Javascript Testing Patterns

Seth HobsonCommunityCreated by Seth Hobson

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Software development
MIT
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From the author

Implement comprehensive testing strategies using Jest, Vitest, and Testing Library for unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end testing with mocking, fixtures, and test-driven development. Use when writing JavaScript/TypeScript tests, setting up test infrastructure, or implementing TDD/BDD workflows.

— the description by Seth Hobson

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a structured approach to implementing testing strategies in JavaScript and TypeScript projects. It covers unit, integration, and end-to-end testing patterns, including configuration for Jest and Vitest, mocking techniques, dependency injection, and the use of test factories. It emphasizes best practices such as the AAA (Arrange, Act, Assert) pattern, test isolation, and maintaining high coverage.

What it does

Provides configuration templates for Jest and Vitest.
Demonstrates unit testing patterns for functions, classes, and asynchronous code.
Explains mocking strategies including module mocking, dependency injection, and function spying.
Outlines integration testing approaches using supertest and database instances.
Offers guidance on frontend component testing with Testing Library.
Includes best practices for test organization, data generation, and TDD workflows.

When to use it

When setting up test infrastructure for new JavaScript or TypeScript projects.
When writing unit tests for business logic, services, or utility functions.
When implementing integration tests for APIs and database operations.
When creating end-to-end tests for user-facing flows.
When adopting test-driven development (TDD) or behavior-driven development (BDD) practices.

Advantages

Standardizes testing patterns across a codebase.
Promotes test isolation through effective mocking and dependency injection.
Provides clear examples for common testing scenarios.
Encourages maintainable test suites through the AAA pattern and semantic querying.
Supports both Jest and Vitest ecosystems.

Usage examples

“How do I mock a global fetch call in a Vitest unit test?”: The skill provides a pattern using vi.fn() to mock global.fetch and demonstrates how to use mockResolvedValueOnce to simulate successful and failed API responses.
“What is the recommended way to test a class that depends on a database?”: The skill suggests using dependency injection to pass a repository interface into the class constructor, allowing you to inject a mock repository during testing.
“How should I structure my integration tests for an Express API?”: The skill provides an example using supertest, showing how to use beforeAll and afterAll for database setup and cleanup, and beforeEach for truncating tables.
“How can I generate realistic test data for my user objects?”: The skill recommends using the @faker-js/faker library to create factory functions that generate randomized user data with optional overrides.

Install

Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/wshobson/javascript-testing-patterns/download

Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip javascript-testing-patterns.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Seth Hobson

JavaScript Testing Patterns

Comprehensive guide for implementing robust testing strategies in JavaScript/TypeScript applications using modern testing frameworks and best practices.

When to Use This Skill

Setting up test infrastructure for new projects
Writing unit tests for functions and classes
Creating integration tests for APIs and services
Implementing end-to-end tests for user flows
Mocking external dependencies and APIs
Testing React, Vue, or other frontend components
Implementing test-driven development (TDD)
Setting up continuous testing in CI/CD pipelines

Testing Frameworks

Jest - Full-Featured Testing Framework

Setup:

// jest.config.ts
import type { Config } from "jest";

const config: Config = {
  preset: "ts-jest",
  testEnvironment: "node",
  roots: ["<rootDir>/src"],
  testMatch: ["**/__tests__/**/*.ts", "**/?(*.)+(spec|test).ts"],
  collectCoverageFrom: [
    "src/**/*.ts",
    "!src/**/*.d.ts",
    "!src/**/*.interface.ts",
  ],
  coverageThreshold: {
    global: {
      branches: 80,
      functions: 80,
      lines: 80,
      statements: 80,
    },
  },
  setupFilesAfterEnv: ["<rootDir>/src/test/setup.ts"],
};

export default config;

Vitest - Fast, Vite-Native Testing

Setup:

// vitest.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "vitest/config";

export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    globals: true,
    environment: "node",
    coverage: {
      provider: "v8",
      reporter: ["text", "json", "html"],
      exclude: ["**/*.d.ts", "**/*.config.ts", "**/dist/**"],
    },
    setupFiles: ["./src/test/setup.ts"],
  },
});

Unit Testing Patterns

Pattern 1: Testing Pure Functions

// utils/calculator.ts
export function add(a: number, b: number): number {
  return a + b;
}

export function divide(a: number, b: number): number {
  if (b === 0) {
    throw new Error("Division by zero");
  }
  return a / b;
}

// utils/calculator.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
import { add, divide } from "./calculator";

describe("Calculator", () => {
  describe("add", () => {
    it("should add two positive numbers", () => {
      expect(add(2, 3)).toBe(5);
    });

    it("should add negative numbers", () => {
      expect(add(-2, -3)).toBe(-5);
    });

    it("should handle zero", () => {
      expect(add(0, 5)).toBe(5);
      expect(add(5, 0)).toBe(5);
    });
  });

  describe("divide", () => {
    it("should divide two numbers", () => {
      expect(divide(10, 2)).toBe(5);
    });

    it("should handle decimal results", () => {
      expect(divide(5, 2)).toBe(2.5);
    });

    it("should throw error when dividing by zero", () => {
      expect(() => divide(10, 0)).toThrow("Division by zero");
    });
  });
});

