Consistent Testing electron-settings
1 min read

Consistent Testing electron-settings

Consistent Testing  electron-settings

TL;DR: Delete the settings file before starting the test.

Today I implemented a simple wrapper over the electron-settings functionality to gibe me access to a set of properties via get/set methods. My scenario is simple:

I have a property named path.backup and I want to be able to get, set andtest it's set`.

The code is:

// paths.ts
const settings = require('electron-settings')

export class Paths {
  public static readonly PATH_BACKUP_ID = 'path.backup'

  getBackupPath(): string {
    return settings.get(Paths.PATH_BACKUP_ID)
  }

  setBackupPath(newPath: string) {
    return settings.set(Paths.PATH_BACKUP_ID, newPath)
  }

  hasBackupPath(): boolean {
    const backup = settings.get(Paths.PATH_BACKUP_ID)
    if (!backup) {
      return false
    }
    return backup.length > 0
  }
}

Now, my testing code would be something along the lines:

// paths.spec.ts
describe('Path settings', () => {
  it('can process backup paths', () => {
    let paths: Paths = new Paths()

    expect(paths.getBackupPath()).toBe('')

    path.setBackupPath('one')
    expect(paths.getBackupPath()).toBe('one')
  })

  it('can detect it has source paths', () => {
    let paths: Paths = new Paths()

    expect(paths.hasBackupPath()).toBeFalsy()

    paths.setSourcePaths('')
    expect(paths.hasBackupPath()).toBeFalsy()

    paths.setSourcePaths('one')
    expect(paths.hasBackupPath()).toBeTruthy()

    paths.setSourcePaths('')
    expect(paths.hasBackupPath()).toBeFalsy()
  })
})

And I was surprised to find the test failed in the second part (can detect it has source paths). Consistently.

Then, I was worried the tests would overwrite my own config file (fortunately it doesn't) and then it hit me: the settings file must be kept between the two tests, including the last value 'one' for the backup path. The fact that I've initialised a new Paths() object, it did not help at all! So, my solution is:

Delete the settings file at the beginning of each test:

// paths.spec.ts
// ...
const jetpack = require('fs-jetpack')

describe('Path settings', () => {
  it('can process backup paths', () => {
    // remove existing settings file
    jetpack.remove(settings.file()) // <--- HERE!

    let paths: Paths = new Paths()

    expect(paths.getBackupPath()).toBe('')

    path.setBackupPath('one')
    expect(paths.getBackupPath()).toBe('one')
  })

  // ...
})