Menu Testing Ssr

Testing and SSR

The library is SSR-safe but client-only: the first render emits plain markup and IntersectionObserver attaches client-side. What the server paints is whatever useIsVisible's defaultValue argument says; real visibility exists only after the observer fires in the browser. Every integration and testing decision below follows from that.

Setup

An SSR-safe menu page for Next.js App Router. The data-cy / data-visible attributes double as the test contract used by the Playwright patterns below.

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// app/menu/page.tsx
'use client';
import React from 'react';
import {
  ScrollMenu,
  VisibilityContext,
  type publicApiType,
} from 'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu';
import 'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/dist/styles.css';

const items = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) => `item-${i}`);

function LeftArrow() {
  const api = React.useContext<publicApiType>(VisibilityContext);
  // Bakes useIsVisible('first', true): the server paints a DISABLED left
  // arrow — correct for a row scrolled to its start.
  const disabled = api.useLeftArrowVisible();
  return (
    <button disabled={disabled} onClick={() => api.scrollPrev()}>
      Left
    </button>
  );
}

function RightArrow() {
  const api = React.useContext<publicApiType>(VisibilityContext);
  // Bakes useIsVisible('last', false): the server paints an ENABLED right arrow.
  const disabled = api.useRightArrowVisible();
  return (
    <button disabled={disabled} onClick={() => api.scrollNext()}>
      Right
    </button>
  );
}

function Card({ itemId }: { itemId: string }) {
  const api = React.useContext<publicApiType>(VisibilityContext);
  const visible = api.useIsVisible(itemId, false);
  return (
    <div data-cy={itemId} data-visible={visible} style={{ width: '160px' }}>
      {itemId}
    </div>
  );
}

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <ScrollMenu LeftArrow={LeftArrow} RightArrow={RightArrow}>
      {items.map((id) => (
        <Card itemId={id} key={id} />
      ))}
    </ScrollMenu>
  );
}

TanStack Start needs no directive — it has no React Server Component boundary, so the identical component body server-renders as-is (the repo's example-tanstack route is a 1:1 port of the Next.js page without 'use client', server-rendered in workerd on every request).

Core Patterns

SSR first paint = useIsVisible defaultValue

The signature is useIsVisible(itemId: ItemId | 'first' | 'last', defaultValue = false) (src/createApi.ts:31). defaultValue is the state on the server AND on the first client frame — visibility only becomes real when IntersectionObserver fires. The canonical arrow values model a row at its start:

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const isFirstVisible = api.useIsVisible('first', true); // left arrow disabled on SSR
const isLastVisible = api.useIsVisible('last', false); // right arrow enabled on SSR

Prefer api.useLeftArrowVisible() / api.useRightArrowVisible(): they use exactly these defaults internally and additionally latch updates behind menuVisible so arrows do not flicker when the page scrolls the menu out of the viewport (src/createApi.ts:65-89).

Jest: map to the CJS build and mock IntersectionObserver

The package is ESM-first (type: module); the require condition of its exports map points at ./dist/index.cjs. Jest in jsdom needs both a moduleNameMapper and an IntersectionObserver mock — the library constructs new IntersectionObserver(...) with no feature detection (src/hooks/useIntersectionObserver.ts:42), so mounting ScrollMenu without the mock throws ReferenceError: IntersectionObserver is not defined.

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// jest.config.cjs
module.exports = {
  testEnvironment: 'jsdom',
  setupFilesAfterEnv: ['<rootDir>/jest.setup.ts'],
  moduleNameMapper: {
    '^react-horizontal-scrolling-menu$':
      'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/dist/index.cjs',
    '\\.css$': '<rootDir>/test/styleMock.cjs',
  },
};

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// test/styleMock.cjs — stub for the mandatory styles.css import
module.exports = {};

