aiwiki

📄 zustand/guides/testing

File: testing.md | Updated: 11/15/2025

title: Testing description: Writing Tests nav: 8

Setting Up a Test Environment

Test Runners

Usually, your test runner needs to be configured to run JavaScript/TypeScript syntax. If you're going to be testing UI components, you will likely need to configure the test runner to use JSDOM to provide a mock DOM environment.

See these resources for test runner configuration instructions:

Jest
- Jest: Getting Started
- Jest: Configuration - Test Environment
Vitest
- Vitest: Getting Started
- Vitest: Configuration - Test Environment

UI and Network Testing Tools

We recommend using React Testing Library (RTL) to test out React components that connect to Zustand. RTL is a simple and complete React DOM testing utility that encourages good testing practices. It uses ReactDOM's render function and act from react-dom/tests-utils. Furthermore, Native Testing Library (RNTL) is the alternative to RTL to test out React Native components. The Testing Library family of tools also includes adapters for many other popular frameworks.

We also recommend using Mock Service Worker (MSW) to mock network requests, as this means your application logic does not need to be changed or mocked when writing tests.

React Testing Library (DOM)
Native Testing Library (React Native)
- Native Testing Library: Setup
User Event Testing Library (DOM)
- User Event Testing Library: Setup
TypeScript for Jest
- TypeScript for Jest: Setup
TypeScript for Node
- TypeScript for Node: Setup
Mock Service Worker

Setting Up Zustand for testing

Note: Since Jest and Vitest have slight differences, like Vitest using ES modules and Jest using CommonJS modules, you need to keep that in mind if you are using Vitest instead of Jest.

The mock provided below will enable the relevant test runner to reset the zustand stores after each test.

Shared code just for testing purposes

This shared code was added to avoid code duplication in our demo since we use the same counter store creator for both implementations, with and without Context API — createStore and create, respectively.

// shared/counter-store-creator.ts
import { type StateCreator } from 'zustand'

export type CounterStore = {
  count: number
  inc: () => void
}

export const counterStoreCreator: StateCreator<CounterStore> = (set) => ({
  count: 1,
  inc: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
})

Jest

In the next steps we are going to setup our Jest environment in order to mock Zustand.

// __mocks__/zustand.ts
import { act } from '@testing-library/react'
import type * as ZustandExportedTypes from 'zustand'
export * from 'zustand'

const { create: actualCreate, createStore: actualCreateStore } =
  jest.requireActual<typeof ZustandExportedTypes>('zustand')

// a variable to hold reset functions for all stores declared in the app
export const storeResetFns = new Set<() => void>()

const createUncurried = <T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  const store = actualCreate(stateCreator)
  const initialState = store.getInitialState()
  storeResetFns.add(() => {
    store.setState(initialState, true)
  })
  return store
}

// when creating a store, we get its initial state, create a reset function and add it in the set
export const create = (<T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  console.log('zustand create mock')

  // to support curried version of create
  return typeof stateCreator === 'function'
    ? createUncurried(stateCreator)
    : createUncurried
}) as typeof ZustandExportedTypes.create

const createStoreUncurried = <T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  const store = actualCreateStore(stateCreator)
  const initialState = store.getInitialState()
  storeResetFns.add(() => {
    store.setState(initialState, true)
  })
  return store
}

// when creating a store, we get its initial state, create a reset function and add it in the set
export const createStore = (<T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  console.log('zustand createStore mock')

  // to support curried version of createStore
  return typeof stateCreator === 'function'
    ? createStoreUncurried(stateCreator)
    : createStoreUncurried
}) as typeof ZustandExportedTypes.createStore

// reset all stores after each test run
afterEach(() => {
  act(() => {
    storeResetFns.forEach((resetFn) => {
      resetFn()
    })
  })
})

// setup-jest.ts
import '@testing-library/jest-dom'

// jest.config.ts
import type { JestConfigWithTsJest } from 'ts-jest'

const config: JestConfigWithTsJest = {
  preset: 'ts-jest',
  testEnvironment: 'jsdom',
  setupFilesAfterEnv: ['./setup-jest.ts'],
}

export default config

Note: to use TypeScript we need to install two packages ts-jest and ts-node.

Vitest

In the next steps we are going to setup our Vitest environment in order to mock Zustand.

