Jest cheat sheet

I recommend Mrm and jest-codemods for single-command Jest installation and easy migration from other frameworks.

Test structure
Matchers
Async tests
Mocks
Data-driven tests (Jest 23+)
Skipping tests
Testing modules with side effects
Usage with Babel and TypeScript
Resources
You may also like
Contributing
Sponsoring
Author and license

Test structure

describe('makePoniesPink', () => {
  beforeAll(() => {
    /* Runs before all tests */
  })
  afterAll(() => {
    /* Runs after all tests */
  })
  beforeEach(() => {
    /* Runs before each test */
  })
  afterEach(() => {
    /* Runs after each test */
  })

  test('make each pony pink', () => {
    const actual = fn(['Alice', 'Bob', 'Eve'])
    expect(actual).toEqual(['Pink Alice', 'Pink Bob', 'Pink Eve'])
  })
})

Matchers

Using matchers, matchers docs

Basic matchers

expect(42).toBe(42) // Strict equality (===)
expect(42).not.toBe(3) // Strict equality (!==)
expect([1, 2]).toEqual([1, 2]) // Deep equality
expect({ a: undefined, b: 2 }).toEqual({ b: 2 }) // Deep equality
expect({ a: undefined, b: 2 }).not.toStrictEqual({ b: 2 }) // Strict equality (Jest 23+)

Truthiness

// Matches anything that an if statement treats as true (not false, 0, '', null, undefined, NaN)
expect('foo').toBeTruthy()
// Matches anything that an if statement treats as false (false, 0, '', null, undefined, NaN)
expect('').toBeFalsy()
// Matches only null
expect(null).toBeNull()
// Matches only undefined
expect(undefined).toBeUndefined()
// The opposite of toBeUndefined
expect(7).toBeDefined()
// Matches true or false
expect(true).toEqual(expect.any(Boolean))

Numbers

expect(2).toBeGreaterThan(1)
expect(1).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1)
expect(1).toBeLessThan(2)
expect(1).toBeLessThanOrEqual(1)
expect(0.2 + 0.1).toBeCloseTo(0.3, 5)
expect(NaN).toEqual(expect.any(Number))

Strings

expect('long string').toMatch('str')
expect('string').toEqual(expect.any(String))
expect('coffee').toMatch(/ff/)
expect('pizza').not.toMatch('coffee')
expect(['pizza', 'coffee']).toEqual([expect.stringContaining('zz'), expect.stringMatching(/ff/)])

Arrays

expect([]).toEqual(expect.any(Array))
expect(['Alice', 'Bob', 'Eve']).toHaveLength(3)
expect(['Alice', 'Bob', 'Eve']).toContain('Alice')
expect([{ a: 1 }, { a: 2 }]).toContainEqual({ a: 1 })
expect(['Alice', 'Bob', 'Eve']).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(['Alice', 'Bob']))

Objects

expect({ a: 1 }).toHaveProperty('a')
expect({ a: 1 }).toHaveProperty('a', 1)
expect({ a: { b: 1 } }).toHaveProperty('a.b')
expect({ a: 1, b: 2 }).toMatchObject({ a: 1 })
expect({ a: 1, b: 2 }).toMatchObject({
  a: expect.any(Number),
  b: expect.any(Number),
})
expect([{ a: 1 }, { b: 2 }]).toEqual([
  expect.objectContaining({ a: expect.any(Number) }),
  expect.anything(),
])

Exceptions

// const fn = () => { throw new Error('Out of cheese!') }
expect(fn).toThrow()
expect(fn).toThrow('Out of cheese')
expect(fn).toThrowErrorMatchingSnapshot()

Aliases

toThrowError → toThrow

Snapshots

expect(node).toMatchSnapshot()
// Jest 23+
expect(user).toMatchSnapshot({
  date: expect.any(Date),
})
expect(user).toMatchInlineSnapshot()

