home / skills / aj-geddes / useful-ai-prompts / frontend-testing
This skill helps you build and maintain robust frontend test suites using Jest, Vitest, RTL, and Cypress with best practices.
npx playbooks add skill aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts --skill frontend-testingReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: frontend-testing
description: Implement comprehensive frontend testing using Jest, Vitest, React Testing Library, and Cypress. Use when building robust test suites for UI and integration tests.
---
# Frontend Testing
## Overview
Build comprehensive test suites for frontend applications including unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests with proper coverage and assertions.
## When to Use
- Component testing
- Integration testing
- End-to-end testing
- Regression prevention
- Quality assurance
- Test-driven development
## Implementation Examples
### 1. **Jest Unit Testing (React)**
```typescript
// Button.test.tsx
import { render, screen, fireEvent } from '@testing-library/react';
import '@testing-library/jest-dom';
import { Button } from './Button';
describe('Button Component', () => {
it('renders button with text', () => {
render(<Button>Click me</Button>);
expect(screen.getByRole('button')).toHaveTextContent('Click me');
});
it('calls onClick handler when clicked', () => {
const handleClick = jest.fn();
render(<Button onClick={handleClick}>Click</Button>);
fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button'));
expect(handleClick).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
});
it('disables button when disabled prop is true', () => {
render(<Button disabled>Click me</Button>);
expect(screen.getByRole('button')).toBeDisabled();
});
it('applies variant styles correctly', () => {
const { container } = render(<Button variant="primary">Click</Button>);
const button = container.querySelector('button');
expect(button).toHaveClass('bg-blue-500');
});
it('applies size classes correctly', () => {
const { container } = render(<Button size="lg">Click</Button>);
const button = container.querySelector('button');
expect(button).toHaveClass('px-6 py-3 text-lg');
});
});
// hooks.test.ts
import { renderHook, act } from '@testing-library/react';
import { useCounter } from './useCounter';
describe('useCounter', () => {
it('initializes with default value', () => {
const { result } = renderHook(() => useCounter());
expect(result.current.count).toBe(0);
});
it('increments count', () => {
const { result } = renderHook(() => useCounter());
act(() => {
result.current.increment();
});
expect(result.current.count).toBe(1);
});
it('decrements count', () => {
const { result } = renderHook(() => useCounter(5));
act(() => {
result.current.decrement();
});
expect(result.current.count).toBe(4);
});
it('resets count', () => {
const { result } = renderHook(() => useCounter(5));
act(() => {
result.current.increment();
result.current.reset();
});
expect(result.current.count).toBe(5);
});
});
```
### 2. **React Testing Library Integration Tests**
```typescript
// UserForm.test.tsx
import { render, screen, fireEvent, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';
import { UserForm } from './UserForm';
describe('UserForm Integration', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
// Clear mocks before each test
jest.clearAllMocks();
});
it('submits form with valid data', async () => {
const handleSubmit = jest.fn();
render(<UserForm onSubmit={handleSubmit} />);
await userEvent.type(screen.getByLabelText(/name/i), 'John Doe');
await userEvent.type(screen.getByLabelText(/email/i), '[email protected]');
await userEvent.type(screen.getByLabelText(/password/i), 'password123');
fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /submit/i }));
await waitFor(() => {
expect(handleSubmit).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
name: 'John Doe',
email: '[email protected]',
password: 'password123'
});
});
});
it('displays validation errors for empty fields', async () => {
render(<UserForm onSubmit={jest.fn()} />);
fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /submit/i }));
await waitFor(() => {
expect(screen.getByText(/name is required/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
expect(screen.getByText(/email is required/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
});
});
it('displays validation error for invalid email', async () => {
render(<UserForm onSubmit={jest.fn()} />);
await userEvent.type(screen.getByLabelText(/email/i), 'invalid-email');
fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /submit/i }));
await waitFor(() => {
expect(screen.getByText(/invalid email/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
});
});
});
// UserList.test.tsx with data fetching
import { render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
import { UserList } from './UserList';
describe('UserList with API', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
jest.spyOn(global, 'fetch').mockClear();
});
it('displays loading state initially', () => {
(global.fetch as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(
() => new Promise(() => {}) // Never resolves
);
render(<UserList />);
expect(screen.getByText(/loading/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
});
it('fetches and displays users', async () => {
const mockUsers = [
{ id: 1, name: 'User 1', email: '[email protected]' },
{ id: 2, name: 'User 2', email: '[email protected]' }
];
(global.fetch as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValueOnce({
ok: true,
json: async () => mockUsers
});
render(<UserList />);
await waitFor(() => {
expect(screen.getByText('User 1')).toBeInTheDocument();
expect(screen.getByText('User 2')).toBeInTheDocument();
});
});
it('displays error message on fetch failure', async () => {
(global.fetch as jest.Mock).mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('Network error'));
render(<UserList />);
await waitFor(() => {
expect(screen.getByText(/error/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
});
});
});
```
### 3. **Vitest for Vue Testing**
```typescript
// Button.spec.ts
import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