Warning: In Vitest you can change the root. Due to that, you need make sure that you are creating your __mocks__ directory in the right place. Let's say that you change the root to ./src, that means you need to create a __mocks__ directory under ./src. The end result would be ./src/__mocks__, rather than ./__mocks__. Creating __mocks__ directory in the wrong place can lead to issues when using Vitest.

// __mocks__/zustand.ts
import { act } from '@testing-library/react'
import type * as ZustandExportedTypes from 'zustand'
export * from 'zustand'

const { create: actualCreate, createStore: actualCreateStore } =
  await vi.importActual<typeof ZustandExportedTypes>('zustand')

// a variable to hold reset functions for all stores declared in the app
export const storeResetFns = new Set<() => void>()

const createUncurried = <T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  const store = actualCreate(stateCreator)
  const initialState = store.getInitialState()
  storeResetFns.add(() => {
    store.setState(initialState, true)
  })
  return store
}

// when creating a store, we get its initial state, create a reset function and add it in the set
export const create = (<T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  console.log('zustand create mock')

  // to support curried version of create
  return typeof stateCreator === 'function'
    ? createUncurried(stateCreator)
    : createUncurried
}) as typeof ZustandExportedTypes.create

const createStoreUncurried = <T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  const store = actualCreateStore(stateCreator)
  const initialState = store.getInitialState()
  storeResetFns.add(() => {
    store.setState(initialState, true)
  })
  return store
}

// when creating a store, we get its initial state, create a reset function and add it in the set
export const createStore = (<T>(
  stateCreator: ZustandExportedTypes.StateCreator<T>,
) => {
  console.log('zustand createStore mock')

  // to support curried version of createStore
  return typeof stateCreator === 'function'
    ? createStoreUncurried(stateCreator)
    : createStoreUncurried
}) as typeof ZustandExportedTypes.createStore

// reset all stores after each test run
afterEach(() => {
  act(() => {
    storeResetFns.forEach((resetFn) => {
      resetFn()
    })
  })
})

Note: without globals configuration enabled, we need to add import { afterEach, vi } from 'vitest' at the top.

// global.d.ts
/// <reference types="vite/client" />
/// <reference types="vitest/globals" />

Note: without globals configuration enabled, we do need to remove /// <reference types="vitest/globals" />.

// setup-vitest.ts
import '@testing-library/jest-dom'

vi.mock('zustand') // to make it work like Jest (auto-mocking)

Note: without globals configuration enabled, we need to add import { vi } from 'vitest' at the top.

// vitest.config.ts
import { defineConfig, mergeConfig } from 'vitest/config'
import viteConfig from './vite.config'

export default defineConfig((configEnv) =>
  mergeConfig(
    viteConfig(configEnv),
    defineConfig({
      test: {
        globals: true,
        environment: 'jsdom',
        setupFiles: ['./setup-vitest.ts'],
      },
    }),
  ),
)

Testing Components

In the next examples we are going to use useCounterStore

Note: all of these examples are written using TypeScript.

// shared/counter-store-creator.ts
import { type StateCreator } from 'zustand'

export type CounterStore = {
  count: number
  inc: () => void
}

export const counterStoreCreator: StateCreator<CounterStore> = (set) => ({
  count: 1,
  inc: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
})

// stores/use-counter-store.ts
import { create } from 'zustand'

import {
  type CounterStore,
  counterStoreCreator,
} from '../shared/counter-store-creator'

export const useCounterStore = create<CounterStore>()(counterStoreCreator)

// contexts/use-counter-store-context.tsx
import { type ReactNode, createContext, useContext, useRef } from 'react'
import { createStore } from 'zustand'
import { useStoreWithEqualityFn } from 'zustand/traditional'
import { shallow } from 'zustand/shallow'

import {
  type CounterStore,
  counterStoreCreator,
} from '../shared/counter-store-creator'

export const createCounterStore = () => {
  return createStore<CounterStore>(counterStoreCreator)
}

export type CounterStoreApi = ReturnType<typeof createCounterStore>

export const CounterStoreContext = createContext<CounterStoreApi | undefined>(
  undefined,
)

export interface CounterStoreProviderProps {
  children: ReactNode
}

export const CounterStoreProvider = ({
  children,
}: CounterStoreProviderProps) => {
  const counterStoreRef = useRef<CounterStoreApi>(null)
  if (!counterStoreRef.current) {
    counterStoreRef.current = createCounterStore()
  }