Pattern 2: Testing Classes

// services/user.service.ts
export class UserService {
  private users: Map<string, User> = new Map();

  create(user: User): User {
    if (this.users.has(user.id)) {
      throw new Error("User already exists");
    }
    this.users.set(user.id, user);
    return user;
  }

  findById(id: string): User | undefined {
    return this.users.get(id);
  }

  update(id: string, updates: Partial<User>): User {
    const user = this.users.get(id);
    if (!user) {
      throw new Error("User not found");
    }
    const updated = { ...user, ...updates };
    this.users.set(id, updated);
    return updated;
  }

  delete(id: string): boolean {
    return this.users.delete(id);
  }
}

// services/user.service.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from "vitest";
import { UserService } from "./user.service";

describe("UserService", () => {
  let service: UserService;

  beforeEach(() => {
    service = new UserService();
  });

  describe("create", () => {
    it("should create a new user", () => {
      const user = { id: "1", name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };
      const created = service.create(user);

      expect(created).toEqual(user);
      expect(service.findById("1")).toEqual(user);
    });

    it("should throw error if user already exists", () => {
      const user = { id: "1", name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };
      service.create(user);

      expect(() => service.create(user)).toThrow("User already exists");
    });
  });

  describe("update", () => {
    it("should update existing user", () => {
      const user = { id: "1", name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };
      service.create(user);

      const updated = service.update("1", { name: "Jane" });

      expect(updated.name).toBe("Jane");
      expect(updated.email).toBe("[email protected]");
    });

    it("should throw error if user not found", () => {
      expect(() => service.update("999", { name: "Jane" })).toThrow(
        "User not found",
      );
    });
  });
});

Pattern 3: Testing Async Functions

// services/api.service.ts
export class ApiService {
  async fetchUser(id: string): Promise<User> {
    const response = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/users/${id}`);
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error("User not found");
    }
    return response.json();
  }

  async createUser(user: CreateUserDTO): Promise<User> {
    const response = await fetch("https://api.example.com/users", {
      method: "POST",
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
      body: JSON.stringify(user),
    });
    return response.json();
  }
}

// services/api.service.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
import { ApiService } from "./api.service";

// Mock fetch globally
global.fetch = vi.fn();

describe("ApiService", () => {
  let service: ApiService;

  beforeEach(() => {
    service = new ApiService();
    vi.clearAllMocks();
  });

  describe("fetchUser", () => {
    it("should fetch user successfully", async () => {
      const mockUser = { id: "1", name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };

      (fetch as any).mockResolvedValueOnce({
        ok: true,
        json: async () => mockUser,
      });

      const user = await service.fetchUser("1");

      expect(user).toEqual(mockUser);
      expect(fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith("https://api.example.com/users/1");
    });

    it("should throw error if user not found", async () => {
      (fetch as any).mockResolvedValueOnce({
        ok: false,
      });

      await expect(service.fetchUser("999")).rejects.toThrow("User not found");
    });
  });

  describe("createUser", () => {
    it("should create user successfully", async () => {
      const newUser = { name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };
      const createdUser = { id: "1", ...newUser };

      (fetch as any).mockResolvedValueOnce({
        ok: true,
        json: async () => createdUser,
      });

      const user = await service.createUser(newUser);

      expect(user).toEqual(createdUser);
      expect(fetch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
        "https://api.example.com/users",
        expect.objectContaining({
          method: "POST",
          body: JSON.stringify(newUser),
        }),
      );
    });
  });
});

Mocking Patterns

Pattern 1: Mocking Modules

// services/email.service.ts
import nodemailer from "nodemailer";

export class EmailService {
  private transporter = nodemailer.createTransport({
    host: process.env.SMTP_HOST,
    port: 587,
    auth: {
      user: process.env.SMTP_USER,
      pass: process.env.SMTP_PASS,
    },
  });

  async sendEmail(to: string, subject: string, html: string) {
    await this.transporter.sendMail({
      from: process.env.EMAIL_FROM,
      to,
      subject,
      html,
    });
  }
}

// services/email.service.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
import { EmailService } from "./email.service";

vi.mock("nodemailer", () => ({
  default: {
    createTransport: vi.fn(() => ({
      sendMail: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ messageId: "123" }),
    })),
  },
}));

describe("EmailService", () => {
  let service: EmailService;

  beforeEach(() => {
    service = new EmailService();
  });

  it("should send email successfully", async () => {
    await service.sendEmail(
      "[email protected]",
      "Test Subject",
      "<p>Test Body</p>",
    );

    expect(service["transporter"].sendMail).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
      expect.objectContaining({
        to: "[email protected]",
        subject: "Test Subject",
      }),
    );
  });
});

