
react-testing-library
React Testing Library: user-centric component testing with queries, user-event simulation, async utilities, and accessibility-first API. Use when writing React component tests, selecting elements by role/label/text, simulating user events, or testing async UI behavior. Keywords: React Testing Library, @testing-library/react, user-event, queries, render.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/itechmeat/llm-code --skill react-testing-library- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads react-testing-library automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
React Testing Library Skill
Quick Navigation
| Topic | Link |
|---|---|
| Queries | references/queries.md |
| User Events | references/user-events.md |
| API | references/api.md |
| Async | references/async.md |
| Debugging | references/debugging.md |
| Config | references/config.md |
Installation
Install: npm install --save-dev @testing-library/react @testing-library/dom. Recommended extras: @testing-library/user-event and @testing-library/jest-dom. React 19 requires v16.1.0+.
Core Philosophy
"The more your tests resemble the way your software is used, the more confidence they can give you."
Avoid testing:
- Internal state of components
- Internal methods
- Lifecycle methods
- Child component implementation details
Test instead:
- What users see and interact with
- Behavior from user's perspective
- Accessibility (queries by role, label)
Query Priority
Use queries in this order of preference:
1. Accessible to Everyone (Preferred)
// Best — by ARIA role
getByRole("button", { name: /submit/i });
getByRole("textbox", { name: /email/i });
// Form fields — by label
getByLabelText("Email");
// Non-interactive content — by text
getByText("Welcome back!");
2. Semantic Queries
// Images
getByAltText("Company logo");
// Title attribute (less reliable)
getByTitle("Close");
3. Test IDs (Escape Hatch)
// Only when other queries don't work
getByTestId("custom-element");
Query Types
| Type | No Match | 1 Match | >1 Match | Async |
|---|---|---|---|---|
getBy... | throw | return | throw | No |
queryBy... | null | return | throw | No |
findBy... | throw | return | throw | Yes |
getAllBy... | throw | array | array | No |
queryAllBy... | [] | array | array | No |
findAllBy... | throw | array | array | Yes |
When to use:
getBy*— element existsqueryBy*— element may not exist (assertions likeexpect(...).not.toBeInTheDocument())findBy*— element appears asynchronously
Basic Test Pattern
import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
test("shows greeting after login", async () => {
const user = userEvent.setup();
render(<App />);
// Act — simulate user interactions
await user.type(screen.getByLabelText(/username/i), "john");
await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /login/i }));
// Assert — verify outcome
expect(await screen.findByText(/welcome, john/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
});
User Events
Always use @testing-library/user-event over fireEvent:
import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
test("user interactions", async () => {
const user = userEvent.setup();
// Click
await user.click(element);
await user.dblClick(element);
await user.tripleClick(element);
// Type
await user.type(input, "Hello");
await user.clear(input);
// Select
await user.selectOptions(select, ["option1", "option2"]);
// Keyboard
await user.keyboard("{Enter}");
await user.keyboard("[ShiftLeft>]a[/ShiftLeft]"); // Shift+A
// Clipboard
await user.copy();
await user.paste();
// Pointer
await user.hover(element);
await user.unhover(element);
});
Async Patterns
waitFor — Retry Until Success
await waitFor(() => {
expect(screen.getByText("Loaded")).toBeInTheDocument();
});
// With options
await waitFor(() => expect(callback).toHaveBeenCalled(), {
timeout: 5000,
interval: 100,
});
findBy — Built-in waitFor
// Equivalent to: await waitFor(() => getByText('Loaded'))
const element = await screen.findByText("Loaded");
waitForElementToBeRemoved
await waitForElementToBeRemoved(() => screen.queryByText("Loading..."));
Common Patterns
Custom Render with Providers
// test-utils.tsx
import { render } from "@testing-library/react";
import { ThemeProvider } from "./ThemeProvider";
import { AuthProvider } from "./AuthProvider";
function AllProviders({ children }) {
return (
<ThemeProvider>
<AuthProvider>{children}</AuthProvider>
</ThemeProvider>
);
}
const customRender = (ui, options) => render(ui, { wrapper: AllProviders, ...options });
export * from "@testing-library/react";
export { customRender as render };
Testing Hooks
import { renderHook, act } from "@testing-library/react";
