Skip to content

Command Line Interface

Commands

vitest

Start Vitest in the current directory. Will enter the watch mode in development environment and run mode in CI automatically.

You can pass an additional argument as the filter of the test files to run. For example:

bash
vitest foobar

Will run only the test file that contains foobar in their paths. This filter only checks inclusion and doesn't support regexp or glob patterns (unless your terminal processes it before Vitest receives the filter).

vitest run

Perform a single run without watch mode.

vitest watch

Run all test suites but watch for changes and rerun tests when they change. Same as calling vitest without an argument. Will fallback to vitest run in CI.

vitest dev

Alias to vitest watch.

Run only tests that cover a list of source files. Works with static imports (e.g., import('./index.js') or import index from './index.js), but not the dynamic ones (e.g., import(filepath)). All files should be relative to root folder.

Useful to run with lint-staged or with your CI setup.

bash
vitest related /src/index.ts /src/hello-world.js

TIP

Don't forget that Vitest runs with enabled watch mode by default. If you are using tools like lint-staged, you should also pass --run option, so that command can exit normally.

js
// .lintstagedrc.js
export default {
  '*.{js,ts}': 'vitest related --run',
}

vitest bench

Run only benchmark tests, which compare performance results.

vitest init

vitest init <name> can be used to setup project configuration. At the moment, it only supports browser value:

bash
vitest init browser

vitest list

vitest list command inherits all vitest options to print the list of all matching tests. This command ignores reporters option. By default, it will print the names of all tests that matched the file filter and name pattern:

shell
vitest list filename.spec.ts -t="some-test"
txt
describe > some-test
describe > some-test > test 1
describe > some-test > test 2

You can pass down --json flag to print tests in JSON format or save it in a separate file:

bash
vitest list filename.spec.ts -t="some-test" --json=./file.json

If --json flag doesn't receive a value, it will output the JSON into stdout.

You also can pass down --filesOnly flag to print the test files only:

bash
vitest list --filesOnly
txt
tests/test1.test.ts
tests/test2.test.ts

Options

TIP

Vitest supports both camel case and kebab case for CLI arguments. For example, --passWithNoTests and --pass-with-no-tests will both work (--no-color and --inspect-brk are the exceptions).

Vitest also supports different ways of specifying the value: --reporter dot and --reporter=dot are both valid.

If option supports an array of values, you need to pass the option multiple times:

vitest --reporter=dot --reporter=default

Boolean options can be negated with no- prefix. Specifying the value as false also works:

vitest --no-api
vitest --api=false

root

  • CLI: -r, --root <path>
  • Config: root

Root path

config

  • CLI: -c, --config <path>

Path to config file

update

  • CLI: -u, --update
  • Config: update

Update snapshot

watch

  • CLI: -w, --watch
  • Config: watch

Enable watch mode

testNamePattern

Run tests with full names matching the specified regexp pattern

dir

  • CLI: --dir <path>
  • Config: dir

Base directory to scan for the test files

ui

  • CLI: --ui
  • Config: ui

Enable UI

open

  • CLI: --open
  • Config: open

Open UI automatically (default: !process.env.CI)

api.port

  • CLI: --api.port [port]

Specify server port. Note if the port is already being used, Vite will automatically try the next available port so this may not be the actual port the server ends up listening on. If true will be set to 51204

api.host

  • CLI: --api.host [host]

Specify which IP addresses the server should listen on. Set this to 0.0.0.0 or true to listen on all addresses, including LAN and public addresses

api.strictPort

  • CLI: --api.strictPort

Set to true to exit if port is already in use, instead of automatically trying the next available port

silent

Silent console output from tests

hideSkippedTests

  • CLI: --hideSkippedTests

Hide logs for skipped tests

reporters

Specify reporters

outputFile

Write test results to a file when supporter reporter is also specified, use cac's dot notation for individual outputs of multiple reporters (example: --outputFile.tap=./tap.txt)

coverage.all

Whether to include all files, including the untested ones into report

coverage.provider

Select the tool for coverage collection, available values are: "v8", "istanbul" and "custom"

coverage.enabled

Enables coverage collection. Can be overridden using the --coverage CLI option (default: false)

coverage.include

Files included in coverage as glob patterns. May be specified more than once when using multiple patterns (default: **)

