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Lighttest vs Vitest comparison of testing frameworks
What are the differences between Lighttest and Vitest?

Lighttest

http://asvd.github.io/lighttest

Vitest

https://vitest.dev
Programming language JavaScript JavaScript
Category

Unit Testing

Unit testing, integration testing, and component testing

General info

Lighttest is a JavaScript unit-testing library — it works both in browsers and under Node.js, supports flow control, and is focused on keeping the tests clear.

Lighttest keeps tests clear by using a minimal syntax of the test cases, and the only testing function, lighttest.check(), is used to indicate a success or a failure. Any testing behaviour can be implemented using this function JavaScript natively meaning no additional testing API is required.

Vitest is a fast, modern JavaScript test runner built on Vite

It supports unit, integration, and component testing with a Jest-compatible API, built-in mocking, and TypeScript support. Designed for speed and efficiency. It seamlessly integrates with Vite projects but can also be used independently.

xUnit
Set of frameworks originating from SUnit (Smalltalk's testing framework). They share similar structure and functionality.

N/A

No

Vitest does not natively follow the xUnit test structure, but it supports similar concepts. It uses a Jest-compatible API, meaning it provides test lifecycle hooks (beforeEach, afterEach, etc.) and assertions similar to xUnit-style frameworks. However, it does not strictly adhere to classical xUnit architecture, such as NUnit, JUnit, or MSTest.

Client-side
Allows testing code execution on the client, such as a web browser

Yes

Light Test works in the browser to test client side components and behaviours

Yes

Vitest uses JSDOM to simulate a browser environment, making it easy to test DOM-related functionality. It has Browser Mode for running component tests in the browser. Vitest can run tests in real browsers via tools like Playwright or WebdriverIO.

Server-side
Allows testing the bahovior of a server-side code

Yes

Light Test works with NodeJs to test back-end environments behaviours and components in short it can test any behaviour in the back-end as well as the front-end

Yes

Vitest supports server-side testing, allowing you to test Node.js and server-side logic such as APIs, databases, and backend functions. It provides native support for ESM, mocks, spies, and environment configurations.

Fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data (fixtures) that are test-local. This ensures specific environment for a single test

N/A

Yes

Vitest's Test Context, inspired by Playwright Fixtures, allows defining utils, states, and fixtures for use in tests. It enables sharing context between tests using the test.context object and supports tuple syntax for fixtures, allowing customization of fixture options per test.

Group fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data for a group of tests (group-fixtures). This ensures specific environment for a given group of tests.

N/A

Yes

Vitest supports group fixtures by using describe blocks with beforeAll, beforeEach, afterEach, and afterAll hooks. These hooks allow setting up a shared state for a group of tests.

Generators
Supports data generators for tests. Data generators generate input data for test. The test is then run for each input data produced in this way.

N/A

No

Licence
Licence type governing the use and redistribution of the software

MIT License

MIT License

Mocks
Mocks are objects that simulate the behavior of real objects. Using mocks allows testing some part of the code in isolation (with other parts mocked when needed)

N/A

Yes

Vitest has built-in support for mocks, allowing you to mock functions, modules, timers, and spies similar to Jest.

Grouping
Allows organizing tests in groups

N/A

Yes

Vitest supports Grouping, allowing you to organize tests into groups using describe() blocks.

Other
Other useful information about the testing framework

Vitest provides a watch mode for instant test re-runs, ESM-first architecture for modern development, parallel and concurrent test execution for speed, custom reporters for CI/CD integration, and fake timers for testing time-dependent code.