  return (
    <CounterStoreContext.Provider value={counterStoreRef.current}>
      {children}
    </CounterStoreContext.Provider>
  )
}

export type UseCounterStoreContextSelector<T> = (store: CounterStore) => T

export const useCounterStoreContext = <T,>(
  selector: UseCounterStoreContextSelector<T>,
): T => {
  const counterStoreContext = useContext(CounterStoreContext)

  if (counterStoreContext === undefined) {
    throw new Error(
      'useCounterStoreContext must be used within CounterStoreProvider',
    )
  }

  return useStoreWithEqualityFn(counterStoreContext, selector, shallow)
}

// components/counter/counter.tsx
import { useCounterStore } from '../../stores/use-counter-store'

export function Counter() {
  const { count, inc } = useCounterStore()

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Counter Store</h2>
      <h4>{count}</h4>
      <button onClick={inc}>One Up</button>
    </div>
  )
}

// components/counter/index.ts
export * from './counter'

// components/counter/counter.test.tsx
import { act, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event'

import { Counter } from './counter'

describe('Counter', () => {
  test('should render with initial state of 1', async () => {
    renderCounter()

    expect(await screen.findByText(/^1$/)).toBeInTheDocument()
    expect(
      await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }),
    ).toBeInTheDocument()
  })

  test('should increase count by clicking a button', async () => {
    const user = userEvent.setup()

    renderCounter()

    expect(await screen.findByText(/^1$/)).toBeInTheDocument()

    await user.click(await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }))

    expect(await screen.findByText(/^2$/)).toBeInTheDocument()
  })
})

const renderCounter = () => {
  return render(<Counter />)
}

// components/counter-with-context/counter-with-context.tsx
import {
  CounterStoreProvider,
  useCounterStoreContext,
} from '../../contexts/use-counter-store-context'

const Counter = () => {
  const { count, inc } = useCounterStoreContext((state) => state)

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Counter Store Context</h2>
      <h4>{count}</h4>
      <button onClick={inc}>One Up</button>
    </div>
  )
}

export const CounterWithContext = () => {
  return (
    <CounterStoreProvider>
      <Counter />
    </CounterStoreProvider>
  )
}

// components/counter-with-context/index.ts
export * from './counter-with-context'

// components/counter-with-context/counter-with-context.test.tsx
import { act, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event'

import { CounterWithContext } from './counter-with-context'

describe('CounterWithContext', () => {
  test('should render with initial state of 1', async () => {
    renderCounterWithContext()

    expect(await screen.findByText(/^1$/)).toBeInTheDocument()
    expect(
      await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }),
    ).toBeInTheDocument()
  })

  test('should increase count by clicking a button', async () => {
    const user = userEvent.setup()

    renderCounterWithContext()

    expect(await screen.findByText(/^1$/)).toBeInTheDocument()

    await user.click(await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }))

    expect(await screen.findByText(/^2$/)).toBeInTheDocument()
  })
})

const renderCounterWithContext = () => {
  return render(<CounterWithContext />)
}

Note: without globals configuration enabled, we need to add import { describe, test, expect } from 'vitest' at the top of each test file.

Testing Stores

In the next examples we are going to use useCounterStore

Note: all of these examples are written using TypeScript.

// shared/counter-store-creator.ts
import { type StateCreator } from 'zustand'

export type CounterStore = {
  count: number
  inc: () => void
}

export const counterStoreCreator: StateCreator<CounterStore> = (set) => ({
  count: 1,
  inc: () => set((state) => ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
})

// stores/use-counter-store.ts
import { create } from 'zustand'

import {
  type CounterStore,
  counterStoreCreator,
} from '../shared/counter-store-creator'

export const useCounterStore = create<CounterStore>()(counterStoreCreator)