coverage.exclude

Files to be excluded in coverage. May be specified more than once when using multiple extensions (default: Visit coverage.exclude)

coverage.extension

Extension to be included in coverage. May be specified more than once when using multiple extensions (default: [".js", ".cjs", ".mjs", ".ts", ".mts", ".tsx", ".jsx", ".vue", ".svelte"])

coverage.clean

Clean coverage results before running tests (default: true)

coverage.cleanOnRerun

Clean coverage report on watch rerun (default: true)

coverage.reportsDirectory

Directory to write coverage report to (default: ./coverage)

coverage.reporter

Coverage reporters to use. Visit coverage.reporter for more information (default: ["text", "html", "clover", "json"])

coverage.reportOnFailure

Generate coverage report even when tests fail (default: false)

coverage.allowExternal

Collect coverage of files outside the project root (default: false)

coverage.skipFull

Do not show files with 100% statement, branch, and function coverage (default: false)

coverage.thresholds.100

Shortcut to set all coverage thresholds to 100 (default: false)

coverage.thresholds.perFile

Check thresholds per file. See --coverage.thresholds.lines, --coverage.thresholds.functions, --coverage.thresholds.branches and --coverage.thresholds.statements for the actual thresholds (default: false)

coverage.thresholds.autoUpdate

Update threshold values: "lines", "functions", "branches" and "statements" to configuration file when current coverage is above the configured thresholds (default: false)

coverage.thresholds.lines

  • CLI: --coverage.thresholds.lines <number>

Threshold for lines. Visit istanbuljs for more information. This option is not available for custom providers

coverage.thresholds.functions

  • CLI: --coverage.thresholds.functions <number>

Threshold for functions. Visit istanbuljs for more information. This option is not available for custom providers

coverage.thresholds.branches

  • CLI: --coverage.thresholds.branches <number>

Threshold for branches. Visit istanbuljs for more information. This option is not available for custom providers

coverage.thresholds.statements

  • CLI: --coverage.thresholds.statements <number>

Threshold for statements. Visit istanbuljs for more information. This option is not available for custom providers

coverage.ignoreClassMethods

Array of class method names to ignore for coverage. Visit istanbuljs for more information. This option is only available for the istanbul providers (default: [])

coverage.processingConcurrency

Concurrency limit used when processing the coverage results. (default min between 20 and the number of CPUs)

coverage.customProviderModule

Specifies the module name or path for the custom coverage provider module. Visit Custom Coverage Provider for more information. This option is only available for custom providers

coverage.watermarks.statements

  • CLI: --coverage.watermarks.statements <watermarks>

High and low watermarks for statements in the format of <high>,<low>

coverage.watermarks.lines

  • CLI: --coverage.watermarks.lines <watermarks>

High and low watermarks for lines in the format of <high>,<low>

coverage.watermarks.branches

  • CLI: --coverage.watermarks.branches <watermarks>

High and low watermarks for branches in the format of <high>,<low>

coverage.watermarks.functions

  • CLI: --coverage.watermarks.functions <watermarks>

High and low watermarks for functions in the format of <high>,<low>

mode

  • CLI: --mode <name>
  • Config: mode

Override Vite mode (default: test or benchmark)

workspace

Path to a workspace configuration file

isolate

Run every test file in isolation. To disable isolation, use --no-isolate (default: true)

globals

Inject apis globally

dom

  • CLI: --dom

Mock browser API with happy-dom

browser.enabled

Run tests in the browser. Equivalent to --browser.enabled (default: false)

browser.name

Run all tests in a specific browser. Some browsers are only available for specific providers (see --browser.provider). Visit browser.name for more information

browser.headless

Run the browser in headless mode (i.e. without opening the GUI (Graphical User Interface)). If you are running Vitest in CI, it will be enabled by default (default: process.env.CI)

browser.api.port

Specify server port. Note if the port is already being used, Vite will automatically try the next available port so this may not be the actual port the server ends up listening on. If true will be set to 63315

browser.api.host

Specify which IP addresses the server should listen on. Set this to 0.0.0.0 or true to listen on all addresses, including LAN and public addresses

browser.api.strictPort

Set to true to exit if port is already in use, instead of automatically trying the next available port

browser.provider

Provider used to run browser tests. Some browsers are only available for specific providers. Can be "webdriverio", "playwright", "preview", or the path to a custom provider. Visit browser.provider for more information (default: "preview")

