18Unit Testing with React Testing Library and Jest

Intermediate30m

Why Write Tests?

Testing helps prevent bugs, improves confidence when refactoring code, and ensures your components behave as expected. In React, we use Jest for testing logic and React Testing Library for testing UI behavior.

Catch bugs early
Prevent broken features
Improve confidence when changing code
Document expected behavior

Setting Up Jest and React Testing Library

bash

npm install --save-dev jest @testing-library/react @testing-library/jest-dom

React projects created with Vite also need a test environment setup like Vitest, but Jest remains the most widely used testing framework for React.

Writing Your First Test

jsx

// Button.jsx
export default function Button({ label }) {
  return <button>{label}</button>
}

jsx

// Button.test.jsx
import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
import Button from './Button'

test('renders button with label', () => {
  render(<Button label="Click Me" />)
  const buttonElement = screen.getByText(/Click Me/i)
  expect(buttonElement).toBeInTheDocument()
})

Testing User Interaction

jsx

// Counter.jsx
import { useState } from 'react'

export default function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0)
  return (
    <div>
      <p>Count: {count}</p>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>Increase</button>
    </div>
  )
}

jsx

// Counter.test.jsx
import { render, screen, fireEvent } from '@testing-library/react'
import Counter from './Counter'

test('increments counter on click', () => {
  render(<Counter />)
  const button = screen.getByText(/Increase/i)
  fireEvent.click(button)
  expect(screen.getByText(/Count: 1/i)).toBeInTheDocument()
})

Jest Matchers

`toBeInTheDocument()` — element exists
`toHaveTextContent()` — check text inside element
`toBeDisabled()` — check disabled button state
`toContainElement()` — contains another element

Mini Project Step