test("useCounter increments", () => {
const { result } = renderHook(() => useCounter());
expect(result.current.count).toBe(0);
act(() => {
result.current.increment();
});
expect(result.current.count).toBe(1);
});
Rerender with New Props
const { rerender } = render(<Counter count={1} />);
expect(screen.getByText("Count: 1")).toBeInTheDocument();
rerender(<Counter count={2} />);
expect(screen.getByText("Count: 2")).toBeInTheDocument();
Query Within Container
import { within } from "@testing-library/react";
const modal = screen.getByRole("dialog");
const submitBtn = within(modal).getByRole("button", { name: /submit/i });
Debugging
// Print entire DOM
screen.debug();
// Print specific element
screen.debug(screen.getByRole("button"));
// Log available roles
import { logRoles } from "@testing-library/react";
logRoles(container);
// With prettyDOM options
screen.debug(undefined, 10000); // max length
jest-dom Matchers
import "@testing-library/jest-dom";
expect(element).toBeInTheDocument();
expect(element).toBeVisible();
expect(element).toBeEnabled();
expect(element).toBeDisabled();
expect(element).toHaveTextContent("Hello");
expect(element).toHaveValue("input value");
expect(element).toHaveAttribute("href", "/home");
expect(element).toHaveClass("active");
expect(element).toHaveFocus();
expect(element).toBeChecked();
Configuration
import { configure } from "@testing-library/react";
configure({
// Custom test ID attribute
testIdAttribute: "data-my-test-id",
// Async timeout
asyncUtilTimeout: 5000,
// Default hidden
defaultHidden: true,
// Throw suggestions (debugging)
throwSuggestions: true,
});
❌ Prohibitions (Anti-patterns)
// ❌ Don't query by class/id
container.querySelector(".my-class");
// ❌ Don't use container.firstChild
const { container } = render(<Component />);
expect(container.firstChild).toHaveClass("active");
// ❌ Don't use fireEvent when userEvent works
fireEvent.click(button); // Use userEvent.click instead
// ❌ Don't test implementation details
expect(component.state.loading).toBe(false);
// ❌ Don't use waitFor with findBy
await waitFor(() => screen.findByText("x")); // findBy already waits
// ❌ Don't assert inside waitFor callback (unless necessary)
await waitFor(() => {
expect(mockFn).toHaveBeenCalled(); // OK - need to wait for call
});
✅ Best Practices
// ✅ Use screen for all queries
import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
render(<Component />);
screen.getByRole("button"); // Good
// ✅ Prefer userEvent over fireEvent
const user = userEvent.setup();
await user.click(button);
// ✅ Use findBy for async elements
const element = await screen.findByText("Loaded");
// ✅ Use queryBy for non-existence assertions
expect(screen.queryByText("Error")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
// ✅ Use within for scoped queries
const form = screen.getByRole("form");
within(form).getByLabelText("Email");
// ✅ Use accessible queries (role, label, text)
getByRole("button", { name: /submit/i });
TextMatch Options
// Exact match (default)
getByText("Hello World");
// Substring match
getByText("llo Worl", { exact: false });
// Regex
getByText(/hello world/i);
// Custom function
getByText((content, element) => {
return element.tagName === "SPAN" && content.startsWith("Hello");
});
Quick Reference
| Import | Usage |
|---|---|
render | Render component to DOM |
screen | Query the rendered DOM |
cleanup | Unmount components (auto in Jest) |
act | Wrap state updates |
renderHook | Test custom hooks |
within | Scope queries to element |
waitFor | Retry until assertion passes |
configure | Set global options |
userEvent.setup() | Create user event instance |
Links
FAQ
What does the react-testing-library skill do?
React Testing Library: user-centric component testing with queries, user-event simulation, async utilities, and accessibility-first API. Use when writing React component tests, selecting elements by role/label/text, simulating user events, or testing async UI behavior. Keywords: React Testing Library, @testing-library/react, user-event, queries, render.
How do I install react-testing-library?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/itechmeat/llm-code --skill react-testing-library in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/react-testing-library/ (personal) or .claude/skills/react-testing-library/ (project).
Which AI agents can use react-testing-library?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is react-testing-library safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains react-testing-library?
It is published by itechmeat in itechmeat/llm-code. It has 1,382 recorded installs.
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