browser.providerOptions

Options that are passed down to a browser provider. Visit browser.providerOptions for more information

browser.isolate

Run every browser test file in isolation. To disable isolation, use --browser.isolate=false (default: true)

browser.ui

Show Vitest UI when running tests (default: !process.env.CI)

browser.fileParallelism

Should browser test files run in parallel. Use --browser.fileParallelism=false to disable (default: true)

pool

  • CLI: --pool <pool>
  • Config: pool

Specify pool, if not running in the browser (default: threads)

poolOptions.threads.isolate

Isolate tests in threads pool (default: true)

poolOptions.threads.singleThread

Run tests inside a single thread (default: false)

poolOptions.threads.maxThreads

Maximum number or percentage of threads to run tests in

poolOptions.threads.minThreads

Minimum number or percentage of threads to run tests in

poolOptions.threads.useAtomics

Use Atomics to synchronize threads. This can improve performance in some cases, but might cause segfault in older Node versions (default: false)

poolOptions.vmThreads.isolate

Isolate tests in threads pool (default: true)

poolOptions.vmThreads.singleThread

Run tests inside a single thread (default: false)

poolOptions.vmThreads.maxThreads

Maximum number or percentage of threads to run tests in

poolOptions.vmThreads.minThreads

Minimum number or percentage of threads to run tests in

poolOptions.vmThreads.useAtomics

Use Atomics to synchronize threads. This can improve performance in some cases, but might cause segfault in older Node versions (default: false)

poolOptions.vmThreads.memoryLimit

Memory limit for VM threads pool. If you see memory leaks, try to tinker this value.

poolOptions.forks.isolate

Isolate tests in forks pool (default: true)

poolOptions.forks.singleFork

Run tests inside a single child_process (default: false)

poolOptions.forks.maxForks

Maximum number or percentage of processes to run tests in

poolOptions.forks.minForks

Minimum number or percentage of processes to run tests in

poolOptions.vmForks.isolate

Isolate tests in forks pool (default: true)

poolOptions.vmForks.singleFork

Run tests inside a single child_process (default: false)

poolOptions.vmForks.maxForks

Maximum number or percentage of processes to run tests in

poolOptions.vmForks.minForks

Minimum number or percentage of processes to run tests in

poolOptions.vmForks.memoryLimit

Memory limit for VM forks pool. If you see memory leaks, try to tinker this value.

fileParallelism

Should all test files run in parallel. Use --no-file-parallelism to disable (default: true)

maxWorkers

Maximum number or percentage of workers to run tests in

minWorkers

Minimum number or percentage of workers to run tests in

environment

Specify runner environment, if not running in the browser (default: node)

passWithNoTests

Pass when no tests are found

logHeapUsage

Show the size of heap for each test when running in node

allowOnly

Allow tests and suites that are marked as only (default: !process.env.CI)

dangerouslyIgnoreUnhandledErrors

Ignore any unhandled errors that occur

sequence.shuffle.files

Run files in a random order. Long running tests will not start earlier if you enable this option. (default: false)

sequence.shuffle.tests

Run tests in a random order (default: false)

sequence.concurrent

Make tests run in parallel (default: false)

sequence.seed

Set the randomization seed. This option will have no effect if --sequence.shuffle is falsy. Visit "Random Seed" page for more information

sequence.hooks

Changes the order in which hooks are executed. Accepted values are: "stack", "list" and "parallel". Visit sequence.hooks for more information (default: "parallel")

sequence.setupFiles

Changes the order in which setup files are executed. Accepted values are: "list" and "parallel". If set to "list", will run setup files in the order they are defined. If set to "parallel", will run setup files in parallel (default: "parallel")

inspect

  • CLI: --inspect [[host:]port]
  • Config: inspect

Enable Node.js inspector (default: 127.0.0.1:9229)

inspectBrk

Enable Node.js inspector and break before the test starts

testTimeout

Default timeout of a test in milliseconds (default: 5000)

hookTimeout

Default hook timeout in milliseconds (default: 10000)

bail

  • CLI: --bail <number>
  • Config: bail

Stop test execution when given number of tests have failed (default: 0)

retry

  • CLI: --retry <times>
  • Config: retry

Retry the test specific number of times if it fails (default: 0)