Mock functions

// const fn = jest.fn()
// const fn = jest.fn().mockName('Unicorn') -- named mock, Jest 22+
expect(fn).toBeCalled() // Function was called
expect(fn).not.toBeCalled() // Function was *not* called
expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1) // Function was called only once
expect(fn).toBeCalledWith(arg1, arg2) // Any of calls was with these arguments
expect(fn).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(arg1, arg2) // Last call was with these arguments
expect(fn).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(callNumber, args) // Nth call was with these arguments (Jest 23+)
expect(fn).toHaveReturnedTimes(2) // Function was returned without throwing an error (Jest 23+)
expect(fn).toHaveReturnedWith(value) // Function returned a value (Jest 23+)
expect(fn).toHaveLastReturnedWith(value) // Last function call returned a value (Jest 23+)
expect(fn).toHaveNthReturnedWith(value) // Nth function call returned a value (Jest 23+)
expect(fn.mock.calls).toEqual([
  ['first', 'call', 'args'],
  ['second', 'call', 'args'],
]) // Multiple calls
expect(fn.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe(2) // fn.mock.calls[0][0] — the first argument of the first call

Aliases

toBeCalled → toHaveBeenCalled
toBeCalledWith → toHaveBeenCalledWith
lastCalledWith → toHaveBeenLastCalledWith
nthCalledWith → toHaveBeenNthCalledWith
toReturnTimes → toHaveReturnedTimes
toReturnWith → toHaveReturnedWith
lastReturnedWith → toHaveLastReturnedWith
nthReturnedWith → toHaveNthReturnedWith

Misc

expect(new A()).toBeInstanceOf(A)
expect(() => {}).toEqual(expect.any(Function))
expect('pizza').toEqual(expect.anything())

Promise matchers (Jest 20+)

test('resolve to lemon', () => {
  expect.assertions(1)
  // Make sure to add a return statement
  return expect(Promise.resolve('lemon')).resolves.toBe('lemon')
  return expect(Promise.reject('octopus')).rejects.toBeDefined()
  return expect(Promise.reject(Error('pizza'))).rejects.toThrow()
})

Or with async/await:

test('resolve to lemon', async () => {
  expect.assertions(2)
  await expect(Promise.resolve('lemon')).resolves.toBe('lemon')
  await expect(Promise.resolve('lemon')).resolves.not.toBe('octopus')
})

resolves docs

Async tests

See more examples in Jest docs.

It’s a good practice to specify a number of expected assertions in async tests, so the test will fail if your assertions weren’t called at all.

test('async test', () => {
  expect.assertions(3) // Exactly three assertions are called during a test
  // OR
  expect.hasAssertions() // At least one assertion is called during a test

  // Your async tests
})

Note that you can also do this per file, outside any describe and test:

beforeEach(expect.hasAssertions)

This will verify the presense of at least one assertion per test case. It also plays nice with more specific expect.assertions(3) declarations.

In addition, you can enforce it globally, across all test files (instead of having to repeat per file) by adding the exact same line into one of the scripts referenced by the setupFilesAfterEnv configuration option. (For example, setupTests.ts and that is referenced via a setupFilesAfterEnv: ['<rootDir>/setupTests.ts'] entry in jest.config.ts.)

async/await

test('async test', async () => {
  expect.assertions(1)
  const result = await runAsyncOperation()
  expect(result).toBe(true)
})

Promises

Return a Promise from your test:

test('async test', () => {
  expect.assertions(1)
  return runAsyncOperation().then((result) => {
    expect(result).toBe(true)
  })
})

done() callback

Wrap your assertions in try/catch block, otherwise Jest will ignore failures:

test('async test', (done) => {
  expect.assertions(1)
  runAsyncOperation()
  setTimeout(() => {
    try {
      const result = getAsyncOperationResult()
      expect(result).toBe(true)
      done()
    } catch (err) {
      done.fail(err)
    }
  })
})

