Test Like a User: The React Testing Library Philosophy
React Testing Library's philosophy is to test components the way a user interacts with them, not by their internal implementation. This ensures refactors don't break tests. The footgun is querying by implementation details instead of what a user actually sees.
The core principle of React Testing Library (RTL) is: the more your tests resemble how users interact with your software, the more confidence they provide. This approach creates resilient tests that don't break when you refactor a component's internals, as long as the user-facing functionality is unchanged. The footgun is testing implementation details; instead of querying by CSS classes or component state, find elements by what a user sees, like text, labels, and roles.
Read the original → testing-library.com
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