Expect
When you're writing tests, you often need to check that values meet certain conditions. expect
gives you access to a number of "matchers" that let you validate different things.
For additional Jest matchers maintained by the Jest Community check out jest-extended
.
The TypeScript examples from this page will only work as documented if you explicitly import Jest APIs:
import {expect, jest, test} from '@jest/globals';
Consult the Getting Started guide for details on how to setup Jest with TypeScript.
Reference
- Expect
- Modifiers
- Matchers
.toBe(value)
.toHaveBeenCalled()
.toHaveBeenCalledTimes(number)
.toHaveBeenCalledWith(arg1, arg2, ...)
.toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(arg1, arg2, ...)
.toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(nthCall, arg1, arg2, ....)
.toHaveReturned()
.toHaveReturnedTimes(number)
.toHaveReturnedWith(value)
.toHaveLastReturnedWith(value)
.toHaveNthReturnedWith(nthCall, value)
.toHaveLength(number)
.toHaveProperty(keyPath, value?)
.toBeCloseTo(number, numDigits?)
.toBeDefined()
.toBeFalsy()
.toBeGreaterThan(number | bigint)
.toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(number | bigint)
.toBeLessThan(number | bigint)
.toBeLessThanOrEqual(number | bigint)
.toBeInstanceOf(Class)
.toBeNull()
.toBeTruthy()
.toBeUndefined()
.toBeNaN()
.toContain(item)
.toContainEqual(item)
.toEqual(value)
.toMatch(regexp | string)
.toMatchObject(object)
.toMatchSnapshot(propertyMatchers?, hint?)
.toMatchInlineSnapshot(propertyMatchers?, inlineSnapshot)
.toStrictEqual(value)
.toThrow(error?)
.toThrowErrorMatchingSnapshot(hint?)
.toThrowErrorMatchingInlineSnapshot(inlineSnapshot)
- Asymmetric Matchers
expect.anything()
expect.any(constructor)
expect.arrayContaining(array)
expect.not.arrayContaining(array)
expect.closeTo(number, numDigits?)
expect.objectContaining(object)
expect.not.objectContaining(object)
expect.stringContaining(string)
expect.not.stringContaining(string)
expect.stringMatching(string | regexp)
expect.not.stringMatching(string | regexp)
- Assertion Count
- Extend Utilities
- Serializable properties
Expect
expect(value)
The expect
function is used every time you want to test a value. You will rarely call expect
by itself. Instead, you will use expect
along with a "matcher" function to assert something about a value.
It's easier to understand this with an example. Let's say you have a method bestLaCroixFlavor()
which is supposed to return the string 'grapefruit'
. Here's how you would test that:
test('the best flavor is grapefruit', () => {
expect(bestLaCroixFlavor()).toBe('grapefruit');
});
In this case, toBe
is the matcher function. There are a lot of different matcher functions, documented below, to help you test different things.
The argument to expect
should be the value that your code produces, and any argument to the matcher should be the correct value. If you mix them up, your tests will still work, but the error messages on failing tests will look strange.
Modifiers
.not
If you know how to test something, .not
lets you test its opposite. For example, this code tests that the best La Croix flavor is not coconut:
test('the best flavor is not coconut', () => {
expect(bestLaCroixFlavor()).not.toBe('coconut');
});
.resolves
Use resolves
to unwrap the value of a fulfilled promise so any other matcher can be chained. If the promise is rejected the assertion fails.
For example, this code tests that the promise resolves and that the resulting value is 'lemon'
:
test('resolves to lemon', () => {
// make sure to add a return statement
return expect(Promise.resolve('lemon')).resolves.toBe('lemon');
});
Since you are still testing promises, the test is still asynchronous. Hence, you will need to tell Jest to wait by returning the unwrapped assertion.
Alternatively, you can use async/await
in combination with .resolves
:
test('resolves to lemon', async () => {
await expect(Promise.resolve('lemon')).resolves.toBe('lemon');
await expect(Promise.resolve('lemon')).resolves.not.toBe('octopus');
});
.rejects
Use .rejects
to unwrap the reason of a rejected promise so any other matcher can be chained. If the promise is fulfilled the assertion fails.