Mocks

Mock functions

test('call the callback', () => {
  const callback = jest.fn()
  fn(callback)
  expect(callback).toBeCalled()
  expect(callback.mock.calls[0][1].baz).toBe('pizza') // Second argument of the first call
  // Match the first and the last arguments but ignore the second argument
  expect(callback).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith('meal', expect.anything(), 'margarita')
})

You can also use snapshots:

test('call the callback', () => {
  const callback = jest.fn().mockName('Unicorn') // mockName is available in Jest 22+
  fn(callback)
  expect(callback).toMatchSnapshot()
  // ->
  // [MockFunction Unicorn] {
  //   "calls": Array [
  // ...
})

And pass an implementation to jest.fn function:

const callback = jest.fn(() => true)

Mock functions docs

Returning, resolving and rejecting values

Your mocks can return values:

const callback = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(true)
const callbackOnce = jest.fn().mockReturnValueOnce(true)

Or resolve values:

const promise = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(true)
const promiseOnce = jest.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(true)

They can even reject values:

const failedPromise = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue('Error')
const failedPromiseOnce = jest.fn().mockRejectedValueOnce('Error')

You can even combine these:

const callback = jest.fn().mockReturnValueOnce(false).mockReturnValue(true)

// ->
//  call 1: false
//  call 2+: true

Mock modules using `jest.mock` method

jest.mock('lodash/memoize', () => (a) => a) // The original lodash/memoize should exist
jest.mock('lodash/memoize', () => (a) => a, { virtual: true }) // The original lodash/memoize isn’t required

jest.mock docs

Note: When using babel-jest, calls to jest.mock will automatically be hoisted to the top of the code block. Use jest.doMock if you want to explicitly avoid this behavior.

Mock modules using a mock file

Create a file like __mocks__/lodash/memoize.js:
```
module.exports = (a) => a
```
Add to your test:
```
jest.mock('lodash/memoize')
```

Note: When using babel-jest, calls to jest.mock will automatically be hoisted to the top of the code block. Use jest.doMock if you want to explicitly avoid this behavior.

Manual mocks docs

Mock object methods

const spy = jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation(() => {})
expect(console.log.mock.calls).toEqual([['dope'], ['nope']])
spy.mockRestore()

const spy = jest.spyOn(ajax, 'request').mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve({ success: true }))
expect(spy).toHaveBeenCalled()
spy.mockRestore()

Mock getters and setters (Jest 22.1.0+)

const location = {}
const getTitle = jest.spyOn(location, 'title', 'get').mockImplementation(() => 'pizza')
const setTitle = jest.spyOn(location, 'title', 'set').mockImplementation(() => {})

Mock getters and setters

const getTitle = jest.fn(() => 'pizza')
const setTitle = jest.fn()
const location = {}
Object.defineProperty(location, 'title', {
  get: getTitle,
  set: setTitle,
})

Clearing and restoring mocks

For one mock:

fn.mockClear() // Clears mock usage date (fn.mock.calls, fn.mock.instances)
fn.mockReset() // Clears and removes any mocked return values or implementations
fn.mockRestore() // Resets and restores the initial implementation

Note: mockRestore works only with mocks created by jest.spyOn.

For all mocks:

jest.clearAllMocks()
jest.resetAllMocks()
jest.restoreAllMocks()

Accessing the original module when using mocks

jest.mock('fs')
const fs = require('fs') // Mocked module
const fs = require.requireActual('fs') // Original module

Timer mocks

Write synchronous test for code that uses native timer functions (setTimeout, setInterval, clearTimeout, clearInterval).

// Enable fake timers
jest.useFakeTimers()

test('kill the time', () => {
  const callback = jest.fn()

  // Run some code that uses setTimeout or setInterval
  const actual = someFunctionThatUseTimers(callback)

  // Fast-forward until all timers have been executed
  jest.runAllTimers()

  // Check the results synchronously
  expect(callback).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
})

Or adjust timers by time with advanceTimersByTime():

// Enable fake timers
jest.useFakeTimers()

test('kill the time', () => {
  const callback = jest.fn()

  // Run some code that uses setTimeout or setInterval
  const actual = someFunctionThatUseTimers(callback)

  // Fast-forward for 250 ms
  jest.advanceTimersByTime(250)

  // Check the results synchronously
  expect(callback).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
})

Use jest.runOnlyPendingTimers() for special cases.

