests/test.js')] })
.pipe(process.stdout);
test([name][, options][, fn])
#
name
<string> The name of the test, which is displayed when reporting test
results. Default: The name
property of fn
, or '<anonymous>'
if fn
does not have a name.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the test. The following
properties are supported:
concurrency
<number> | <boolean> If a number is provided,
then that many tests would run in parallel.
If truthy, it would run (number of cpu cores - 1)
tests in parallel.
For subtests, it will be Infinity
tests in parallel.
If falsy, it would only run one test at a time.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: false
.
only
<boolean> If truthy, and the test context is configured to run
only
tests, then this test will be run. Otherwise, the test is skipped.
Default: false
.
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress test.
skip
<boolean> | <string> If truthy, the test is skipped. If a string is
provided, that string is displayed in the test results as the reason for
skipping the test. Default: false
.
todo
<boolean> | <string> If truthy, the test marked as TODO
. If a string
is provided, that string is displayed in the test results as the reason why
the test is TODO
. Default: false
.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the test will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The function under test. The first argument
to this function is a TestContext
object. If the test uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
- Returns: <Promise> Resolved with
undefined
once the test completes.
The test()
function is the value imported from the test
module. Each
invocation of this function results in the creation of a test point in the TAP
output.
The TestContext
object passed to the fn
argument can be used to perform
actions related to the current test. Examples include skipping the test, adding
additional TAP diagnostic information, or creating subtests.
test()
returns a Promise
that resolves once the test completes. The return
value can usually be discarded for top level tests. However, the return value
from subtests should be used to prevent the parent test from finishing first
and cancelling the subtest as shown in the following example.
test('top level test', async (t) => {
await t.test('longer running subtest', async (t) => {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
setTimeout(resolve, 1000);
});
});
});
The timeout
option can be used to fail the test if it takes longer than
timeout
milliseconds to complete. However, it is not a reliable mechanism for
canceling tests because a running test might block the application thread and
thus prevent the scheduled cancellation.
describe([name][, options][, fn])
#
name
<string> The name of the suite, which is displayed when reporting test
results. Default: The name
property of fn
, or '<anonymous>'
if fn
does not have a name.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the suite.
supports the same options as test([name][, options][, fn])
.
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The function under suite
declaring all subtests and subsuites.
The first argument to this function is a SuiteContext
object.
Default: A no-op function.
- Returns:
undefined
.
The describe()
function imported from the node:test
module. Each
invocation of this function results in the creation of a Subtest
and a test point in the TAP output.
After invocation of top level describe
functions,
all top level tests and suites will execute.
it([name][, options][, fn])
#
name
<string> The name of the test, which is displayed when reporting test
results. Default: The name
property of fn
, or '<anonymous>'
if fn
does not have a name.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the suite.
supports the same options as test([name][, options][, fn])
.
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The function under test.
If the test uses callbacks, the callback function is passed as an argument.
Default: A no-op function.
- Returns:
undefined
.
The it()
function is the value imported from the node:test
module.
Each invocation of this function results in the creation of a test point in the
TAP output.
before([, fn][, options])
#
Added in: v16.18.0
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The hook function.
If the hook uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the hook. The following
properties are supported:
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress hook.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the hook will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
This function is used to create a hook running before running a suite.
describe('tests', async () => {
before(() => console.log('about to run some test'));
it('is a subtest', () => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
});
});
after([, fn][, options])
#
Added in: v16.18.0
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The hook function.
If the hook uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the hook. The following
properties are supported:
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress hook.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the hook will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
This function is used to create a hook running after running a suite.
describe('tests', async () => {
after(() => console.log('finished running tests'));
it('is a subtest', () => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
});
});
beforeEach([, fn][, options])
#
Added in: v16.18.0
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The hook function.
If the hook uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the hook. The following
properties are supported:
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress hook.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the hook will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
This function is used to create a hook running
before each subtest of the current suite.
describe('tests', async () => {
beforeEach(() => t.diagnostic('about to run a test'));
it('is a subtest', () => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
});
});
afterEach([, fn][, options])
#
Added in: v16.18.0
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The hook function.
If the hook uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the hook. The following
properties are supported:
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress hook.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the hook will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
This function is used to create a hook running
after each subtest of the current test.
describe('tests', async () => {
afterEach(() => t.diagnostic('about to run a test'));
it('is a subtest', () => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
});
});
Class: TapStream
#
Added in: v16.19.0
A successful call to run()
method will return a new <TapStream>
object, streaming a TAP output
TapStream
will emit events, in the order of the tests definition
Event: 'test:diagnostic'
#
message
<string> The diagnostic message.
Emitted when context.diagnostic
is called.
Event: 'test:fail'
#
Emitted when a test fails.
Event: 'test:pass'
#
Emitted when a test passes.
