Testing Best Practices

Guidelines for writing effective, maintainable tests that provide real confidence. Contains 6 rules focused on preferring E2E tests, minimizing mocking, and testing behavior over implementation.

Core Philosophy

1. Prefer E2E tests over unit tests - Test the whole system, not isolated pieces
2. Minimize mocking - If you need complex mocks, write an E2E test instead
3. Test behavior, not implementation - Test what users see and do
4. Avoid testing React components directly - Test them through E2E

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Deciding what type of test to write
• Writing new E2E or unit tests
• Reviewing test code
• Refactoring tests

Rules Summary

Testing Strategy (CRITICAL)

prefer-e2e-tests - @rules/prefer-e2e-tests.md

Default to E2E tests. Only write unit tests for pure functions.

// E2E test (PREFERRED) - tests real user flow
test("user can place an order", async ({ page }) => {
  await createTestingAccount(page, { account_status: "active" });
  await page.goto("/catalog");
  await page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Example Item" }).click();
  await page.getByRole("link", { name: "Buy" }).click();
  // ... complete flow
  await expect(page.getByAltText("Thank you")).toBeVisible();
});

// Unit test - ONLY for pure functions
test("formatCurrency formats with two decimals", () => {
  expect(formatCurrency(1234.5)).toBe("$1,234.50");
});

avoid-component-tests - @rules/avoid-component-tests.md

Don't unit test React components. Test them through E2E or not at all.

// BAD: Component unit test
describe("OrderCard", () => {
  test("renders amount", () => {
    render(<OrderCard amount={100} />);
    expect(screen.getByText("$100")).toBeInTheDocument();
  });
});

// GOOD: E2E test covers the component naturally
test("order history shows orders", async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto("/orders");
  await expect(page.getByText("$100")).toBeVisible();
});

minimize-mocking - @rules/minimize-mocking.md

Keep mocks simple. If you need 3+ mocks, write an E2E test instead.

// BAD: Too many mocks = write E2E test
vi.mock("~/lib/auth");
vi.mock("~/lib/transactions");
vi.mock("~/hooks/useAccount");

// GOOD: Simple MSW mock for loader test
mockServer.use(
  http.get("/api/user", () => HttpResponse.json({ name: "John" })),
);

E2E Tests (HIGH)

e2e-test-structure - @rules/e2e-test-structure.md

E2E tests go in e2e/tests/, not frontend/.

// e2e/tests/order.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
import { addAccountBalance, createTestingAccount } from "./utils";

test.describe("Orders", () => {
  test.beforeEach(async ({ page, context }) => {
    await createTestingAccount(page, { account_status: "active" });
    let cookies = await context.cookies();
    let account_id = cookies.find((c) => c.name === "account_id").value;
    await addAccountBalance({ account_id, amount: 10000, replaceBalance: true });
  });

  test("place order with default values", async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto("/catalog");
    // ... user flow
  });
});

e2e-selectors - @rules/e2e-selectors.md

Use accessible selectors: role > label > text > testid.

// GOOD: Role-based (preferred)
await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Submit" }).click();
await page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Dashboard" });

// GOOD: Label-based
await page.getByLabel("Email").fill("[email protected]");

// OK: Test ID when no accessible selector exists
await expect(page.getByTestId("balance")).toHaveText("$1,234");

// BAD: CSS selectors
await page.locator(".btn-primary").click();

Unit Tests (MEDIUM)

unit-test-structure - @rules/unit-test-structure.md

Unit tests for pure functions only. Co-locate with source files.

// app/utils/format.test.ts
import { describe, test, expect } from "vitest";
import { formatCurrency } from "./format";

describe("formatCurrency", () => {
  test("formats positive amounts", () => {
    expect(formatCurrency(1234.5)).toBe("$1,234.50")
how to use frontend-testing-best-practices
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use frontend-testing-best-practices on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add frontend-testing-best-practices
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/sergiodxa/agent-skills --skill frontend-testing-best-practicescopy
The skills CLI fetches frontend-testing-best-practices from GitHub repository sergiodxa/agent-skills and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/frontend-testing-best-practices
Reload or restart Cursor to activate frontend-testing-best-practices. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /frontend-testing-best-practices) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?