Top Trending JavaScript Testing Frameworks in 2021

JavaScript is the world’s most popular programming language among developers consistently. Some kinds of frameworks that JavaScript has. There are some front-end frameworks, back-end frameworks, and JavaScript testing frameworks. There are numerous JavaScript test automation frameworks available to assist developers in testing JavaScript apps. 

Furthermore, each popular framework is distinct from the other, making it difficult and time-consuming for developers to quickly grasp (and eventually excel in) all of them. This can be incredibly challenging, especially for newcomers—deciding which framework to start with, determining which would suit them best, and not being discouraged by the prospect of not being able to master them all.

In this article, You will learn the basic knowledge of testing frameworks of Javascript. So, let’s get started!

Following are the Top JavaScript Testing Frameworks

1. WebdriverIO

WebdriverIO is a test automation framework that supports both browser and native mobile testing, as opposed to Selenium WebDriver, which only supports browser testing. It is highly extensible and can automate tests for a wide range of apps running in any modern browser or mobile operating system.

WebdriverIO’s ability to support a wide range of testing requirements makes it an excellent framework for developing multiple types of apps and requiring a single framework to test them all. WebdriverIO comes pre-installed with Puppeteer. It also integrates with Mocha, Jasmine, and Cucumber, and the entire setup takes only a few NPM commands.

To summarise, use WebdriverIO if you have extensive testing requirements that go beyond basic JavaScript tests.

2. Cypress

It is one of the most popular JavaScript testing frameworks in recent years, owing largely to its ease of use, particularly if you’re a front-end developer.

Cypress can also perform both front-end and (to a lesser extent) backend testing. As a result, Cypress is an excellent choice for developers who use JavaScript (or Node) for both server-side and client-side development.

Cypress’s major limitations include limited support for testing mobile apps: it can only handle mobile apps that run natively in a browser. It only supports three browsers: Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

To summarise, Cypress is a brilliant solution if you want a simple yet powerful JavaScript test automation framework that will meet most standard testing needs. However, if you require complete application and browser coverage, Cypress falls short.

3. TestCafe

TestCafe is like Cypress because it is simple to install. It also has the advantage of supporting both JavaScript and TypeScript as testing script languages. Developers who prefer strongly typed languages may find TypeScript appealing.

TestCafe supports all the browsers, including Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, and Safari. It has some limited support for browser-based mobile apps, but it is not intended for mobile testing in general. TestCafe only supports client-side apps is a big disadvantage. It’s also intended primarily as an end-to-end and regression testing framework, and it’s not suitable for unit testing or integration testing.

To summaries, TestCafe is a perfect place for testing any desktop or mobile JavaScript apps that are only client-side. Look elsewhere if you require server-side testing assistance or mobile testing.

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4. Playwright

Playwright is an open source JavaScript-based test automation framework released by Microsoft in January 2020. It is one of the newest JavaScript-based test automation frameworks available.

Playwright supports testing in .NET C#, Java, and Python, besides JavaScript, making it useful for developers who need to work with multiple languages. Playwright supports major modern browsers, except for Internet Explorer. It can handle desktop and mobile testing as well.

For now, perhaps the most significant disadvantage of Playwright is that, because the framework is still in its early stages, it does not offer as many integrations as more mature frameworks. A major drawback is the lack of Internet Explorer support. It is the fact that Playwright requires a custom browser that must download each time we run a test. This adds time to testing routines and prevents you from testing in the browser that your users are using. Finally, Playwright requires manual integration like Puppeteer with test frameworks such as Mocha, Jasmine, or Jest.

To summaries, Playwright is an appealing choice for developer-friendly, cross-browser testing that supports a variety of languages, including but not limited to JavaScript. If you need to test for Internet Explorer, however, you’ll need to use a different framework. If you are concerned about having to deal with transforming APIs, wait for Playwright to mature further.

5. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is a more stable and mature form since 2018. Playwright’s lead developers previously worked on Puppeteer, and the frameworks have a lot in common: they’re both easy-to-deploy, JavaScript-first browser automation tools that specialize in desktop app testing. Puppeteer’s major limitation is that it only fully supports Chrome and Chromium, making it not a true cross-browser testing solution.

To summaries, Puppeteer is one of the trending JavaScript frameworks, and a superb choice for developers who only need to support Chrome and Chromium. Frameworks such as Playwright provide a similar experience for cross-browser tests.

Conclusion

• How many types of apps and configurations must you support? The most extensible frameworks are those like WebdriverIO.
• Do you need to test both mobile and desktop apps? If this is the case, frameworks that support both types of apps, such as WebdriverIO, are a good choice.
• What level of sturdiness and maturity do you want the framework to have? Puppeteer, TestCafe, and WebdriverIO are well known testing frameworks.
• Do you require a framework that can handle both front-end and back-end testing, such as Cypress? 
• How quick and simple do you want writing, configuring, and running tests to be? Currently, frameworks such as Puppeteer and Playwright necessitate some fairly complex configuration, particularly if you are not using them for the limited use cases that they support out-of-the-box.