Rstest Best Practices

Rstest Best Practices

Apply these rules when writing or reviewing Rstest test projects.

Configuration

• Use rstest.config.ts and defineConfig from @rstest/core
• Prefer explicit imports import { test, expect, describe } from '@rstest/core' over globals: true
• For Rsbuild projects, use @rstest/adapter-rsbuild with extends: withRsbuildConfig() to reuse build config
• For Rslib projects, use @rstest/adapter-rslib with extends: withRslibConfig() to reuse build config
• Use setupFiles for shared test setup (e.g., custom matchers, cleanup hooks)
• When using Rsbuild plugins (e.g., @rsbuild/plugin-react), add them via the plugins field
• For deep-level or advanced build configuration needs, use tools.rspack or tools.bundlerChain

CLI

• Use rstest or rstest run to run tests (run disables watch mode, suitable for CI)
• Use rstest --watch or rstest watch for local development with file watching
• Use rstest list to list all test files and test names
• Use rstest -u to update snapshots
• Use --reporter=verbose when debugging test failures for detailed output
• Use --config (-c) to specify a custom config file path

Test writing

• Import test APIs from @rstest/core: test, describe, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, etc.
• Use test or it for test cases; use describe for grouping related tests
• Use .only to focus on specific tests during development, but never commit .only to the codebase
• Use .skip or .todo to mark incomplete or temporarily skipped tests
• Prefer small, focused test cases that test a single behavior
• For async error paths, prefer await expect(fn()).rejects.toThrow(ErrorClass) (or .rejects.toMatchObject({ ... })) over try/catch with expect.fail or .catch(e => e) patterns — the matcher form fails clearly if the promise unexpectedly resolves, keeps the assertion in one chain, and avoids forgetting to assert the throw at all
• For async happy paths, use await expect(fn()).resolves.toEqual(...) for the same reason
• Use includeSource for in-source testing of small utility functions (Rust-style import.meta.rstest)
• For in-source tests, wrap test code in if (import.meta.rstest) { ... } and define import.meta.rstest as false in production build config

Test environment

• Use testEnvironment: 'node' (default) for Node.js / server-side code
• Use testEnvironment: 'jsdom' or testEnvironment: 'happy-dom' for DOM / browser API testing
• Install jsdom or happy-dom as a dev dependency when using DOM environments
• Prefer happy-dom for faster DOM testing; use jsdom when better browser API compatibility is needed
• For real browser testing, use @rstest/browser with Playwright
• Use inline project configs to run different test environments within one project (e.g., node and jsdom projects)

React / Vue testing

• For React: use @rsbuild/plugin-react plugin and @testing-library/react for component testing
• For Vue: use @rsbuild/plugin-vue plugin and @testing-library/vue for component testing
• Create a rstest.setup.ts with expect.extend(jestDomMatchers) and afterEach(() => cleanup()) for Testing Library
• Add the setup file to setupFiles in config
• For SSR testing, use testEnvironment: 'node' and test with react-dom/server or framework-specific SSR APIs

Mocking

• Use rs.mock('./module') to mock modules
• Use rs.fn() to create mock functions
• Use rs.spyOn(object, 'method') to spy on methods
• Prefer clearMocks, resetMocks, or restoreMocks config options to automatically clean up mocks between tests
• Use factory functions in rs.mock('./module', () => ({ ... })) to provide mock implementations

Snapshot testing

• Use toMatchSnapshot() for general snapshot testing
• Use toMatchInlineSnapshot() for small, readable inline snapshots
• Use toMatchFileSnapshot() for large or structured outputs (e.g., HTML, generated code)
• Keep snapshots concise — only include relevant data, avoid timestamps and session IDs
• Use expect.addSnapshotSerializer() to mask paths or sensitive data in snapshots
• Use path-serializer to normalize file paths across platforms
• Review snapshot changes carefully in code review

Coverage

• Enable coverage with --coverage CLI flag or coverage.enabled: true in config
• Install @rstest/coverage-istanbul for the Istanbul coverage provider
• Use coverage.include to specify source files for coverage (e.g., ['src/**/*.{js,ts,tsx}'])
• Use coverage.thresholds to enforce minimum coverage requirements
• Use coverage.reporters to generate reports in different formats (e.g., text, lcov, html)

Multi-project testing

• Use projects field in root config to define multiple test projects
• For monorepos, use glob patterns like 'packages/*' to auto-discover sub-projects
• Use defineProject helper in sub-project configs
• Extract shared config and use mergeRstestConfig to compose project configs
• Global options (reporters, pool, isolate, coverage, bail) must be set at the root level, not in projects

CI integration

• Use rstest run (not rstest watch) in CI
• Use --shard for parallel test execution across CI machines (e.g., --shard 1/3)
• Use --reporter=blob with rstest merge-reports to combine sharded results
• Use --reporter=junit with outputPath for CI report integration
• The github-actions reporter is auto-enabled in GitHub Actions for inline error annotations
• Use --bail to stop early on first failure when appropriate

Performance

• Disable isolate (--no-isolate) when tests have no side effects for faster execution via module cache reuse
• Use pool.maxWorkers to control parallelism based on available resources
• Keep test build fast by avoiding unnecessary Rspack plugins in test config
• Use test filtering (rstest or -t ) to run only relevant tests during development
• Leverage watch mode's incremental re-runs for fast local feedback

Debugging

• Run with DEBUG=rstest to enable debug mode, which writes final configs and build outputs to disk
• Read generated files in dist/.rstest-temp/.rsbuild/ to confirm final Rstest/Rsbuild/Rspack config
• Use VS Code's JavaScript Debug Terminal to run rstest with breakpoints
• Use --reporter=verbose for detailed per-test output
• Use --printConsoleTrace to trace console calls to their source
• Add VS Code launch config for debugging specific test files with @rstest/core/bin/rstest.js

Profiling

• Use Rsdoctor with RSDOCTOR=true rstest run to analyze test build performance
• Use samply for native profiling of both main and worker processes
• Use Node.js --heap-prof for memory profiling

Toolchain integration

• Use the official VS Code extension (rstack.rstest) for in-editor test running and debugging
• For Rslib libraries, use @rstest/adapter-rslib for config reuse
• For Rsbuild apps, use @rstest/adapter-rsbuild for config reuse
• Use process.env.RSTEST to detect test environment and apply test-specific config

Documentation

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

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: rstackjs
• Source: rstackjs/agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.