Class: TestContext
#
Added in: v16.17.0
An instance of TestContext
is passed to each test function in order to
interact with the test runner. However, the TestContext
constructor is not
exposed as part of the API.
context.beforeEach([, fn][, options])
#
Added in: v16.18.0
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The hook function. The first argument
to this function is a TestContext
object. If the hook uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the hook. The following
properties are supported:
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress hook.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the hook will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
This function is used to create a hook running
before each subtest of the current test.
test('top level test', async (t) => {
t.beforeEach((t) => t.diagnostic(`about to run ${t.name}`));
await t.test(
'This is a subtest',
(t) => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
}
);
});
context.afterEach([, fn][, options])
#
Added in: v16.18.0
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The hook function. The first argument
to this function is a TestContext
object. If the hook uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the hook. The following
properties are supported:
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress hook.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the hook will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
This function is used to create a hook running
after each subtest of the current test.
test('top level test', async (t) => {
t.afterEach((t) => t.diagnostic(`finished running ${t.name}`));
await t.test(
'This is a subtest',
(t) => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
}
);
});
context.diagnostic(message)
#
Added in: v16.17.0
message
<string> Message to be displayed as a TAP diagnostic.
This function is used to write TAP diagnostics to the output. Any diagnostic
information is included at the end of the test's results. This function does
not return a value.
test('top level test', (t) => {
t.diagnostic('A diagnostic message');
});
context.name
#
Added in: v16.18.0
The name of the test.
context.runOnly(shouldRunOnlyTests)
#
Added in: v16.17.0
shouldRunOnlyTests
<boolean> Whether or not to run only
tests.
If shouldRunOnlyTests
is truthy, the test context will only run tests that
have the only
option set. Otherwise, all tests are run. If Node.js was not
started with the --test-only
command-line option, this function is a
no-op.
test('top level test', (t) => {
t.runOnly(true);
return Promise.all([
t.test('this subtest is now skipped'),
t.test('this subtest is run', { only: true }),
]);
});
context.signal
#
Added in: v16.17.0
- <AbortSignal> Can be used to abort test subtasks when the test has been
aborted.
test('top level test', async (t) => {
await fetch('some/uri', { signal: t.signal });
});
context.skip([message])
#
Added in: v16.17.0
message
<string> Optional skip message to be displayed in TAP output.
This function causes the test's output to indicate the test as skipped. If
message
is provided, it is included in the TAP output. Calling skip()
does
not terminate execution of the test function. This function does not return a
value.
test('top level test', (t) => {
t.skip('this is skipped');
});
context.todo([message])
#
Added in: v16.17.0
message
<string> Optional TODO
message to be displayed in TAP output.
This function adds a TODO
directive to the test's output. If message
is
provided, it is included in the TAP output. Calling todo()
does not terminate
execution of the test function. This function does not return a value.
test('top level test', (t) => {
t.todo('this is a todo');
});
context.test([name][, options][, fn])
#
name
<string> The name of the subtest, which is displayed when reporting
test results. Default: The name
property of fn
, or '<anonymous>'
if
fn
does not have a name.
options
<Object> Configuration options for the subtest. The following
properties are supported:
concurrency
<number> The number of tests that can be run at the same time.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: 1
.
only
<boolean> If truthy, and the test context is configured to run
only
tests, then this test will be run. Otherwise, the test is skipped.
Default: false
.
signal
<AbortSignal> Allows aborting an in-progress test.
skip
<boolean> | <string> If truthy, the test is skipped. If a string is
provided, that string is displayed in the test results as the reason for
skipping the test. Default: false
.
todo
<boolean> | <string> If truthy, the test marked as TODO
. If a string
is provided, that string is displayed in the test results as the reason why
the test is TODO
. Default: false
.
timeout
<number> A number of milliseconds the test will fail after.
If unspecified, subtests inherit this value from their parent.
Default: Infinity
.
fn
<Function> | <AsyncFunction> The function under test. The first argument
to this function is a TestContext
object. If the test uses callbacks,
the callback function is passed as the second argument. Default: A no-op
function.
- Returns: <Promise> Resolved with
undefined
once the test completes.
This function is used to create subtests under the current test. This function
behaves in the same fashion as the top level test()
function.
test('top level test', async (t) => {
await t.test(
'This is a subtest',
{ only: false, skip: false, concurrency: 1, todo: false },
(t) => {
assert.ok('some relevant assertion here');
}
);
});
Class: SuiteContext
#
Added in: v16.17.0
An instance of SuiteContext
is passed to each suite function in order to
interact with the test runner. However, the SuiteContext
constructor is not
exposed as part of the API.
context.name
#
Added in: v16.18.0
The name of the suite.
context.signal
#
Added in: v16.17.0
- <AbortSignal> Can be used to abort test subtasks when the test has been
aborted.