testing-tauri-apps

name	testing-tauri-apps
description	Guides developers through testing Tauri applications including unit testing with mock runtime, mocking Tauri APIs, WebDriver end-to-end testing with Selenium and WebdriverIO, and CI integration with GitHub Actions. Use when the user asks about testing Tauri apps, writing tests for Tauri commands, setting up e2e testing for desktop apps, or configuring CI pipelines for Tauri projects.

Testing Tauri Applications

This skill covers testing strategies for Tauri v2 applications: unit testing with mocks, end-to-end testing with WebDriver, and CI integration.

Mocking Tauri APIs

The @tauri-apps/api/mocks module simulates a Tauri environment during frontend testing.

Install Mock Dependencies

npm install -D vitest @tauri-apps/api

Mock IPC Commands

import { mockIPC, clearMocks } from '@tauri-apps/api/mocks';
import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/core';
import { vi, describe, it, expect, afterEach } from 'vitest';

afterEach(() => {
  clearMocks();
});

describe('Tauri Commands', () => {
  it('should mock the add command', async () => {
    mockIPC((cmd, args) => {
      if (cmd === 'add') {
        return (args.a as number) + (args.b as number);
      }
    });

    const result = await invoke('add', { a: 12, b: 15 });
    expect(result).toBe(27);
  });

  it('should verify invoke was called', async () => {
    mockIPC((cmd) => {
      if (cmd === 'greet') return 'Hello!';
    });

    const spy = vi.spyOn(window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__, 'invoke');
    await invoke('greet', { name: 'World' });
    expect(spy).toHaveBeenCalled();
  });
});

Mock Sidecar and Shell Commands

import { mockIPC } from '@tauri-apps/api/mocks';

mockIPC(async (cmd, args) => {
  if (args.message.cmd === 'execute') {
    const eventCallbackId = `_${args.message.onEventFn}`;
    const eventEmitter = window[eventCallbackId];
    eventEmitter({ event: 'Stdout', payload: 'process output data' });
    eventEmitter({ event: 'Terminated', payload: { code: 0 } });
  }
});

Mock Events (v2.7.0+)

import { mockIPC } from '@tauri-apps/api/mocks';
import { emit, listen } from '@tauri-apps/api/event';

mockIPC(() => {}, { shouldMockEvents: true });

const eventHandler = vi.fn();
await listen('test-event', eventHandler);
await emit('test-event', { foo: 'bar' });
expect(eventHandler).toHaveBeenCalled();

Mock Windows

import { mockWindows } from '@tauri-apps/api/mocks';
import { getCurrent, getAll } from '@tauri-apps/api/webviewWindow';

mockWindows('main', 'second', 'third');

// First parameter is the "current" window
expect(getCurrent()).toHaveProperty('label', 'main');
expect(getAll().map((w) => w.label)).toEqual(['main', 'second', 'third']);

Vitest Configuration

// vitest.config.js
import { defineConfig } from 'vitest/config';

export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    environment: 'jsdom',
    setupFiles: ['./test/setup.js'],
  },
});

// test/setup.js
window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = {
  invoke: vi.fn(),
  transformCallback: vi.fn(),
};

WebDriver End-to-End Testing

WebDriver testing uses tauri-driver to automate Tauri applications.

Platform Support

Platform	Support	Notes
Windows	Full	Requires Microsoft Edge Driver
Linux	Full	Requires WebKitWebDriver
macOS	None	WKWebView lacks WebDriver tooling

Install tauri-driver

cargo install tauri-driver --locked

Verify: tauri-driver --version should print the installed version.

Platform Dependencies

# Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install webkit2gtk-driver xvfb
which WebKitWebDriver  # Verify installation

# Windows (PowerShell)
cargo install --git https://github.com/chippers/msedgedriver-tool
& "$HOME/.cargo/bin/msedgedriver-tool.exe"

WebdriverIO Setup

Project Structure

my-tauri-app/
├── src-tauri/
├── src/
└── e2e-tests/
    ├── package.json
    ├── wdio.conf.js
    └── specs/
        └── app.spec.js

Package Configuration

{
  "name": "tauri-e2e-tests",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": { "test": "wdio run wdio.conf.js" },
  "dependencies": { "@wdio/cli": "^9.19.0" },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@wdio/local-runner": "^9.19.0",
    "@wdio/mocha-framework": "^9.19.0",
    "@wdio/spec-reporter": "^9.19.0"
  }
}

WebdriverIO Configuration

// e2e-tests/wdio.conf.js
import { spawn, spawnSync } from 'child_process';

let tauriDriver;

export const config = {
  hostname: '127.0.0.1',
  port: 4444,
  specs: ['./specs/**/*.js'],
  maxInstances: 1,
  capabilities: [{
    browserName: 'wry',
    'tauri:options': {
      application: '../src-tauri/target/debug/my-tauri-app',
    },
  }],
  framework: 'mocha',
  reporters: ['spec'],
  mochaOpts: { ui: 'bdd', timeout: 60000 },

  onPrepare: () => {
    const result = spawnSync('cargo', ['build', '--manifest-path', '../src-tauri/Cargo.toml'], {
      stdio: 'inherit',
    });
    if (result.status !== 0) throw new Error('Failed to build Tauri app');
  },

  beforeSession: () => {
    tauriDriver = spawn('tauri-driver', [], { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
    return new Promise((resolve) => {
      tauriDriver.stdout.on('data', (data) => {
        if (data.toString().includes('listening')) resolve();
      });
    });
  },

  afterSession: () => tauriDriver?.kill(),
};

Verify before running tests: curl http://127.0.0.1:4444/status should return a JSON response confirming tauri-driver is listening.

