Testing in Headless Browsers

Configure via Environment Variables

By default tests run on Node.js. To target browsers you can use the WASM_BINDGEN_USE_BROWSER environment variable:

WASM_BINDGEN_USE_BROWSER=1 cargo test --target wasm32-unknown-unknown

The following configurations are available:

  • WASM_BINDGEN_USE_DEDICATED_WORKER: for dedicated workers
  • WASM_BINDGEN_USE_SHARED_WORKER: for shared workers
  • WASM_BINDGEN_USE_SERVICE_WORKER: for service workers
  • WASM_BINDGEN_USE_DENO: for Deno
  • WASM_BINDGEN_USE_NODE_EXPERIMENTAL: for Node.js but as an ES module

Force Configuration

Tests can also be forced to run in a certain environment by using the wasm_bindgen_test_configure! macro:


# #![allow(unused_variables)]
#fn main() {
use wasm_bindgen_test::wasm_bindgen_test_configure;

// Run in a browser.
wasm_bindgen_test_configure!(run_in_browser);
// Or run in a dedicated worker.
wasm_bindgen_test_configure!(run_in_dedicated_worker);
// Or run in a shared worker.
wasm_bindgen_test_configure!(run_in_shared_worker);
// Or run in a service worker.
wasm_bindgen_test_configure!(run_in_service_worker);
// Or run in Node.js but as an ES module.
wasm_bindgen_test_configure!(run_in_node_experimental);
#}

Note that this will ignore any environment variable set.

Configuring Which Browser is Used

To control which browser is used for headless testing, use the appropriate flag with wasm-pack test:

  • wasm-pack test --chrome — Run the tests in Chrome. This machine must have Chrome installed.

  • wasm-pack test --firefox — Run the tests in Firefox. This machine must have Firefox installed.

  • wasm-pack test --safari — Run the tests in Safari. This machine must have Safari installed.

If multiple browser flags are passed, the tests will be run under each browser.

Running the Tests in the Headless Browser

Once the tests are configured to run in a headless browser, just run wasm-pack test with the appropriate browser flags and --headless:

wasm-pack test --headless --chrome --firefox --safari

Configuring Headless Browser capabilities

Add the file webdriver.json to the root of your crate. Each browser has own section for capabilities. For example:

{
  "moz:firefoxOptions": {
    "prefs": {
      "media.navigator.streams.fake": true,
      "media.navigator.permission.disabled": true
    },
    "args": []
  },
  "goog:chromeOptions": {
    "args": [
      "--use-fake-device-for-media-stream",
      "--use-fake-ui-for-media-stream"
    ]
  }
}

Full list supported capabilities can be found:

Note that the headless argument is always enabled for both browsers.

Debugging Headless Browser Tests

Omitting the --headless flag will disable headless mode, and allow you to debug failing tests in your browser's devtools.


Appendix: Testing in headless browsers without wasm-pack

⚠️ The recommended way to use wasm-bindgen-test is with wasm-pack, since it will handle installing the test runner, installing a WebDriver client for your browser, and informing cargo how to use the custom test runner. However, you can also manage those tasks yourself, if you wish.

Configuring Which Browser is Used

If one of the following environment variables is set, then the corresponding WebDriver and browser will be used. If none of these environment variables are set, then the $PATH is searched for a suitable WebDriver implementation.

GECKODRIVER=path/to/geckodriver

Use Firefox for headless browser testing, and geckodriver as its WebDriver.

The firefox binary must be on your $PATH.

Get geckodriver here

CHROMEDRIVER=path/to/chromedriver

Use Chrome for headless browser testing, and chromedriver as its WebDriver.

The chrome binary must be on your $PATH.

Get chromedriver here

SAFARIDRIVER=path/to/safaridriver

Use Safari for headless browser testing, and safaridriver as its WebDriver.

This is installed by default on Mac OS. It should be able to find your Safari installation by default.

Running the Tests in the Remote Headless Browser

Tests can be run on a remote webdriver. To do this, the above environment variables must be set as URL to the remote webdriver. For example:

CHROMEDRIVER_REMOTE=http://remote.host/

Running the Tests in the Headless Browser

Once the tests are configured to run in a headless browser and the appropriate environment variables are set, executing the tests for headless browsers is the same as executing them for Node.js:

cargo test --target wasm32-unknown-unknown

Debugging Headless Browser Tests

Set the NO_HEADLESS=1 environment variable and the browser tests will not run headless. Instead, the tests will start a local server that you can visit in your Web browser of choices, and headless testing should not be used. You can then use your browser's devtools to debug.