A test framework for ReScript applications.
Installation
npm install zekr
Add to your rescript.json:
{
"dev-dependencies": ["zekr"]
}Usage
Write a test file named *.test.res (e.g. MyTests.test.res) that defines
one or more suites — you don't call the runner yourself:
open Zekr let myTests = Suite.make("My Tests", [ Test.make("addition works", () => { Assert.equal(1 + 1, 2) }), Test.make("strings match", () => { Assert.equal("hello", "hello") }), Test.make("condition is true", () => { Assert.isTrue(10 > 5) }), ])
Then build and run with the zekr CLI, which
discovers every *.test.res file and runs its registered suites automatically:
npm testThat's the recommended workflow. If you'd rather drive the runner yourself — standalone scripts, custom harnesses — see Running suites manually.
API
Zekr is organized as a set of submodules under the top-level Zekr namespace:
| Module | Purpose |
|---|---|
Zekr.Test |
Test case factories (make, skip, only, …) |
Zekr.Suite |
Suite factories (make, async) |
Zekr.Assert |
Assertions (equal, isTrue, some, …) |
Zekr.Runner |
Running suites directly for standalone execution (the CLI is preferred) |
Zekr.Snapshot |
Snapshot testing |
Zekr.DomTesting |
DOM rendering, queries, events, assertions |
You can open Zekr to bring the submodules into scope and write Test.make(...), Assert.equal(...), etc.
Creating Tests
// Create a single test let myTest = Test.make("test name", () => { // return Pass or Fail(message) Pass }) // Skip or focus a test let skipped = Test.skip("wip", () => Pass) let focused = Test.only("focus me", () => Pass) // Create a test suite let mySuite = Suite.make("Suite Name", [test1, test2, test3])
Setup/Teardown Hooks
Add lifecycle hooks directly to your test suites:
// Synchronous hooks let mySuite = Suite.make( "Database Tests", [test1, test2, test3], ~beforeAll=() => initializeDatabase(), ~afterAll=() => closeDatabase(), ~beforeEach=() => clearTables(), ~afterEach=() => resetState(), ) // Async hooks let myAsyncSuite = Suite.async( "API Tests", [asyncTest1, asyncTest2], ~beforeAll=async () => await connectToServer(), ~afterAll=async () => await disconnectFromServer(), ~beforeEach=async () => await resetMocks(), ~afterEach=async () => await cleanup(), )
All hooks are optional — only provide the ones you need:
let mySuite = Suite.make( "My Tests", [test1, test2], ~beforeEach=() => resetState(), )
Async Tests with Timeout
Async tests support an optional timeout parameter (in milliseconds). Tests that exceed the timeout will fail automatically. Uncaught exceptions in async tests are also caught and reported as failures.
let myAsyncTests = Suite.async("API Tests", [ // Test with 5 second timeout Test.async("fetches data", async () => { let data = await fetchData() Assert.equal(data.status, "ok") }, ~timeout=5000), // Test without timeout (runs until completion) Test.async("processes data", async () => { let result = await processData() Assert.isTrue(result.success) }), ])
Assertions
// Check equality Assert.equal(actual, expected) Assert.equal(actual, expected, ~message="custom message") // Check inequality Assert.notEqual(actual, expected) // Check boolean conditions Assert.isTrue(condition) Assert.isFalse(condition) // Ordering Assert.greaterThan(actual, expected) Assert.lessThan(actual, expected) Assert.greaterThanOrEqual(actual, expected) Assert.lessThanOrEqual(actual, expected) // Collections and strings Assert.contains(haystack, needle) Assert.arrayContains(arr, item) Assert.matches(str, regex) // Option and result Assert.some(maybeValue) Assert.none(maybeValue) Assert.ok(result) Assert.error(result) // Exceptions Assert.throws(() => someFn()) // Combine multiple results Assert.combineResults([result1, result2, result3])
Snapshot Testing
Test complex data structures by comparing against stored snapshots:
let snapshotTests = Suite.make("API Response", [ Test.make("user data matches snapshot", () => { let user = {"id": 1, "name": "Alice", "roles": ["admin", "user"]} Snapshot.matches(user, ~name="user-data") }), ])
On first run, snapshots are created in __snapshots__/. Subsequent runs compare against stored snapshots.
// Configure custom snapshot directory Snapshot.setDir("tests/__snapshots__") // Update a snapshot programmatically Snapshot.update(newValue, ~name="snapshot-name")
Test Filtering
Filter tests by passing environment variables to the zekr CLI:
# Run only tests matching "user" ZEKR_FILTER="user" zekr # Skip tests matching "slow" ZEKR_SKIP="slow" zekr # Combine filter and skip ZEKR_FILTER="api" ZEKR_SKIP="integration" zekr
Filtering is case-insensitive and matches against both suite and test names.
