Frontend Testing

Frontend Testing

Lustre frontend testing — model, update, and behavior. No styling tests unless explicitly requested.

Iron Law

Frontend tests verify model, update, and behavior — never CSS classes, Tailwind utilities, or visual styling. Styling tests are only written when the user explicitly requests them.

What to test (always)

1. Model state — initial state, state after messages, derived state
2. Update logic — message → model transformation, effect triggers
3. User interactions — clicks, keyboard events, form input produce correct messages
4. Conditional rendering — elements appear/disappear based on model state
5. ARIA and data attributes — accessibility semantics (aria-checked, data-state)
6. Text content — labels, error messages, computed display values

What to never test (unless explicitly asked)

1. CSS class names (query.class("flex"), query.class("bg-brand-100"))
2. Tailwind utilities or design tokens in class lists
3. Layout structure (grid columns, flex direction)
4. Color values, spacing, typography classes
5. Component wrapper styling (card backgrounds, border radius)

Why: CSS is a moving target. Tailwind classes change during design iterations. Tests coupled to class names break on every visual refresh without catching real bugs. Behavioral tests survive redesigns intact.

Simulate limitations (know before you test)

1. Effects are discarded — simulate runs no effects. FFI calls, HTTP requests, and timers never fire. Feed effect results back manually with simulate.message().
2. simulate.click() bypasses browser disabled semantics — a click on a disabled element still dispatches in simulate. Test disabled state by asserting the attribute is present, not by testing click behavior.
3. CustomEvents from FFI don't fire — if a component uses FFI to dispatch a CustomEvent (e.g., radish-value-change), simulate won't see it. Dispatch it manually with simulate.event().

Test structure (Radish pattern)

• Level 1 — Unit: Pure functions, no simulate. State constructors, helpers, formatters, pure view helpers.
• Level 2 — Simulate: Wire up a minimal Lustre app, dispatch events, assert on model via simulate.model().
• Level 2b — Attribute assertions: Use simulate.view() + query.has()/query.find() to verify DOM attributes (ARIA, data-state, disabled) without a browser.

Level 1 — Unit test examples

// State construction
pub fn initial_order_form_has_empty_lines_test() {
  let model = order_form.init()
  model.lines |> should.equal([])
  model.save |> should.equal(submit.SubmitIdle)
}

// Update logic
pub fn add_line_appends_to_model_test() {
  let model = order_form.init()
  let #(updated, _effect) = order_form.update(model, order_form.AddLine)
  updated.lines |> list.length() |> should.equal(1)
}

// Formatters and derived state
pub fn total_sums_line_quantities_test() {
  let model = Model(lines: [Line(qty: 3), Line(qty: 7)])
  order_form.total(model) |> should.equal(10)
}

// Pure view helper — extract as pub fn, test without full Model
pub fn draft_order_shows_10_percent_progress_test() {
  let view = orders.order_progress(order.OrderDraft, language.Portuguese)
  query.find(in: view, matching: query.element(query.text("10%")))
  |> should.be_ok
}

Level 2 — Simulate test examples

// Click produces correct state change
pub fn click_submit_sets_submitting_test() {
  let model =
    test_app()
    |> simulate.click(on: query.element(query.id("submit-btn")))
    |> simulate.model()
  model.save |> should.equal(submit.SubmitSaving)
}

// Keyboard navigation
pub fn escape_closes_dropdown_test() {
  let model =
    open_app()
    |> simulate.event(
      on: query.element(query.id("dropdown")),
      name: "keydown",
      data: [#("key", json.string("Escape"))],
    )
    |> simulate.model()
  model.is_open |> should.equal(False)
}

// Conditional rendering via text/attribute, NOT class
pub fn error_message_shows_on_invalid_test() {
  let view =
    test_app()
    |> simulate.click(on: query.element(query.id("submit-btn")))
    |> simulate.view()
  query.has(in: view, matching: query.text("Email is required"))
  |> should.equal(True)
}

// ARIA semantics
pub fn disabled_button_has_aria_disabled_test() {
  let view =
    test_app()
    |> simulate.view()
  query.has(
    in: view,
    matching: query.id("submit-btn")
      |> query.and(query.aria("disabled", "true")),
  )
  |> should.equal(True)
}

// Disabled state — assert attribute, NOT click behavior
// (simulate.click bypasses browser disabled semantics)
pub fn disabled_checkbox_has_disabled_attribute_test() {
  let view =
    app_with_state(State(..defaults, disabled: True))
    |> simulate.view()
  query.has(
    in: view,
    matching: query.id("cb")
      |> query.and(query.attribute("disabled", "")),
  )
  |> should.equal(True)
}

Anti-patterns (explicit violations)

// BAD — testing CSS class
pub fn header_has_flex_layout_test() {
  let view = test_app() |> simulate.view()
  query.has(in: view, matching: query.class("flex"))  // VIOLATION
}

// BAD — testing Tailwind token
pub fn badge_has_brand_color_test() {
  let view = test_app() |> simulate.view()
  query.has(in: view, matching: query.class("bg-brand-100"))  // VIOLATION
}