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// jest.setup.ts
import '@testing-library/jest-dom'; // registers toBeInTheDocument/toBeDisabled

class IntersectionObserverMock {
  readonly root: Element | null = null;
  readonly rootMargin = '0px';
  readonly thresholds: ReadonlyArray<number> = [0];
  constructor(
    public callback: IntersectionObserverCallback,
    public options?: IntersectionObserverInit,
  ) {}
  observe(): void {}
  unobserve(): void {}
  disconnect(): void {}
  takeRecords(): IntersectionObserverEntry[] {
    return [];
  }
}

Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'IntersectionObserver', {
  writable: true,
  configurable: true,
  value: IntersectionObserverMock,
});

Scope of this setup: the no-op mock never delivers entries, so every useIsVisible stays at its defaultValue forever. jsdom tests can assert mounting and markup only — scrolling and visibility behavior belongs in a real browser (next pattern). That is the maintainer's stance, not a workaround.

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// menu.test.tsx — structure assertions only under jsdom
import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
import Page from '../app/menu/page';

test('renders all items and both arrows', () => {
  render(<Page />);
  expect(screen.getByText('item-0')).toBeInTheDocument();
  expect(screen.getByText('item-9')).toBeInTheDocument();
  expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Left' })).toBeDisabled();
  expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Right' })).toBeEnabled();
});

Playwright e2e: assert the SSR payload, then poll

Scrolling is animated (500ms default) and visibility is IntersectionObserver-driven — nothing about the menu is true the moment a click returns. Assertions must poll (expect.poll / auto-retrying locators), never sleep-then-read. This is the contract the repo's own suite follows (e2e/scrolling-menu.spec.ts, stories/test.tsx).

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// e2e/menu.spec.ts
import { expect, test } from '@playwright/test';

// 650px viewport: exactly three 160px cards (plus margins) fit, so one
// arrow click advances the visible window by three ids.
test.use({ viewport: { width: 650, height: 768 } });

test('server-renders the menu into the HTML payload', async ({ request }) => {
  // Fetch WITHOUT a browser: catches SSR regressions (window/document access
  // during render) that browser tests miss — hydration would repaint the
  // page before the first assertion looks at it.
  const response = await request.get('/menu');
  expect(response.ok()).toBe(true);
  const html = await response.text();
  for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
    expect(html).toContain(`data-cy="item-${i}"`);
  }
});

test('arrow click advances the visible window', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/menu');
  await expect(page.locator('[data-cy="item-0"]')).toBeVisible();

  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Right', exact: true }).click();

  await expect
    .poll(() =>
      page
        .locator('[data-visible="true"]')
        .evaluateAll((cards) => cards.map((c) => c.getAttribute('data-cy'))),
    )
    .toEqual(['item-3', 'item-4', 'item-5']);
});

Negative assertions ("state must NOT change") have no signal to poll for — give the observer one window to fire before asserting:

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test('arrows do not update while the menu is off screen', async ({ page }) => {
  const OBSERVER_MS = 300;
  await page.goto('/menu');
  const left = page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Left', exact: true });
  await expect(left).toBeDisabled();

  await page.evaluate(() => window.scrollTo(0, 400));
  await page.waitForTimeout(OBSERVER_MS);
  await expect(left).toBeDisabled();
});

Common Mistakes

CRITICAL Importing ScrollMenu in a React Server Component

Wrong:

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// app/page.tsx (server component, no directive)
import { ScrollMenu } from 'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu';
import 'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/dist/styles.css';

Correct:

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// app/page.tsx
'use client';
import { ScrollMenu } from 'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu';
import 'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/dist/styles.css';

The library calls React.createContext at module scope and ships no 'use client' banner of its own, so evaluating it in a Server Component throws "createContext is not a function" — the directive must come from your file.