import { mount } from '@vue/test-utils';
import Button from './Button.vue';
describe('Button.vue', () => {
it('renders slot content', () => {
const wrapper = mount(Button, {
slots: {
default: 'Click me'
}
});
expect(wrapper.text()).toContain('Click me');
});
it('emits click event', async () => {
const wrapper = mount(Button);
await wrapper.trigger('click');
expect(wrapper.emitted('click')).toHaveLength(1);
});
it('disables button when disabled prop is true', () => {
const wrapper = mount(Button, {
props: { disabled: true }
});
expect(wrapper.attributes('disabled')).toBeDefined();
});
it('applies variant class', () => {
const wrapper = mount(Button, {
props: { variant: 'primary' }
});
expect(wrapper.classes()).toContain('bg-blue-500');
});
});
// composable.spec.ts
import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
import { useCounter } from './useCounter';
describe('useCounter', () => {
it('initializes with default value', () => {
const { count } = useCounter();
expect(count.value).toBe(0);
});
it('increments count', () => {
const { count, increment } = useCounter();
increment();
expect(count.value).toBe(1);
});
});
```
### 4. **Cypress E2E Testing**
```typescript
// cypress/e2e/login.cy.ts
describe('Login Flow', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
cy.visit('http://localhost:3000/login');
});
it('logs in with valid credentials', () => {
cy.get('input[name="email"]').type('[email protected]');
cy.get('input[name="password"]').type('password123');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
cy.get('h1').should('contain', 'Welcome');
});
it('displays error for invalid credentials', () => {
cy.get('input[name="email"]').type('[email protected]');
cy.get('input[name="password"]').type('wrongpassword');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.get('.error-message').should('contain', 'Invalid credentials');
});
it('validates email field', () => {
cy.get('input[name="email"]').type('invalid-email');
cy.get('input[name="password"]').type('password123');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.get('.error-message').should('contain', 'Invalid email');
});
});
// cypress/e2e/user-management.cy.ts
describe('User Management', () => {
beforeEach(() => {
cy.login('[email protected]', 'password123');
cy.visit('http://localhost:3000/users');
});
it('creates a new user', () => {
cy.get('button:contains("Add User")').click();
cy.get('input[name="name"]').type('New User');
cy.get('input[name="email"]').type('[email protected]');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.get('.success-message').should('contain', 'User created');
cy.get('table tbody').should('contain', 'New User');
});
it('edits an existing user', () => {
cy.get('table tbody tr').first().contains('button', 'Edit').click();
cy.get('input[name="name"]').clear().type('Updated Name');
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.get('.success-message').should('contain', 'User updated');
});
it('deletes a user with confirmation', () => {
cy.get('table tbody tr').first().contains('button', 'Delete').click();
cy.get('.modal button:contains("Confirm")').click();
cy.get('.success-message').should('contain', 'User deleted');
});
});
// cypress/support/commands.ts
Cypress.Commands.add('login', (email: string, password: string) => {
cy.visit('http://localhost:3000/login');
cy.get('input[name="email"]').type(email);
cy.get('input[name="password"]').type(password);
cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
});
```
### 5. **Test Coverage Configuration**
```javascript
// jest.config.js
module.exports = {
preset: 'ts-jest',
testEnvironment: 'jsdom',
roots: ['<rootDir>/src'],
testMatch: ['**/__tests__/**/*.ts?(x)', '**/?(*.)+(spec|test).ts?(x)'],
collectCoverageFrom: [
'src/**/*.{ts,tsx}',
'!src/**/*.d.ts',
'!src/index.tsx',
'!src/reportWebVitals.ts'
],
coverageThreshold: {
global: {
branches: 70,
functions: 70,
lines: 70,
statements: 70
}
},
moduleNameMapper: {
'^@/(.*)$': '<rootDir>/src/$1'
},
setupFilesAfterEnv: ['<rootDir>/src/setupTests.ts'],
transform: {
'^.+\\.tsx?$': ['ts-jest', {
tsconfig: {
jsx: 'react-jsx'
}
}]
}
};
// package.json scripts
{
"scripts": {
"test": "jest",
"test:watch": "jest --watch",
"test:coverage": "jest --coverage",
"cypress": "cypress open",
"cypress:headless": "cypress run"
}
}
```
## Best Practices
- Write tests alongside code (TDD)
- Test behavior, not implementation
- Use descriptive test names
- Keep tests focused and independent
- Mock external dependencies
- Aim for high coverage (>80%)
- Use semantic queries in React Testing Library
- Implement E2E tests for critical paths
- Test error scenarios
- Use CI/CD for automated testing
## Resources
- [Jest Documentation](https://jestjs.io/)
- [Vitest](https://vitest.dev/)
- [React Testing Library](https://testing-library.com/react)
- [Cypress Documentation](https://docs.cypress.io/)
- [Testing Library Best Practices](https://testing-library.com/docs/queries/about)
This skill implements comprehensive frontend testing using Jest, Vitest, React Testing Library, and Cypress to build reliable unit, integration, and end-to-end test suites. It focuses on measurable quality outcomes: maintainable tests, consistent coverage, and automated CI verification. Use it to catch regressions early and ensure UI behavior across components and user flows.
The skill provides patterns and examples for unit tests (Jest/Vitest), integration tests with React Testing Library, and full E2E flows with Cypress. It shows test structure, mocking strategies, coverage configuration, and reusable Cypress commands so teams can adopt consistent test conventions. Scripts and coverage thresholds ensure tests run locally and in CI with clear pass/fail criteria.
When should I use Jest vs Vitest?
Use Jest for established React/TypeScript projects and rich ecosystem support; choose Vitest for faster native ESM support and Vue projects or when you need quicker test startup times.
What belongs in unit tests vs E2E tests?
Unit tests should validate single components and logic with mocks. E2E tests exercise full user journeys and integrations; keep E2E suites focused on critical paths to avoid flakiness and long runtimes.