Infrastructure

Vitest

Vite-native test runner. Jest-compatible API, instant HMR for tests, native ESM and TypeScript, and built-in coverage. Default for new Vite and Next.js projects.

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Vitest is the test runner built for the Vite era. The API is intentionally Jest-compatible (describe, it, expect) so migration is mostly a config change, but Vitest runs on top of Vite's bundler so test feedback is much faster: HMR for tests, native ESM, native TypeScript, and instant cold starts. Browser mode (v3) replaces JSDOM with a real browser when you need it. Default for new TypeScript projects and the recommended runner for Next.js.

testing vite typescript esm

Vitest at a glance

Last verified October 17, 2026

Pricing: Free and open source (MIT)
Install: npm install -D vitest
pnpm add -D vitest
yarn add -D vitest vite
Models: Vitest runs on Vite and reads your vite.config by default, or a dedicated vitest.config. Vitest 5 requires Vite 6.4.0 or later and Node 22.12.0 or later. Browser Mode runs tests in a real browser, and an official VS Code extension handles IDE integration.
Recent changes: Oct 15v5.0.5 keeps Vite's default fs.deny protection when an API token file is used, and v4.1.12 backports hardened manual and redirect mocks to the 4.x line.
Oct 12v5.0.4 tags experimental cache directories with CACHEDIR.TAG.
Sep 3Vitest 5.0 requires Vite 6.4+ and Node 22.12+, rewrites the benchmarking API, and makes locators strict by default. Unawaited async assertions now fail the test, clearMocks defaults to true, and the release adds a Browser Mode Trace View, nested projects with config inheritance, and the vi.when conditional mocking API.

Sources: Vitest Getting Started, Vitest blog, Announcing Vitest 5.0, GitHub releases

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Get started with Vitest

Vite-native test runner. Jest-compatible API, instant HMR for tests, native ESM and TypeScript, and built-in coverage. Default for new Vite and Next.js projects.

Try Vitest

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