Run Node.js tests in a container

Table of contents

Prerequisites

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

Testing is a core part of building reliable software. Whether you're writing unit tests, integration tests, or end-to-end tests, running them consistently across environments matters. Docker makes this easy by giving you the same setup locally, in CI/CD, and during image builds.

Run tests when developing locally

The sample application uses Vitest for testing, and it already includes tests for React components, custom hooks, API routes, database operations, and utility functions.

Run tests locally (without Docker)

$ npm run test

Add test service to Docker Compose

To run tests in a containerized environment, you need to add a dedicated test service to your compose.yml file. Add the following service configuration:

services:
  # ... existing services ...

  # ========================================
  # Test Service
  # ========================================
  app-test:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      target: test
    container_name: todoapp-test
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: test
      POSTGRES_HOST: db
      POSTGRES_PORT: 5432
      POSTGRES_DB: todoapp_test
      POSTGRES_USER: todoapp
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: '${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-todoapp_password}'
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    command: ['npm', 'run', 'test:coverage']
    networks:
      - todoapp-network
    profiles:
      - test

This test service configuration:

Builds from test stage: Uses the test target from your multi-stage Dockerfile
Isolated test database: Uses a separate todoapp_test database for testing
Profile-based: Uses the test profile so it only runs when explicitly requested
Health dependency: Waits for the database to be healthy before starting tests

Run tests in a container

You can run tests using the dedicated test service:

$ docker compose up app-test --build

Or run tests against the development service:

$ docker compose run --rm app-dev npm run test

For a one-off test run with coverage:

$ docker compose run --rm app-dev npm run test:coverage

Run tests with coverage

To generate a coverage report:

$ npm run test:coverage

You should see output like the following:

> docker-nodejs-sample@1.0.0 test
> vitest --run

 ✓ src/server/__tests__/routes/todos.test.ts (5 tests) 16ms
 ✓ src/shared/utils/__tests__/validation.test.ts (15 tests) 6ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/LoadingSpinner.test.tsx (8 tests) 67ms
 ✓ src/server/database/__tests__/postgres.test.ts (13 tests) 136ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/ErrorMessage.test.tsx (8 tests) 127ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/TodoList.test.tsx (8 tests) 147ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/TodoItem.test.tsx (8 tests) 218ms
 ✓ src/client/__tests__/App.test.tsx (13 tests) 259ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/AddTodoForm.test.tsx (12 tests) 323ms
 ✓ src/client/hooks/__tests__/useTodos.test.ts (11 tests) 569ms

 Test Files  9 passed (9)
      Tests  88 passed (88)
   Start at  20:57:19
   Duration  4.41s (transform 1.79s, setup 2.66s, collect 5.38s, tests 4.61s, environment 14.07s, prepare 4.34s)

Test structure

The test suite covers:

Client Components (src/client/components/__tests__/): React component testing with React Testing Library
Custom Hooks (src/client/hooks/__tests__/): React hooks testing with proper mocking
Server Routes (src/server/__tests__/routes/): API endpoint testing
Database Layer (src/server/database/__tests__/): PostgreSQL database operations testing
Utility Functions (src/shared/utils/__tests__/): Validation and helper function testing
Integration Tests (src/client/__tests__/): Full application integration testing

Run tests when building

To run tests during the Docker build process, you need to add a dedicated test stage to your Dockerfile. If you haven't already added this stage, add the following to your multi-stage Dockerfile:

# ========================================
# Test Stage
# ========================================
FROM build-deps AS test

# Set environment
ENV NODE_ENV=test \
    CI=true

# Copy source files
COPY --chown=nodejs:nodejs . .

# Switch to non-root user
USER nodejs

# Run tests with coverage
CMD ["npm", "run", "test:coverage"]

This test stage:

Test environment: Sets NODE_ENV=test and CI=true for proper test execution
Non-root user: Runs tests as the nodejs user for security
Flexible execution: Uses CMD instead of RUN to allow running tests during build or as a separate container
Coverage support: Configured to run tests with coverage reporting

Build and run tests during image build

To build an image that runs tests during the build process, you can create a custom Dockerfile or modify the existing one temporarily:

$ docker build --target test -t node-docker-image-test .

Run tests in a dedicated test container

The recommended approach is to use the test service defined in compose.yml:

$ docker compose --profile test up app-test --build

Or run it as a one-off container:

$ docker compose run --rm app-test

Run tests with coverage in CI/CD

For continuous integration, you can run tests with coverage:

$ docker build --target test --progress=plain --no-cache -t test-image .
$ docker run --rm test-image npm run test:coverage

You should see output containing the following:

 ✓ src/server/__tests__/routes/todos.test.ts (5 tests) 16ms
 ✓ src/shared/utils/__tests__/validation.test.ts (15 tests) 6ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/LoadingSpinner.test.tsx (8 tests) 67ms
 ✓ src/server/database/__tests__/postgres.test.ts (13 tests) 136ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/ErrorMessage.test.tsx (8 tests) 127ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/TodoList.test.tsx (8 tests) 147ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/TodoItem.test.tsx (8 tests) 218ms
 ✓ src/client/__tests__/App.test.tsx (13 tests) 259ms
 ✓ src/client/components/__tests__/AddTodoForm.test.tsx (12 tests) 323ms
 ✓ src/client/hooks/__tests__/useTodos.test.ts (11 tests) 569ms

 Test Files  9 passed (9)
      Tests  88 passed (88)
   Start at  20:57:19
   Duration  4.41s (transform 1.79s, setup 2.66s, collect 5.38s, tests 4.61s, environment 14.07s, prepare 4.34s)

Summary

In this section, you learned how to run tests when developing locally using Docker Compose and how to run tests when building your image.

Related information:

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.