Pattern 2: Dependency Injection for Testing

// services/user.service.ts
export interface IUserRepository {
  findById(id: string): Promise<User | null>;
  create(user: User): Promise<User>;
}

export class UserService {
  constructor(private userRepository: IUserRepository) {}

  async getUser(id: string): Promise<User> {
    const user = await this.userRepository.findById(id);
    if (!user) {
      throw new Error("User not found");
    }
    return user;
  }

  async createUser(userData: CreateUserDTO): Promise<User> {
    // Business logic here
    const user = { id: generateId(), ...userData };
    return this.userRepository.create(user);
  }
}

// services/user.service.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
import { UserService, IUserRepository } from "./user.service";

describe("UserService", () => {
  let service: UserService;
  let mockRepository: IUserRepository;

  beforeEach(() => {
    mockRepository = {
      findById: vi.fn(),
      create: vi.fn(),
    };
    service = new UserService(mockRepository);
  });

  describe("getUser", () => {
    it("should return user if found", async () => {
      const mockUser = { id: "1", name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };
      vi.mocked(mockRepository.findById).mockResolvedValue(mockUser);

      const user = await service.getUser("1");

      expect(user).toEqual(mockUser);
      expect(mockRepository.findById).toHaveBeenCalledWith("1");
    });

    it("should throw error if user not found", async () => {
      vi.mocked(mockRepository.findById).mockResolvedValue(null);

      await expect(service.getUser("999")).rejects.toThrow("User not found");
    });
  });

  describe("createUser", () => {
    it("should create user successfully", async () => {
      const userData = { name: "John", email: "[email protected]" };
      const createdUser = { id: "1", ...userData };

      vi.mocked(mockRepository.create).mockResolvedValue(createdUser);

      const user = await service.createUser(userData);

      expect(user).toEqual(createdUser);
      expect(mockRepository.create).toHaveBeenCalled();
    });
  });
});

Pattern 3: Spying on Functions

// utils/logger.ts
export const logger = {
  info: (message: string) => console.log(`INFO: ${message}`),
  error: (message: string) => console.error(`ERROR: ${message}`),
};

// services/order.service.ts
import { logger } from "../utils/logger";

export class OrderService {
  async processOrder(orderId: string): Promise<void> {
    logger.info(`Processing order ${orderId}`);
    // Process order logic
    logger.info(`Order ${orderId} processed successfully`);
  }
}

// services/order.service.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
import { OrderService } from "./order.service";
import { logger } from "../utils/logger";

describe("OrderService", () => {
  let service: OrderService;
  let loggerSpy: any;

  beforeEach(() => {
    service = new OrderService();
    loggerSpy = vi.spyOn(logger, "info");
  });

  afterEach(() => {
    loggerSpy.mockRestore();
  });

  it("should log order processing", async () => {
    await service.processOrder("123");

    expect(loggerSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Processing order 123");
    expect(loggerSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Order 123 processed successfully");
    expect(loggerSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
  });
});

Integration Testing

Integration tests verify real database operations and HTTP endpoints using supertest and a test database instance. Always truncate tables in beforeEach and tear down in afterAll.

For full API integration test examples (supertest + PostgreSQL) and database repository integration tests, see references/advanced-testing-patterns.md.

Frontend Testing with Testing Library

Test React components by rendering them and querying by role, placeholder, or test ID. Test hooks with renderHook + act. Prefer semantic queries (getByRole, getByPlaceholderText) over data-testid.

For complete React component test examples (UserForm, hooks with renderHook/act), see references/advanced-testing-patterns.md.

Test Fixtures and Factories

Use @faker-js/faker to generate realistic test data factories. Factories accept optional overrides so tests can set only the fields they care about:

// tests/fixtures/user.fixture.ts
import { faker } from "@faker-js/faker";

export function createUserFixture(overrides?: Partial<User>): User {
  return {
    id: faker.string.uuid(),
    name: faker.person.fullName(),
    email: faker.internet.email(),
    createdAt: faker.date.past(),
    ...overrides,
  };
}

For snapshot testing, coverage configuration, test organization patterns, promise testing, and timer mocking, see references/advanced-testing-patterns.md.

Best Practices

Follow AAA Pattern: Arrange, Act, Assert
One assertion per test: Or logically related assertions
Descriptive test names: Should describe what is being tested
Use beforeEach/afterEach: For setup and teardown
Mock external dependencies: Keep tests isolated
Test edge cases: Not just happy paths
Avoid implementation details: Test behavior, not implementation
Use test factories: For consistent test data
Keep tests fast: Mock slow operations
Write tests first (TDD): When possible
Maintain test coverage: Aim for 80%+ coverage
Use TypeScript: For type-safe tests
Test error handling: Not just success cases
Use data-testid sparingly: Prefer semantic queries
Clean up after tests: Prevent test pollution

Files

ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer1023 B
LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.0 KiB
SKILL.md14.3 KiB
references/advanced-testing-patterns.md12.5 KiB

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs network access, Needs Node.js

Security

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Attribution and licence

Created by

Seth Hobson

Publisher

Seth Hobson (Community)

Source

wshobson/agents · plugins/javascript-typescript/skills/javascript-testing-patterns · commit 4bde316

Licence

MIT License (redistribution allowed)

LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)

Synced

2026-11-09

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Seth Hobson or Seth Hobson.

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