Source: src/context.ts:5; example-nextjs/app/page.tsx:3; https://github.com/asmyshlyaev177/react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/issues/280

HIGH Wrong useIsVisible defaultValue causes hydration flicker

Wrong:

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const disabled = api.useIsVisible('first'); // defaultValue omitted -> false

Correct:

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const disabled = api.useIsVisible('first', true);
// or, better: const disabled = api.useLeftArrowVisible();

defaultValue defaults to false (src/createApi.ts:31) and is what both the server and the first client frame render; omitting it paints an enabled left arrow that flips to disabled once the observer fires — a visible flash on every SSR page load. The canonical pair is ('first', true) / ('last', false), matching a row at its start.

Source: README.md SSR section; src/createApi.ts:31,66,79; maintainer interview

HIGH Jest fails with "Cannot use import statement outside a module"

Wrong:

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// jest.config.cjs — no mapping; Jest loads the ESM entry and chokes
module.exports = { testEnvironment: 'jsdom' };

Correct:

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module.exports = {
  testEnvironment: 'jsdom',
  moduleNameMapper: {
    '^react-horizontal-scrolling-menu$':
      'react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/dist/index.cjs',
  },
};

The package is ESM-first since v5; Jest without ESM support cannot parse dist/index.mjs, but the package ships a CJS build the mapper can point at directly.

Source: https://github.com/asmyshlyaev177/react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/issues/240; package.json exports map

HIGH Mounting in jsdom without an IntersectionObserver mock

Wrong:

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// jest.setup.ts missing — first render throws
// ReferenceError: IntersectionObserver is not defined

Correct:

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// jest.setup.ts (registered via setupFilesAfterEnv)
class IntersectionObserverMock {
  readonly root: Element | null = null;
  readonly rootMargin = '0px';
  readonly thresholds: ReadonlyArray<number> = [0];
  constructor(public callback: IntersectionObserverCallback) {}
  observe(): void {}
  unobserve(): void {}
  disconnect(): void {}
  takeRecords(): IntersectionObserverEntry[] {
    return [];
  }
}
Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'IntersectionObserver', {
  writable: true,
  configurable: true,
  value: IntersectionObserverMock,
});

The library constructs the observer unconditionally — no feature detection — so jsdom (which lacks IntersectionObserver) crashes the mount rather than degrading.

Source: src/hooks/useIntersectionObserver.ts:42; https://github.com/asmyshlyaev177/react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/issues/240

HIGH Asserting visibility synchronously after an action

Wrong:

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fireEvent.click(nextArrow);
expect(screen.getByTestId('card-3')).toBeVisible(); // IO has not fired yet

Correct:

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await user.click(nextArrow);
await waitFor(() =>
  expect(getVisibleIds()).toEqual(['item-3', 'item-4', 'item-5']),
);

Scrolling is animated and visibility is reported asynchronously by the observer, so the DOM is not settled when the click handler returns — assertions must re-run until they hold (waitFor, expect.poll), and the maintainer's recommendation is to test behavior in a real browser (Playwright) rather than against Jest mocks.

Source: stories/test.tsx:8-16; e2e/scrolling-menu.spec.ts:146-154; issue #240 discussion

MEDIUM Older Next.js cannot parse the ESM package

Wrong:

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// next.config.js on an older Next.js — build fails with
// "Cannot use import statement outside a module"
module.exports = {};

Correct:

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module.exports = {
  transpilePackages: ['react-horizontal-scrolling-menu'],
};

Older Next.js setups (notably pages router) do not consume ESM dependencies untransformed; listing the package in transpilePackages makes Next compile it.

Source: README.md Next.js note; https://github.com/asmyshlyaev177/react-horizontal-scrolling-menu/issues/240

Tensions

HIGH Tension: SSR first paint vs async browser truth

The server paints defaultValue guesses; real visibility exists only after IntersectionObserver fires client-side — until then nothing about the menu is true. Reading visibility at mount is wrong on both the server and the first client frame, and test assertions that do not poll race the observer. The reactive visibility model (hooks, items.getVisible(), menuVisible gating) is covered in menu-visibility.

See also

• menu-visibility — hydration first paint is controlled by useIsVisible defaultValue, and test assertions must respect the async visibility model this skill's patterns are built on.