06 - Testing Guide#

Helmor uses a multi-layer testing strategy. Each tier has its own framework, and a combined command runs everything.

Quick reference#

bun run test # All layers
bun run test:frontend # Frontend only (Vitest)
bun run test:sidecar # Sidecar only (Bun test)
bun run test:rust # Backend only (Cargo test)
bun run test:e2e # End-to-end (Playwright, WebKit)
bun run test:frontend:watch # Frontend watch mode
bun run test:rust:update-snapshots # Update Rust Insta snapshots

Frontend tests#

Detail	Value
Framework	Vitest 4.1 with jsdom
Utilities	@testing-library/react
Test files	~126
Location	Co-located with source (`.test.ts`, `.test.tsx`)

Frontend tests cover component rendering, hook behavior, state management logic, and query key generation. Mock Tauri's invoke for backend calls.

Sidecar tests#

Detail	Value
Framework	Bun test (built-in)
Test files	~11
Location	`sidecar/*/.test.ts`

Sidecar tests validate protocol parsing, provider adapters, and event serialization.

Rust backend tests#

Detail	Value
Framework	Cargo test
Snapshot testing	Insta (YAML format)
Test files	~12
Location	`src-tauri/src/*/.rs` (inline `#[cfg(test)]` modules)

Backend tests focus on database operations, workspace lifecycle, Git helpers, and pipeline transformations. Insta snapshots capture expected outputs — run bun run test:rust:update-snapshots after intentional changes.

End-to-end tests#

Detail	Value
Framework	Playwright 1.59
Browser	WebKit only
Spec files	3
Location	`e2e/`

E2E tests exercise the full app from UI interaction through backend and sidecar.

Writing new tests#

Place test files next to the code they test.
For frontend: use @testing-library/react and mock IPC boundaries.
For Rust: use inline #[cfg(test)] modules with Insta snapshots for complex outputs.
For sidecar: test protocol and adapter logic in isolation.

Local Development Setup — full dev environment commands.