// contexts/use-counter-store-context.tsx
import { type ReactNode, createContext, useContext, useRef } from 'react'
import { createStore } from 'zustand'
import { useStoreWithEqualityFn } from 'zustand/traditional'
import { shallow } from 'zustand/shallow'

import {
  type CounterStore,
  counterStoreCreator,
} from '../shared/counter-store-creator'

export const createCounterStore = () => {
  return createStore<CounterStore>(counterStoreCreator)
}

export type CounterStoreApi = ReturnType<typeof createCounterStore>

export const CounterStoreContext = createContext<CounterStoreApi | undefined>(
  undefined,
)

export interface CounterStoreProviderProps {
  children: ReactNode
}

export const CounterStoreProvider = ({
  children,
}: CounterStoreProviderProps) => {
  const counterStoreRef = useRef<CounterStoreApi>(null)
  if (!counterStoreRef.current) {
    counterStoreRef.current = createCounterStore()
  }

  return (
    <CounterStoreContext.Provider value={counterStoreRef.current}>
      {children}
    </CounterStoreContext.Provider>
  )
}

export type UseCounterStoreContextSelector<T> = (store: CounterStore) => T

export const useCounterStoreContext = <T,>(
  selector: UseCounterStoreContextSelector<T>,
): T => {
  const counterStoreContext = useContext(CounterStoreContext)

  if (counterStoreContext === undefined) {
    throw new Error(
      'useCounterStoreContext must be used within CounterStoreProvider',
    )
  }

  return useStoreWithEqualityFn(counterStoreContext, selector, shallow)
}

// components/counter/counter.tsx
import { useCounterStore } from '../../stores/use-counter-store'

export function Counter() {
  const { count, inc } = useCounterStore()

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Counter Store</h2>
      <h4>{count}</h4>
      <button onClick={inc}>One Up</button>
    </div>
  )
}

// components/counter/index.ts
export * from './counter'

// components/counter/counter.test.tsx
import { act, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event'

import { Counter, useCounterStore } from '../../../stores/use-counter-store.ts'

describe('Counter', () => {
  test('should render with initial state of 1', async () => {
    renderCounter()

    expect(useCounterStore.getState().count).toBe(1)
  })

  test('should increase count by clicking a button', async () => {
    const user = userEvent.setup()

    renderCounter()

    expect(useCounterStore.getState().count).toBe(1)

    await user.click(await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }))

    expect(useCounterStore.getState().count).toBe(2)
  })
})

const renderCounter = () => {
  return render(<Counter />)
}

// components/counter-with-context/counter-with-context.tsx
import {
  CounterStoreProvider,
  useCounterStoreContext,
} from '../../contexts/use-counter-store-context'

const Counter = () => {
  const { count, inc } = useCounterStoreContext((state) => state)

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>Counter Store Context</h2>
      <h4>{count}</h4>
      <button onClick={inc}>One Up</button>
    </div>
  )
}

export const CounterWithContext = () => {
  return (
    <CounterStoreProvider>
      <Counter />
    </CounterStoreProvider>
  )
}

// components/counter-with-context/index.ts
export * from './counter-with-context'

// components/counter-with-context/counter-with-context.test.tsx
import { act, render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event'

import { CounterStoreContext } from '../../../contexts/use-counter-store-context'
import { counterStoreCreator } from '../../../shared/counter-store-creator'

describe('CounterWithContext', () => {
  test('should render with initial state of 1', async () => {
    const counterStore = counterStoreCreator()

    renderCounterWithContext(counterStore)

    expect(counterStore.getState().count).toBe(1)
    expect(
      await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }),
    ).toBeInTheDocument()
  })

  test('should increase count by clicking a button', async () => {
    const user = userEvent.setup()
    const counterStore = counterStoreCreator()

    renderCounterWithContext(counterStore)

    expect(counterStore.getState().count).toBe(1)

    await user.click(await screen.findByRole('button', { name: /one up/i }))

    expect(counterStore.getState().count).toBe(2)
  })
})

const renderCounterWithContext = (store) => {
  return render(<CounterWithContext />, {
    wrapper: ({ children }) => (
      <CounterStoreContext.Provider value={store}>
        {children}
      </CounterStoreContext.Provider>
    ),
  })
}

References

React Testing Library: React Testing Library (RTL) is a very lightweight solution for testing React components. It provides utility functions on top of react-dom and react-dom/test-utils, in a way that encourages better testing practices. Its primary guiding principle is: "The more your tests resemble the way your software is used, the more confidence they can give you."
Native Testing Library: Native Testing Library (RNTL) is a very lightweight solution for testing React Native components, similarly to RTL, but its functions are built on top of react-test-renderer.
Testing Implementation Details: Blog post by Kent C. Dodds on why he recommends to avoid testing implementation details.

Demos

Jest: https://stackblitz.com/edit/jest-zustand
Vitest: https://stackblitz.com/edit/vitest-zustand