tape-testing/tape

★ 5,801JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((tape))
    What it does
      Runs JS tests
      Checks assertions
      TAP output
    How it works
      test function
      t.equal calls
      t.plan async
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Node.js
      Browser
    Use cases
      Unit testing
      CI pipelines
      Async testing
    Setup
      npm install
      CLI tool

mindmap root((tape)) What it does Runs JS tests Checks assertions TAP output How it works test function t.equal calls t.plan async Tech stack JavaScript Node.js Browser Use cases Unit testing CI pipelines Async testing Setup npm install CLI tool

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Write automated unit tests for a JavaScript library and pipe the TAP output into a formatter like tap-spec.

USE CASE 2

Add browser-compatible tests to a frontend project without pulling in a large test framework.

USE CASE 3

Run test suites in CI using the tape CLI with file glob patterns.

USE CASE 4

Verify async code works correctly by using t.plan or async functions inside test callbacks.

Tech stack

JavaScriptNode.jsTAP

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Tape is a testing library for JavaScript that runs in both Node.js and web browsers. When you write automated tests for a JavaScript project, you need a way to define what the expected behavior is and then check whether your code actually does it. Tape lets you write those checks as simple function calls that verify equality, truthiness, or other conditions. The output format Tape uses is called TAP, which stands for Test Anything Protocol. TAP is a plain text format where each test result prints on its own line as either ok or not ok, along with a description. This plain format is easy to read in a terminal and easy to pipe into other tools. The README lists a variety of separate output packages that can take TAP and display it in a more colorful or visually organized way, such as tap-spec or tap-nyan. Tape keeps its core small. You write tests by calling a test function with a name and a callback, and inside that callback you call assertion methods like t.equal to compare values or t.ok to check that something is truthy. Tests run in the order they are defined, one at a time. You can also write asynchronous tests using async functions or by declaring how many assertions to expect with t.plan. To run tests, you can use the tape command-line tool, which accepts file patterns and a few flags, or you can run test files directly with Node. The library is MIT licensed and installable via npm.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Using the tape library, write unit tests for a JavaScript function that parses query strings, covering empty input, a single param, and multiple params.

Prompt 2

Set up a tape test file for a Node.js module that makes HTTP requests, use t.plan to handle async assertions correctly.

Prompt 3

Show me how to pipe tape TAP output into tap-spec for colored terminal output on a project with 20+ test files.

Prompt 4

Write a tape test for a browser-based utility function and explain how to run it in both Node.js and the browser.

Prompt 5

My tape tests run out of order and some assertions are skipped, how do I use t.plan and async/await to fix that?

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