Verify after building: The binary should exist at src-tauri/target/debug/<app-name>.

WebdriverIO Test Example

// e2e-tests/specs/app.spec.js
describe('My Tauri App', () => {
  it('should display the header', async () => {
    const header = await $('body > h1');
    expect(await header.getText()).toMatch(/^[hH]ello/);
  });

  it('should interact with a button', async () => {
    const button = await $('#greet-button');
    await button.click();
    const output = await $('#greet-output');
    await output.waitForExist({ timeout: 5000 });
    expect(await output.getText()).toContain('Hello');
  });
});

Selenium Setup

Package Configuration

{
  "name": "tauri-selenium-tests",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "scripts": { "test": "mocha" },
  "dependencies": {
    "chai": "^5.2.1",
    "mocha": "^11.7.1",
    "selenium-webdriver": "^4.34.0"
  }
}

Selenium Test Example

// e2e-tests/test/test.js
import { spawn, spawnSync } from 'child_process';
import path from 'path';
import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
import { Builder, By } from 'selenium-webdriver';
import { expect } from 'chai';

const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
let driver, tauriDriver;
const application = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../src-tauri/target/debug/my-tauri-app');

describe('Tauri App Tests', function () {
  this.timeout(60000);

  before(async function () {
    spawnSync('cargo', ['build', '--manifest-path', '../../src-tauri/Cargo.toml'], {
      cwd: __dirname, stdio: 'inherit',
    });

    tauriDriver = spawn('tauri-driver', [], { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
    await new Promise((resolve) => {
      tauriDriver.stdout.on('data', (data) => {
        if (data.toString().includes('listening')) resolve();
      });
    });

    driver = await new Builder()
      .usingServer('http://127.0.0.1:4444/')
      .withCapabilities({ browserName: 'wry', 'tauri:options': { application } })
      .build();
  });

  after(async function () {
    await driver?.quit();
    tauriDriver?.kill();
  });

  it('should display greeting', async function () {
    const header = await driver.findElement(By.css('body > h1'));
    expect(await header.getText()).to.match(/^[hH]ello/);
  });

  it('should click button and show output', async function () {
    const button = await driver.findElement(By.id('greet-button'));
    await button.click();
    const output = await driver.findElement(By.id('greet-output'));
    expect(await output.getText()).to.include('Hello');
  });
});

CI Integration with GitHub Actions

# .github/workflows/e2e-tests.yml
name: E2E Tests

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install Linux dependencies
        if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
        run: |
          sudo apt-get update
          sudo apt-get install -y libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev build-essential \
            curl wget file libxdo-dev libssl-dev \
            libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev \
            webkit2gtk-driver xvfb

      - uses: dtolnay/rust-action@stable
      - run: cargo install tauri-driver --locked

      - name: Setup Windows WebDriver
        if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
        shell: pwsh
        run: |
          cargo install --git https://github.com/chippers/msedgedriver-tool
          & "$HOME/.cargo/bin/msedgedriver-tool.exe"

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'

      - run: npm install
      - run: npm run build
      - run: cargo build --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml

      - name: Run E2E tests (Linux)
        if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
        working-directory: e2e-tests
        run: npm install && xvfb-run npm test

      - name: Run E2E tests (Windows)
        if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
        working-directory: e2e-tests
        run: npm install && npm test

Best Practices

Mock Testing

• Call clearMocks() in afterEach to prevent state leakage
• Use spies to verify IPC calls
• Mock at the right level: IPC for commands, windows for multi-window logic

WebDriver Testing

• Use debug builds for faster iteration
• Set explicit timeouts; Tauri apps may need time to initialize
• Prefer explicit waits over implicit waits
• Keep tests independent and isolated

CI Integration

• Use xvfb-run on Linux for headless testing
• Match Edge Driver version on Windows
• Build the app before running WebDriver tests
• Run unit tests before e2e tests to catch issues early

Troubleshooting

WebDriver Connection Timeout

• Windows: Verify Edge Driver version matches installed Edge
• Linux: Ensure webkit2gtk-driver is installed
• Check tauri-driver is running and listening on port 4444

Mock Not Working

• Import @tauri-apps/api/mocks before the code under test
• Call clearMocks() in afterEach to reset state
• Ensure window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ is properly mocked in setup

CI Failures

• Linux: Add xvfb-run prefix to test commands
• Windows: Install Edge Driver via msedgedriver-tool
• Increase timeout for slower CI runners

References

• Tauri Testing Documentation
• tauri-driver on crates.io
• WebDriver Example Repository