For example, this code tests that the promise rejects with reason 'octopus'
:
test('rejects to octopus', () => {
// make sure to add a return statement
return expect(Promise.reject(new Error('octopus'))).rejects.toThrow(
'octopus',
);
});
Since you are still testing promises, the test is still asynchronous. Hence, you will need to tell Jest to wait by returning the unwrapped assertion.
Alternatively, you can use async/await
in combination with .rejects
.
test('rejects to octopus', async () => {
await expect(Promise.reject(new Error('octopus'))).rejects.toThrow('octopus');
});
Matchers
.toBe(value)
Use .toBe
to compare primitive values or to check referential identity of object instances. It calls Object.is
to compare values, which is even better for testing than ===
strict equality operator.
For example, this code will validate some properties of the can
object:
const can = {
name: 'pamplemousse',
ounces: 12,
};
describe('the can', () => {
test('has 12 ounces', () => {
expect(can.ounces).toBe(12);
});
test('has a sophisticated name', () => {
expect(can.name).toBe('pamplemousse');
});
});
Don't use .toBe
with floating-point numbers. For example, due to rounding, in JavaScript 0.2 + 0.1
is not strictly equal to 0.3
. If you have floating point numbers, try .toBeCloseTo
instead.
Although the .toBe
matcher checks referential identity, it reports a deep comparison of values if the assertion fails. If differences between properties do not help you to understand why a test fails, especially if the report is large, then you might move the comparison into the expect
function. For example, to assert whether or not elements are the same instance:
- rewrite
expect(received).toBe(expected)
asexpect(Object.is(received, expected)).toBe(true)
- rewrite
expect(received).not.toBe(expected)
asexpect(Object.is(received, expected)).toBe(false)
.toHaveBeenCalled()
Use .toHaveBeenCalled
to ensure that a mock function was called.
For example, let's say you have a drinkAll(drink, flavour)
function that takes a drink
function and applies it to all available beverages. You might want to check that drink
gets called. You can do that with this test suite:
function drinkAll(callback, flavour) {
if (flavour !== 'octopus') {
callback(flavour);
}
}
describe('drinkAll', () => {
test('drinks something lemon-flavoured', () => {
const drink = jest.fn();
drinkAll(drink, 'lemon');
expect(drink).toHaveBeenCalled();
});
test('does not drink something octopus-flavoured', () => {
const drink = jest.fn();
drinkAll(drink, 'octopus');
expect(drink).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
});
});
.toHaveBeenCalledTimes(number)
Use .toHaveBeenCalledTimes
to ensure that a mock function got called exact number of times.
For example, let's say you have a drinkEach(drink, Array<flavor>)
function that takes a drink
function and applies it to array of passed beverages. You might want to check that drink function was called exact number of times. You can do that with this test suite:
test('drinkEach drinks each drink', () => {
const drink = jest.fn();
drinkEach(drink, ['lemon', 'octopus']);
expect(drink).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
});
.toHaveBeenCalledWith(arg1, arg2, ...)
Use .toHaveBeenCalledWith
to ensure that a mock function was called with specific arguments. The arguments are checked with the same algorithm that .toEqual
uses.
For example, let's say that you can register a beverage with a register
function, and applyToAll(f)
should apply the function f
to all registered beverages. To make sure this works, you could write:
test('registration applies correctly to orange La Croix', () => {
const beverage = new LaCroix('orange');
register(beverage);
const f = jest.fn();
applyToAll(f);
expect(f).toHaveBeenCalledWith(beverage);
});
.toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(arg1, arg2, ...)
If you have a mock function, you can use .toHaveBeenLastCalledWith
to test what arguments it was last called with. For example, let's say you have a applyToAllFlavors(f)
function that applies f
to a bunch of flavors, and you want to ensure that when you call it, the last flavor it operates on is 'mango'
. You can write:
test('applying to all flavors does mango last', () => {
const drink = jest.fn();
applyToAllFlavors(drink);
expect(drink).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith('mango');
});