The same variables work when running suites manually
(e.g. ZEKR_FILTER="user" node tests/MyTests.js).
Watch Mode
Automatically re-run tests when files change with the CLI:
zekr --watch
It runs an initial pass, then re-runs only the tests impacted by each
change. See Watch mode (--watch) for the
full behaviour.
If you drive the runner yourself, Runner.watchMode watches paths and re-runs
a shell command on each change:
// In a separate watch script (e.g., watch.res) open Zekr Runner.watchMode( ~testCommand="node tests/MyTests.js", ~watchPaths=["src", "tests"], ~buildCommand="npx rescript", )
DOM Testing
Test DOM rendering, user interactions, and element assertions using a built-in jsdom environment. Inspired by Testing Library.
Rendering
open Zekr let myTests = Suite.make("Login Form", [ Test.make("renders and accepts input", () => { // Render HTML into a jsdom container let {container} = DomTesting.render(` <form> <label for="email">Email</label> <input id="email" type="email" value="" /> <button type="submit">Sign In</button> </form> `) let input = container->DomTesting.Query.getByLabelText("Email") DomTesting.Event.typeText(input, "user@example.com") let result = DomTesting.Assert.toHaveValue(input, "user@example.com") // Clean up the rendered DOM after each test DomTesting.cleanup() result }), ])
Queries
Find elements in the rendered DOM. Each query type comes in three variants:
getBy*— returns the element, throws if not found or if multiple matchqueryBy*— returnsoption<Dom.element>,Noneif not foundgetAllBy*— returnsarray<Dom.element>, throws if none found
// By text content container->DomTesting.Query.getByText("Hello World") container->DomTesting.Query.getByText("hello", ~exact=false) // By ARIA role (implicit roles from HTML tags are supported) container->DomTesting.Query.getByRole("button") container->DomTesting.Query.getByRole("heading", ~level=2) container->DomTesting.Query.getByRole("button", ~name="Submit") container->DomTesting.Query.getByRole("checkbox", ~checked=true) // By test id container->DomTesting.Query.getByTestId("submit-btn") // By form attributes container->DomTesting.Query.getByPlaceholder("Enter your email") container->DomTesting.Query.getByLabelText("Username") container->DomTesting.Query.getByDisplayValue("current text") // By other attributes container->DomTesting.Query.getByAltText("Company logo") container->DomTesting.Query.getByTitle("Close")
User Events
Simulate user interactions. Events fire realistic event sequences (pointer, mouse, keyboard, input events).
// Mouse DomTesting.Event.click(element) DomTesting.Event.dblClick(element) DomTesting.Event.hover(element) DomTesting.Event.unhover(element) // Keyboard / Text DomTesting.Event.typeText(input, "Hello World") DomTesting.Event.clear(input) // Form controls DomTesting.Event.check(checkbox) DomTesting.Event.uncheck(checkbox) DomTesting.Event.selectOptions(select, ["option-value"]) // Focus DomTesting.Event.focus(element) DomTesting.Event.blur(element) // Low-level custom event dispatch DomTesting.Event.fire(element, someEvent)
DOM Assertions
All assertions return testResult (Pass or Fail(message)), integrating with zekr's existing assertion system.
// Presence DomTesting.Assert.toBeInTheDocument(element) DomTesting.Assert.toNotBeInTheDocument(optionElement) // Text content DomTesting.Assert.toHaveTextContent(element, "Hello") DomTesting.Assert.toHaveTextContent(element, "hello", ~exact=false) // Attributes and classes DomTesting.Assert.toHaveAttribute(element, "href") DomTesting.Assert.toHaveAttribute(element, "href", ~value="/home") DomTesting.Assert.toNotHaveAttribute(element, "disabled") DomTesting.Assert.toHaveClass(element, "active primary") DomTesting.Assert.toNotHaveClass(element, "hidden") // Visibility and state DomTesting.Assert.toBeVisible(element) DomTesting.Assert.toNotBeVisible(element) DomTesting.Assert.toBeDisabled(element) DomTesting.Assert.toBeEnabled(element) // Form values DomTesting.Assert.toHaveValue(input, "hello") DomTesting.Assert.toBeChecked(checkbox) DomTesting.Assert.toNotBeChecked(checkbox) // Containment DomTesting.Assert.toContainElement(parent, child) DomTesting.Assert.toNotContainElement(parent, child) DomTesting.Assert.toContainHTML(element, "<strong>Bold</strong>") DomTesting.Assert.toBeEmptyDOMElement(element) // Style and focus DomTesting.Assert.toHaveStyle(element, "color", "red") DomTesting.Assert.toHaveFocus(element) DomTesting.Assert.toNotHaveFocus(element)
Combining Results
Use Assert.combineResults to check multiple assertions in a single test:
Test.make("form state is correct", () => { let {container} = DomTesting.render(`...`) let input = container->DomTesting.Query.getByRole("textbox") let button = container->DomTesting.Query.getByRole("button") let result = Assert.combineResults([ DomTesting.Assert.toHaveValue(input, ""), DomTesting.Assert.toBeEnabled(button), DomTesting.Assert.toBeVisible(button), ]) DomTesting.cleanup() result })
Running tests with the CLI
Zekr ships a zekr binary that discovers and runs your test files. Build with
ReScript first, then run zekr:
By default it scans the current directory for files ending in .test.res
(e.g. Color.test.res) and runs each compiled file in its own Node process.