Note: you should call jest.useFakeTimers() in your test case to use other fake timer methods.

Data-driven tests (Jest 23+)

Run the same test with different data:

test.each([
  [1, 1, 2],
  [1, 2, 3],
  [2, 1, 3],
])('.add(%s, %s)', (a, b, expected) => {
  expect(a + b).toBe(expected)
})

Or the same using template literals:

test.each`
  a    | b    | expected
  ${1} | ${1} | ${2}
  ${1} | ${2} | ${3}
  ${2} | ${1} | ${3}
`('returns $expected when $a is added $b', ({ a, b, expected }) => {
  expect(a + b).toBe(expected)
})

Or on describe level:

describe.each([['mobile'], ['tablet'], ['desktop']])('checkout flow on %s', (viewport) => {
  test('displays success page', () => {
    //
  })
})

describe.each() docs, test.each() docs,

Skipping tests

Don’t run these tests:

describe.skip('makePoniesPink'...
tests.skip('make each pony pink'...

Run only these tests:

describe.only('makePoniesPink'...
tests.only('make each pony pink'...

Testing modules with side effects

Node.js and Jest will cache modules you require. To test modules with side effects you’ll need to reset the module registry between tests:

const modulePath = '../module-to-test'

afterEach(() => {
  jest.resetModules()
})

test('first test', () => {
  // Prepare conditions for the first test
  const result = require(modulePath)
  expect(result).toMatchSnapshot()
})

test('second text', () => {
  // Prepare conditions for the second test
  const fn = () => require(modulePath)
  expect(fn).toThrow()
})

Usage with Babel and TypeScript

Add babel-jest or ts-jest. Check their docs for installation instructions.

Resources

Jest site
Modern React testing, part 1: best practices by Artem Sapegin
Modern React testing, part 2: Jest and Enzyme by Artem Sapegin
Modern React testing, part 3: Jest and React Testing Library by Artem Sapegin
React Testing Examples
Testing React Applications by Max Stoiber
Effective Snapshot Testing by Kent C. Dodds
Migrating to Jest by Kent C. Dodds
Migrating AVA to Jest by Jason Brown
How to Test React and MobX with Jest by Will Stern
Testing React Intl components with Jest and Enzyme by Artem Sapegin
Testing with Jest: 15 Awesome Tips and Tricks by Stian Didriksen
Taking Advantage of Jest Matchers by Ben McCormick: Part 1, Part 2

Contributing

Improvements are welcome! Open an issue or send a pull request.

Sponsoring

This software has been developed with lots of coffee, buy me one more cup to keep it going.

Author and license

Artem Sapegin, a frontend engineer at Omio and the creator of React Styleguidist. I also write about frontend at my blog.

CC0 1.0 Universal license, see the included License.md file.

sapegin/jest-cheat-sheet

sapegin

Reviews

Repository Details

Jest cheat sheet

Test structure

Matchers

Basic matchers

Truthiness

Numbers

Strings

Arrays

Objects

Exceptions

Snapshots

Mock functions

Misc

Promise matchers (Jest 20+)

Async tests

async/await

Promises

done() callback

Mocks

Mock functions

Returning, resolving and rejecting values

Mock modules using jest.mock method

Mock modules using a mock file

Mock object methods

Mock getters and setters (Jest 22.1.0+)

Mock getters and setters

Clearing and restoring mocks

Accessing the original module when using mocks

Timer mocks

Data-driven tests (Jest 23+)

Skipping tests

Testing modules with side effects

Usage with Babel and TypeScript

Resources

You may also like

Contributing

Sponsoring

Author and license

More Repositories

Mock modules using `jest.mock` method