diff.aAnnotation

Annotation for expected lines (default: Expected)

diff.aIndicator

Indicator for expected lines (default: -)

diff.bAnnotation

Annotation for received lines (default: Received)

diff.bIndicator

Indicator for received lines (default: +)

diff.commonIndicator

Indicator for common lines (default: )

diff.contextLines

Number of lines of context to show around each change (default: 5)

diff.emptyFirstOrLastLinePlaceholder

Placeholder for an empty first or last line (default: "")

diff.expand

Expand all common lines (default: true)

diff.includeChangeCounts

Include comparison counts in diff output (default: false)

diff.omitAnnotationLines

Omit annotation lines from the output (default: false)

diff.printBasicPrototype

Print basic prototype Object and Array (default: true)

diff.truncateThreshold

Number of lines to show before and after each change (default: 0)

diff.truncateAnnotation

Annotation for truncated lines (default: ... Diff result is truncated)

exclude

  • CLI: --exclude <glob>
  • Config: exclude

Additional file globs to be excluded from test

expandSnapshotDiff

Show full diff when snapshot fails

disableConsoleIntercept

Disable automatic interception of console logging (default: false)

typecheck.enabled

Enable typechecking alongside tests (default: false)

typecheck.only

Run only typecheck tests. This automatically enables typecheck (default: false)

typecheck.checker

Specify the typechecker to use. Available values are: "tsc" and "vue-tsc" and a path to an executable (default: "tsc")

typecheck.allowJs

Allow JavaScript files to be typechecked. By default takes the value from tsconfig.json

typecheck.ignoreSourceErrors

Ignore type errors from source files

typecheck.tsconfig

Path to a custom tsconfig file

attest

Enable runtime type assertions (default: false)

project

  • CLI: --project <name>
  • Config: project

The name of the project to run if you are using Vitest workspace feature. This can be repeated for multiple projects: --project=1 --project=2. You can also filter projects using wildcards like --project=packages*, and exclude projects with --project=!pattern.

slowTestThreshold

Threshold in milliseconds for a test or suite to be considered slow (default: 300)

teardownTimeout

Default timeout of a teardown function in milliseconds (default: 10000)

maxConcurrency

Maximum number of concurrent tests in a suite (default: 5)

expect.requireAssertions

Require that all tests have at least one assertion

expect.poll.interval

Poll interval in milliseconds for expect.poll() assertions (default: 50)

expect.poll.timeout

Poll timeout in milliseconds for expect.poll() assertions (default: 1000)

printConsoleTrace

Always print console stack traces

run

  • CLI: --run

Disable watch mode

color

  • CLI: --no-color

Removes colors from the console output

clearScreen

  • CLI: --clearScreen

Clear terminal screen when re-running tests during watch mode (default: true)

standalone

  • CLI: --standalone

Start Vitest without running tests. File filters will be ignored, tests will be running only on change (default: false)

changed

  • Type: boolean | string
  • Default: false

Run tests only against changed files. If no value is provided, it will run tests against uncommitted changes (including staged and unstaged).

To run tests against changes made in the last commit, you can use --changed HEAD~1. You can also pass commit hash (e.g. --changed 09a9920) or branch name (e.g. --changed origin/develop).

When used with code coverage the report will contain only the files that were related to the changes.

If paired with the forceRerunTriggers config option it will run the whole test suite if at least one of the files listed in the forceRerunTriggers list changes. By default, changes to the Vitest config file and package.json will always rerun the whole suite.

shard

  • Type: string
  • Default: disabled

Test suite shard to execute in a format of <index>/<count>, where

  • count is a positive integer, count of divided parts
  • index is a positive integer, index of divided part

This command will divide all tests into count equal parts, and will run only those that happen to be in an index part. For example, to split your tests suite into three parts, use this:

sh
vitest run --shard=1/3
vitest run --shard=2/3
vitest run --shard=3/3

WARNING

You cannot use this option with --watch enabled (enabled in dev by default).

TIP

If --reporter=blob is used without an output file, the default path will include the current shard config to avoid collisions with other Vitest processes.

merge-reports

  • Type: boolean | string

Merges every blob report located in the specified folder (.vitest-reports by default). You can use any reporters with this command (except blob):

sh
vitest --merge-reports --reporter=junit

Released under the MIT License.