Options
| Flag | Alias | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
--pattern <suffix> |
-p |
.test.res |
Filename suffix to match |
--dir <path> |
-d |
. |
Directory to scan |
--watch |
-w |
Watch for changes and re-run only impacted tests | |
--help |
-h |
Show usage |
Watch mode (--watch)
zekr --watch runs a full pass, then watches the scan directory and re-runs
only the tests impacted by each change:
- Change a test file (
Foo.test.res) → only that test file re-runs. - Change a source module (
Foo.res) → every test that referencesFoo(Foo.somethingoropen Foo) re-runs.
Run your compiler in watch mode alongside it so tests always run against freshly built output:
zekr reacts to compiled output (.js, .res.mjs, …), not raw .res saves,
so it never runs stale code. Rapid change bursts are debounced into a single
run. Press Ctrl+C to stop.
When any test fails, watch mode prints a Failing tests summary at the end of the run — grouping the failing test names under each file — so you don't have to scroll back through the output to find what broke:
zekr: 1 files, 0 passed, 1 failed
Failing tests:
tests/Math.test.res
✗ addition is broken
✗ handles negatives
Config file
Instead of flags, add a zekr.json at your project root:
{ "pattern": ".test.res", "dir": "." }Flags override zekr.json, which overrides the defaults. node_modules,
lib, .git, and dot-directories are skipped. If a matched source has no
compiled output, zekr reports it and exits non-zero — run rescript first.
Custom ReScript suffix
Zekr works whatever suffix your rescript.json sets (.res.mjs, .mjs,
.bs.js, .js, …). ReScript compiles the whole build graph — including
zekr's own sources — with that suffix, so the CLI discovers the matching
compiled test files and runs each one against the Runner compiled with the
same suffix. This keeps the internal suite registry a single shared instance;
without it, tests compiled to Foo.test.res.mjs would register into a
different module instance than the runner read, and the CLI would report zero
tests (a false green).
Test Coverage
Generate test coverage reports on your ReScript source files using c8 (V8 native coverage). Since ReScript doesn't support sourcemaps natively, Zekr includes a sourcemap generator that maps compiled JavaScript back to .res files.
Setup
Install the required dev dependencies:
npm install --save-dev c8 source-map
Add coverage scripts to your package.json:
{
"scripts": {
"precoverage": "rescript && node node_modules/zekr/scripts/generate-sourcemaps.mjs src",
"coverage": "c8 zekr"
},
"c8": {
"include": ["src/**/*.js"],
"reporter": ["text", "html"],
"report-dir": "coverage",
"all": true
}
}Run coverage:
npm run coverage
The text report shows coverage on .res files with line numbers pointing to your ReScript source, and the HTML report (in coverage/) renders the original ReScript code with highlighted coverage.
See the Coverage documentation for more details.
Running suites manually
The zekr CLI is the recommended way to run
tests. The Runner API is still available for standalone execution — running a
compiled test file directly with node, or building a custom harness — in which
case the test file calls the runner itself:
open Zekr let mySuite = Suite.make("My Tests", [ Test.make("addition works", () => Assert.equal(1 + 1, 2)), ]) // Run a single suite Runner.runSuite(mySuite) // Run multiple suites Runner.runSuites([mySuite]) // Async variants await Runner.runAsyncSuite(myAsyncSuite) await Runner.runAsyncSuites([suite1, suite2])
node tests/MyTests.js
Under the CLI you don't add these calls — the CLI discovers *.test.res
files and runs their registered suites for you.
License
MIT