testify

Testify is a test execution engine for real browsers and Node.js. It gives you a simple path from install to running specs, then layers on smart features like watch mode, HMR, coverage, and a live browser Playground when you need them.

Jasmine is the test language Testify currently hosts. Testify owns discovery, planning, runtime control, and execution. Jasmine owns describe and it. That split is what lets the same specs run in Node.js for speed or in a real browser when the DOM starts making demands.

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Highlights

• Real browser testing in Chrome, Firefox, and WebKit. No simulated DOM pretending to be brave.
• Fast Node.js execution for specs that do not need a browser at all.
• Watch mode with HMR so source and spec edits show up quickly without full-page drama.
• TypeScript and source maps out of the box for readable stacks and reliable breakpoints.
• Code coverage in HTML, LCOV, and text formats.
• Single-spec debugging when one stubborn test needs a private conversation.
• A live Playground in DevTools for inspecting tests, shaping plans, rerunning failures, and exploring the session interactively.

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Installation

npm install --save-dev @epikodelabs/testify
npx playwright install

npm install does not run a Testify postinstall script or quietly reshape your project. Browser binaries are installed only when you ask for them.

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Quick Start

npx testify

Testify is meant to be useful immediately. Install it, point it at your specs, and run.

Write ordinary Jasmine specs:

// tests/calculator.spec.ts
import { Calculator } from '@contoso/calculator';

describe('Calculator', () => {
  it('should add', () => {
    expect(new Calculator().add(2, 3)).toBe(5);
  });
});

Run them in the mode that fits the moment:

npx testify
npx testify --headless
npx testify --browser node
npx testify --coverage
npx testify --watch

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Execution Modes

Mode	Command	Best For
Browser (headed)	npx testify	Development, debugging
Headless browser	npx testify --headless [--browser firefox|webkit]	CI/CD
Node.js	npx testify --browser node	Fast unit tests
Watch	npx testify --watch	Rapid iteration

Notes:

• --watch requires headed browser mode and is incompatible with --headless, --coverage, and --browser node.
• --coverage is incompatible with --watch.
• If Node mode gets chatty, use --silent or --quiet.

Playground

In headed watch mode, DevTools gets a live session object. The console stops being a dump of log lines and becomes a control surface.

Start by seeing what exists:

session.tests()
session.suites()
session.files()

Build a plan:

const plan = session
  .plan()
  .filter(test => /validation/i.test(test.fullName));

Run it:

await session.execute(plan);

Inspect what happened:

session.last()
session.failures()

Repeat the whole thing or just the failures:

await session.rerun()
await session.retry()

Need the live reference:

session.help()

Done for now:

await session.exit()

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Code Coverage

npx testify --coverage

This produces coverage/index.html, coverage/lcov.info, and a console summary.

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Single Spec Debugging

Run npx jasmine init once to prepare single-spec debugging and editor support. After that, the path from failing test to breakpoint is short and predictable.

The Jasmine CLI uses tsx and the nearest TypeScript project settings automatically. Testify also resolves extensionless relative files and directory indexes the same way the browser runner does, so imports like ../lib, ../lib/forms, and ./helper behave consistently across runners.

To run one spec directly:

node --enable-source-maps \
  ./node_modules/@epikodelabs/testify/bin/jasmine \
  --spec ./tests/example.spec.ts

Then you can debug exactly that spec in VS Code instead of marching the whole suite into the room.

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CLI Reference

Flag	Description
--headless	Run headless
--browser <name>	chrome, firefox, webkit, node
--watch	Watch mode
--coverage	Generate coverage reports
--seed <n>	Randomization seed
--silent / --quiet	Suppress console logs (Node)
--preserve	Skip regenerating outputs
--help	Show help

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 failures, 2 invalid usage, 3 config error, 4 internal error, 130 SIGINT, 143 SIGTERM.

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CI/CD Example

A typical pipeline runs the fast Node.js suite first, then follows it with a slower headless browser pass plus coverage:

name: Tests
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with: { node-version: '20' }
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npx playwright install --with-deps
      - run: npx testify --browser node
      - run: npx testify --headless --browser chrome --coverage

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Fix
Browser not found	npx playwright install
Port in use	Pick a different port with --port
No tests found	Check your spec locations, .spec.ts extension, and excludes
TS errors	Make sure your TypeScript project resolves imports correctly
Watch not working	Requires headed mode; incompatible with --headless, --coverage, node
Coverage missing	Use --coverage; incompatible with --watch

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License

MIT (c) 2026

Install from NPM - View on GitHub