What is jest-image-snapshot?
jest-image-snapshot is a Jest matcher for image comparisons. It allows you to write tests that compare images to a baseline image, making it useful for visual regression testing.
What are jest-image-snapshot's main functionalities?
Basic Image Comparison
This feature allows you to compare an image to a stored snapshot. If the images do not match, the test will fail.
const { toMatchImageSnapshot } = require('jest-image-snapshot');
test('compares image to snapshot', () => {
const image = fs.readFileSync('path/to/image.png');
expect(image).toMatchImageSnapshot();
});
Custom Configuration
This feature allows you to customize the image comparison settings, such as the threshold for differences and whether to use colors in the diff output.
const { toMatchImageSnapshot } = require('jest-image-snapshot');
expect.extend({ toMatchImageSnapshot });
test('compares image with custom config', () => {
const image = fs.readFileSync('path/to/image.png');
expect(image).toMatchImageSnapshot({
customDiffConfig: { threshold: 0.1 },
noColors: true,
});
});
Update Snapshots
This feature allows you to update the stored snapshot with a new image. This is useful when the baseline image needs to be updated.
const { toMatchImageSnapshot } = require('jest-image-snapshot');
test('updates image snapshot', () => {
const image = fs.readFileSync('path/to/image.png');
expect(image).toMatchImageSnapshot({ updateSnapshot: true });
});
Other packages similar to jest-image-snapshot
cypress-image-snapshot
cypress-image-snapshot is a plugin for Cypress that provides similar functionality to jest-image-snapshot but is designed for use with Cypress end-to-end tests. It allows you to take snapshots of your application and compare them to baseline images.
puppeteer-screenshot-tester
puppeteer-screenshot-tester is a package that allows you to take screenshots using Puppeteer and compare them to baseline images. It is similar to jest-image-snapshot but is designed to work with Puppeteer for browser automation.
reg-suit
reg-suit is a visual regression testing tool that integrates with various CI/CD pipelines. It provides a comprehensive solution for visual regression testing, including image comparison, reporting, and integration with version control systems. It offers more features and integrations compared to jest-image-snapshot.
jest-image-snapshot

Jest matcher that performs image comparisons using pixelmatch and behaves just like Jest snapshots do! Very useful for browser visual comparison testing.
Installation:
npm i --save-dev jest-image-snapshot
Please note that Jest
20.x.x is a peerDependency. jest-image-snapshot
will not work with anything below jest 20.x.x
Usage:
const { toMatchImageSnapshot } = require('jest-image-snapshot');
expect.extend({ toMatchImageSnapshot });
- Use
toMatchImageSnapshot()
in your tests!
it('should demonstrate this matcher`s usage', () => {
...
expect(image).toMatchImageSnapshot();
});
Optional configuration:
toMatchImageSnapshot()
takes an optional options object with the following properties:
customDiffConfig
: Custom config passed pixelmatch (See options section)
- By default we have set the threshold to 0.01, you can increase that value by passing a customDiffConfig as demonstrated below
customSnapshotIdentifier
: A custom name to give this snapshot. If not provided one is computed automatically
noColors
: (default false
) Removes colouring from console output, useful if storing the results in a file
it('should demonstrate this matcher`s usage with a custom pixelmatch config', () => {
...
const customConfig = { threshold: 0.5 };
expect(image).toMatchImageSnapshot({
customDiffConfig: customConfig,
customSnapshotIdentifier: 'customSnapshotName',
noColors: true
});
});
Custom defaults can be set with a configurable extension. This will allow for customization of this module's defaults. For example, a 0% default threshold can be shared across all tests with the configuration below.
const { configureToMatchImageSnapshot } = require('jest-image-snapshot');
const customConfig = { threshold: 0 };
const toMatchImageSnapshot = configureToMatchImageSnapshot({
customDiffConfig: customConfig,
noColors: true,
})
expect.extend({ toMatchImageSnapshot });
How it works
Given an image (should be either a PNGImage instance or a Buffer instance with PNG data) the toMatchImageSnapshot()
matcher will create a __image_snapshots__
directory in the directory the test is in and will store the baseline snapshot image there on the first run.
On subsequent test runs the matcher will compare the image being passed against the stored snapshot.
To update the stored image snapshot run jest with --updateSnapshot
or -u
argument. All this works the same way as Jest snapshots.
See it in action
Typically this matcher is used to for visual tests that run on a browser. For example let's say I finish working on a feature and want to write a test to prevent visual regressions:
it('renders correctly', async () => {
const browser = await launchChromeHeadless();
await browser.goTo('https://localhost:3000');
const screenshot = await browser.takeScreenshot();
expect(screenshot).toMatchImageSnapshot();
});
Then after a few days as I finish adding another feature to my component I notice one of my tests failing!
Oh no! I must have introduced a regression! Let's see what the diff looks like to identify what I need to fix:
And now that I know that I broke the card art I can fix it!
Thanks jest-image-snapshot
, that broken header would not have looked good in production!
Contributing
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and to recipients of software distributed by American Express, You reserve all
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out the Agreement.
Please feel free to open pull requests and see CONTRIBUTING.md
for commit formatting details.
License
Any contributions made under this project will be governed by the Apache License
2.0.
Code of Conduct
This project adheres to the American Express Community Guidelines.
By participating, you are expected to honor these guidelines.