Run React.js tests in a container

Prerequisites

Complete all the previous sections of this guide, starting with Containerize React.js application.

Overview

Testing is a critical part of the development process. In this section, you'll learn how to:

• Run unit tests using Vitest inside a Docker container.
• Use Docker Compose to run tests in an isolated, reproducible environment.

You’ll use Vitest — a blazing fast test runner designed for Vite — along with Testing Library for assertions.

Run tests during development

docker-reactjs-sample application includes a sample test file at location:

$ src/App.test.tsx 

This file uses Vitest and React Testing Library to verify the behavior of App component.

Step 1: Install Vitest and React Testing Library

If you haven’t already added the necessary testing tools, install them by running:

$ npm install --save-dev vitest @testing-library/react @testing-library/jest-dom jsdom 

Then, update the scripts section of your package.json file to include the following:

"scripts": {  "test": "vitest run" }

Step 2: Configure Vitest

Update vitest.config.ts file in your project root with the following configuration:

 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 

/// <reference types="vitest" />  import { defineConfig } from "vite"; import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react";  export default defineConfig({  base: "/",  plugins: [react()],  server: {  host: true,  port: 5173,  strictPort: true,  },  test: {  environment: "jsdom",  setupFiles: "./src/setupTests.ts",  globals: true,  }, });

Note

The test options in vitest.config.ts are essential for reliable testing inside Docker:

• environment: "jsdom" simulates a browser-like environment for rendering and DOM interactions.
• setupFiles: "./src/setupTests.ts" loads global configuration or mocks before each test file (optional but recommended).
• globals: true enables global test functions like describe, it, and expect without importing them.

For more details, see the official Vitest configuration docs.

Step 3: Update compose.yaml

Add a new service named react-test to your compose.yaml file. This service allows you to run your test suite in an isolated containerized environment.

 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 

services:  react-dev:  build:  context: .  dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev  ports:  - "5173:5173"  develop:  watch:  - action: sync  path: .  target: /app   react-prod:  build:  context: .  dockerfile: Dockerfile  image: docker-reactjs-sample  ports:  - "8080:8080"   react-test:  build:  context: .  dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev  command: ["npm", "run", "test"]

The react-test service reuses the same Dockerfile.dev used for development and overrides the default command to run tests with npm run test. This setup ensures a consistent test environment that matches your local development configuration.

After completing the previous steps, your project directory should contain the following files:

├── docker-reactjs-sample/ │ ├── Dockerfile │ ├── Dockerfile.dev │ ├── .dockerignore │ ├── compose.yaml │ ├── nginx.conf │ └── README.Docker.md

Step 4: Run the tests

To execute your test suite inside the container, run the following command from your project root:

$ docker compose run --rm react-test 

This command will:

• Start the react-test service defined in your compose.yaml file.
• Execute the npm run test script using the same environment as development.
• Automatically remove the container after the tests complete docker compose run --rm command.

Note

For more information about Compose commands, see the Compose CLI reference.

Summary

In this section, you learned how to run unit tests for your React.js application inside a Docker container using Vitest and Docker Compose.

What you accomplished:

• Installed and configured Vitest and React Testing Library for testing React components.
• Created a react-test service in compose.yaml to isolate test execution.
• Reused the development Dockerfile.dev to ensure consistency between dev and test environments.
• Ran tests inside the container using docker compose run --rm react-test.
• Ensured reliable, repeatable testing across environments without relying on local machine setup.

Related resources

Explore official references and best practices to sharpen your Docker testing workflow:

• Dockerfile reference – Understand all Dockerfile instructions and syntax.
• Best practices for writing Dockerfiles – Write efficient, maintainable, and secure Dockerfiles.
• Compose file reference – Learn the full syntax and options available for configuring services in compose.yaml.
• docker compose run CLI reference – Run one-off commands in a service container.

Next steps

Next, you’ll learn how to set up a CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions to automatically build and test your React.js application in a containerized environment. This ensures your code is validated on every push or pull request, maintaining consistency and reliability across your development workflow.