Testing Interactive CLI / TUI with @microsoft/tui-test
Playwright-like API for terminals. Real PTY per test. Made by Microsoft.
- GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/tui-test
- npm:
@microsoft/tui-test
Install
bashyarn add -D @microsoft/tui-test
Usage
typescriptimport { test, expect } from '@microsoft/tui-test'; test.use({ program: { file: 'node', args: ['./my-cli.js'] } }); test('selects option and proceeds', async ({ terminal }) => { await expect(terminal.getByText('Select an option')).toBeVisible(); await terminal.write('\x1B[B'); // Arrow Down await terminal.submit(); // Enter await expect(terminal.getByText('Option 2 selected')).toBeVisible(); }); test('matches snapshot', async ({ terminal }) => { await expect(terminal).toMatchSnapshot(); });
API
typescript// Navigation await terminal.write('\x1B[A'); // Arrow Up await terminal.write('\x1B[B'); // Arrow Down await terminal.write('\x1B[C'); // Arrow Right await terminal.write('\x1B[D'); // Arrow Left await terminal.submit(); // Enter await terminal.write('\t'); // Tab await terminal.write('\x03'); // Ctrl+C await terminal.write('\x1B'); // Escape await terminal.write('\x7F'); // Backspace await terminal.write('hello'); // Type text // Assertions await expect(terminal.getByText('pattern')).toBeVisible(); await expect(terminal.getByText('pattern', { full: true })).toBeVisible(); await expect(terminal).toMatchSnapshot(); // Reading const content = terminal.content; // Full terminal content as string
Running
bashnpx tui-test # Run all tests npx tui-test --update-snapshots # Update snapshots npx tui-test my-test.ts # Run specific test
Reference
- Used by VS Code terminal team
- Real PTY isolation per test (no mocking)
- Auto-waits for terminal renders
- Cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows)
- Snapshot testing built-in
