write-unit-tests

Writing tests

Unit and integration tests use Vitest and run from workspace directories, not the repo root.

Read a neighboring test before writing a new one — the existing suites are the specification for how we test, and they stay current in a way prose can't. Good starting points:

• packages/tldraw/src/test/SelectTool.test.ts — tool state machine assertions
• packages/tldraw/src/test/resizing.test.ts — pointer-driven interaction with handles
• packages/tldraw/src/lib/shapes/arrow/ArrowShapeUtil.test.ts — shape util plus bindings
• packages/editor/src/lib/editor/managers/ClickManager/ClickManager.test.ts — a UI-free manager
• packages/editor/src/lib/primitives/Vec.test.ts — a plain primitive

For the available TestEditor methods, read the class itself rather than a list here: packages/tldraw/src/test/TestEditor.ts.

Which workspace

• packages/editor — core primitives, geometry, managers, base editor behavior that must not depend on default shapes or UI.
• packages/tldraw — anything needing default shapes or tools, which is most integration tests.

Each package has its own TestEditor, and they are not interchangeable: packages/editor/src/lib/test/TestEditor.ts has no default shapes or tools, packages/tldraw/src/test/TestEditor.ts wires up the full SDK. Import from the package you're testing in.

cd packages/tldraw && pnpm test run
cd packages/tldraw && pnpm test run --grep "SelectTool"
cd packages/tldraw && pnpm test          # watch mode

Placement

Unit tests sit next to the file they cover (Vec.ts → Vec.test.ts). Cross-cutting integration tests live in packages/tldraw/src/test/. Shape and tool tests sit with the implementation, not in src/test/.

Gotchas

These are the things reading an existing test won't tell you.

Wheel and pinch events are batched. dispatch() alone won't apply them — emit a tick to flush:

editor.dispatch(wheelEvent)
editor.emit('tick', 16)

See packages/editor/src/lib/editor/Editor.test.ts for the full pattern.

toCloselyMatchObject is ours, not Vitest's. Use it instead of toMatchObject whenever floating-point geometry is involved, or tests fail on rounding noise. It takes an optional roundToNearest. Defined in packages/tldraw/src/test/TestEditor.ts.

Animation-dependent code needs the rAF stub. vi.useFakeTimers() alone isn't enough, because requestAnimationFrame isn't driven by the fake clock. Tests that animate replace it at module scope — see the top of packages/tldraw/src/lib/shapes/arrow/ArrowShapeUtil.test.ts.

Dispose the editor in afterEach. editor?.dispose() releases the reactive subscriptions and timers the editor holds; without it they leak across tests in the same file. Suites that build up shapes also tend to clear them in beforeEach so each test starts from a known page.

Always mockRestore() a vi.spyOn on the editor. Editor instances outlive individual assertions within a suite, so an unrestored spy silently changes later tests.

Conventions

• Use createShapeId() for shape IDs so they're stable and typed.
• Prefer comparing whole objects over field-by-field assertions when it gives a clearer failure.
• Use editor.expectToBeIn('select.idle') for state machine assertions rather than reaching into internals.
• @ts-expect-error is the way to assert that invalid props are rejected at the type level.