Rstest Best Practices

Rstest Best Practices

Apply these rules when setting up, writing, or reviewing Rstest projects.

Workflow

• Inspect the existing package manager, dependency policy, module mode, build configuration, test layout, and framework conventions before editing.
• Add @rstest/core, a package-local test script, and a config file whose extension matches the package's module mode.
• Reuse existing build configuration only when doing so lowers maintenance cost and remains compatible. An adapter is optional; use an independent Rstest config when adapter integration is incompatible or disproportionately costly, and explicitly reproduce required aliases, plugins, defines, environments, and externals.
• Configure test discovery, environment, and setup files intentionally. Do not enable passWithNoTests unless an empty test set is an expected and documented state.
• Verify test discovery with rstest list, then run focused tests, the full suite, and the project's existing build or type-check command.

Configuration and environments

• Use defineConfig from @rstest/core and a config file extension compatible with the package's module mode.
• Prefer explicit imports from @rstest/core over globals: true.
• Use setupFiles for shared matchers and cleanup; use plugins, resolve, or source for ordinary build integration and low-level tools only when necessary.
• Set include explicitly when the package's test layout is non-standard; do not assume the default discovery pattern.
• Use node for server/SSR tests, happy-dom or jsdom for simulated DOM tests, and Browser Mode for real-browser behavior; install the selected environment package explicitly.
• For React or Vue component tests, register the matching build plugin, use the corresponding Testing Library, and centralize matcher extension and cleanup in a setup file.
• Use multiple test projects only when environments or configurations genuinely differ; keep global options such as reporters, coverage, pool, isolation, and bail at the root.

Test writing

• Prefer small tests that verify one public behavior; use .skip or .todo intentionally and never commit .only.
• Keep test APIs and test files in the same module system as the project; do not mix ESM/CJS assumptions without verifying the runtime and bundler behavior.
• Prefer await expect(promise).resolves... and .rejects... over try/catch patterns that can miss assertions.
• Use includeSource only for small utilities, guard tests with import.meta.rstest, and define it as false in production builds.

Mocking

• Use rs.fn() for functions, rs.spyOn() for object methods, and rs.mock() factories for modules; mock external boundaries rather than the subject under test.
• Choose clearMocks, resetMocks, or restoreMocks according to whether calls, implementations, or original methods must be restored between tests.
• Choose the module-mocking API that matches the module system; verify the exact request string and register hoisted/static mocks before the module under test is evaluated.
• Module mocks replace runtime behavior but do not necessarily remove the real dependency from the Rspack build graph. Use aliases or narrowly scoped externals only when the build still traverses an unwanted or unavailable dependency, and verify the runtime externalization format.

Snapshots and coverage

• Keep snapshots small and deterministic: use inline snapshots for short output, file snapshots for large structured output, and serializers for paths or unstable data. Review every update.
• Enable coverage with --coverage or coverage.enabled.
• Choose a coverage provider supported by the installed Rstest version and add its package explicitly; do not copy a V8 or Istanbul provider choice without checking project needs.
• Set coverage.include deliberately before adding thresholds; choose reporters for humans and CI artifacts separately.

Running and CI

• Use rstest for a single run; rstest run is an optional explicit equivalent. Use rstest --watch or rstest watch only for local development.
• Use rstest list to verify discovery, positional filters or -t for focused runs, -u for intentional snapshot updates, and -c for a non-default config.
• In CI, never use watch mode. Use sharding with blob reports and rstest merge-reports when distributing tests; use JUnit when the CI system requires machine-readable results.
• If passing-test logs are too noisy, consider silent: 'passed-only'; disable it temporarily when diagnosing setup or runtime output.

First-line debugging

• Start with a focused repro and --reporter=verbose; use --printConsoleTrace for noisy or unclear console output.
• Use DEBUG=rstest and inspect dist/.rstest-temp/.rsbuild/ to verify final Rstest/Rsbuild/Rspack configuration and generated build output.
• Use breakpoints through the Rstest VS Code extension or a JavaScript Debug Terminal for runtime failures.
• Use rstest-debugging for systematic startup, build, runtime, logging, memory, or performance diagnosis.

Documentation

• For the latest Rstest docs, read https://rstest.rs/llms.txt