Vue.js Testing Utilities Comparison
@vue/test-utils vs @testing-library/vue
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What's Vue.js Testing Utilities?

Testing utilities for Vue.js are essential for ensuring the reliability and functionality of Vue components. These libraries provide tools and methods to facilitate unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing of Vue applications. They help developers write tests that are easy to understand and maintain, ensuring that components behave as expected under various conditions. The primary goal of these libraries is to enhance the testing experience, making it more intuitive and aligned with best practices in modern web development.

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@vue/test-utils1,818,7291,0561.51 MB418 months agoMIT
@testing-library/vue293,2101,08830.5 kB287 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: @vue/test-utils vs @testing-library/vue

Testing Philosophy

  • @vue/test-utils:

    @vue/test-utils provides a more traditional approach to testing, allowing developers to interact with the component's internals. This can be beneficial for unit tests where understanding the component's behavior in isolation is crucial.

  • @testing-library/vue:

    @testing-library/vue promotes the philosophy of testing components as users would interact with them. It encourages developers to write tests that focus on the output and behavior of components rather than their implementation details, leading to more robust and maintainable tests.

User Interaction Simulation

  • @vue/test-utils:

    While @vue/test-utils allows for some interaction simulation, its primary focus is on component structure and behavior. It provides methods to trigger events and manipulate component state, but it does not emphasize user-centric testing as much as @testing-library/vue.

  • @testing-library/vue:

    This library excels at simulating user interactions such as clicks, typing, and form submissions. It provides utilities to query elements in a way that mimics how users would find them, which helps ensure that the tests reflect real-world usage scenarios.

Component Mounting

  • @vue/test-utils:

    @vue/test-utils offers both shallow and full mounting options, allowing developers to test components in isolation or with their child components rendered. This flexibility is useful for testing complex components with multiple dependencies.

  • @testing-library/vue:

    @testing-library/vue provides a simple API for mounting components that focuses on rendering them in a way that resembles how they would appear in the actual application. This helps ensure that the component behaves correctly in a real-world context.

Learning Curve

  • @vue/test-utils:

    @vue/test-utils may have a steeper learning curve due to its more extensive API and the need to understand Vue's component lifecycle and structure. However, it provides powerful tools for developers looking to perform in-depth testing.

  • @testing-library/vue:

    This library is designed to be intuitive and easy to learn, especially for those familiar with user-centric testing. Its API is straightforward, making it accessible for developers who may be new to testing.

Community and Ecosystem

  • @vue/test-utils:

    As the official testing utility for Vue.js, it has strong support from the Vue community and is well-documented, making it a reliable choice for developers looking to integrate testing into their Vue applications.

  • @testing-library/vue:

    Part of the Testing Library family, it benefits from a strong community and a wealth of resources, documentation, and best practices that promote effective testing strategies across various frameworks.

How to Choose: @vue/test-utils vs @testing-library/vue
  • @vue/test-utils:

    Choose @vue/test-utils if you need a more comprehensive set of utilities for shallow and full mounting of Vue components, allowing for detailed testing of component internals and lifecycle methods. It is particularly useful for unit testing where you want to isolate components and test their behavior in a controlled environment.

  • @testing-library/vue:

    Choose @testing-library/vue if you want to focus on testing the user experience by simulating real user interactions and ensuring that your components behave correctly in a way that users would expect. It emphasizes testing from the user's perspective, which can lead to more meaningful tests.

Similar Npm Packages to @vue/test-utils

@vue/test-utils is the official unit testing utility library for Vue.js applications. It provides a set of utility functions to facilitate the testing of Vue components, making it easier to mount components, simulate user interactions, and assert expected outcomes. With its focus on Vue's reactivity system, @vue/test-utils allows developers to write tests that are both efficient and easy to maintain. This library is essential for ensuring that Vue components behave as expected and helps in catching bugs early in the development process.

While @vue/test-utils is specifically designed for Vue.js, there are alternatives available for testing components in other frameworks, such as React. Here are a couple of notable alternatives:

  • enzyme is a popular testing utility for React that allows developers to manipulate, traverse, and simulate runtime given the output of React components. It provides a variety of methods for shallow rendering, full DOM rendering, and static rendering, making it versatile for different testing scenarios. Enzyme is particularly useful for unit testing React components, as it allows for detailed inspection of component behavior and state. However, it is worth noting that enzyme is primarily compatible with React class components and may require additional configuration for functional components.

  • react-testing-library is another widely-used testing library for React applications. It encourages testing from the user's perspective by focusing on how components behave in the context of the application rather than their implementation details. This library promotes best practices by encouraging developers to write tests that resemble how users interact with the application, making the tests more reliable and maintainable. react-testing-library is ideal for integration and end-to-end testing, as it helps ensure that components work together as intended.

To see how @vue/test-utils compares with enzyme and react-testing-library, check out the comparison: Comparing @vue/test-utils vs enzyme vs react-testing-library.

Similar Npm Packages to @testing-library/vue

@testing-library/vue is a testing utility for Vue.js applications that promotes best practices in testing by focusing on the way users interact with your components. It encourages developers to write tests that resemble how users would actually use the application, making it easier to ensure that components behave as expected in real-world scenarios. With its simple API, @testing-library/vue allows you to render Vue components, query elements, and simulate user interactions, all while maintaining a clear and readable test structure.

One of the primary alternatives to @testing-library/vue is @vue/test-utils. This official utility library for Vue.js provides a set of tools for unit testing Vue components. It allows developers to mount components, access their instance properties, and perform assertions on their behavior. While @vue/test-utils is highly flexible and powerful, it requires a deeper understanding of Vue's internals, which may lead to more complex tests compared to the user-centric approach of @testing-library/vue.

When deciding between these two libraries, consider your testing philosophy and the complexity of your components. If you prefer a more user-focused testing approach that emphasizes how users interact with your application, @testing-library/vue is a great choice. On the other hand, if you need more control over the component's internals and want to perform detailed unit tests, @vue/test-utils might be more suitable.

For a comprehensive comparison of these testing libraries, check out the following link: Comparing @testing-library/vue vs @vue/test-utils.

README for @vue/test-utils

Vue Test Utils

Component testing utils for Vue 3.

Languages

🇫🇷 French version of this README.md

Installation and Usage

  • yarn: yarn add @vue/test-utils --dev
  • npm: npm install @vue/test-utils --save-dev

Get started with the documentation.

Coming from Vue 2 + Test Utils v1?

Check the migration guide. It's still a work in progress. If you find a problem or something that doesn't work that previously did in Vue Test Utils v1, please open an issue.

Documentation

See the docs.

Development

Get started by running pnpm install. You can run the tests with pnpm test. That's it!

Contributing Docs

All the documentation files can be found in packages/docs. It contains the English markdown files while translation(s) are stored in their corresponding <lang> sub-folder(s):

  • fr: French translation.

Besides that, the .vitepress sub-folder contains the config and theme, including the i18n information.

  • pnpm docs:dev: Start the docs dev server.
  • pnpm docs:build: Build the docs.

To add or maintain the translations, we follow the Vue Ecosystem Translation Guidelines.

  • pnpm docs:translation:status [<lang>]: Show the translation status for your language. If you don't specify a language, it will show the status for all languages.
  • pnpm docs:translation:compare <lang>: Compare the docs with the latest checkpoint for your language.
  • pnpm docs:translation:update <lang> [<commit>]: Update the checkpoint for your language. The checkpoint will be set by the latest commit hash. However, you can also specify a commit hash manually.
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