Electron IPC Testing Strategy

For Electron IPC tests, use Mock return values instead of real Electron environment.

Basic Mock Setup

typescript

import { vi } from 'vitest';
import { electronIpcClient } from '@/server/modules/ElectronIPCClient';

vi.mock('@/server/modules/ElectronIPCClient', () => ({
  electronIpcClient: {
    getFilePathById: vi.fn(),
    deleteFiles: vi.fn(),
  },
}));

Setting Mock Behavior

typescript

beforeEach(() => {
  vi.resetAllMocks();
  vi.mocked(electronIpcClient.getFilePathById).mockResolvedValue('/path/to/file.txt');
  vi.mocked(electronIpcClient.deleteFiles).mockResolvedValue({ success: true });
});

Testing Different Scenarios

typescript

it('should handle successful file deletion', async () => {
  vi.mocked(electronIpcClient.deleteFiles).mockResolvedValue({ success: true });

  const result = await service.deleteFiles(['desktop://file1.txt']);

  expect(electronIpcClient.deleteFiles).toHaveBeenCalledWith(['desktop://file1.txt']);
  expect(result.success).toBe(true);
});

it('should handle file deletion failure', async () => {
  vi.mocked(electronIpcClient.deleteFiles).mockRejectedValue(new Error('Delete failed'));

  const result = await service.deleteFiles(['desktop://file1.txt']);

  expect(result.success).toBe(false);
  expect(result.errors).toBeDefined();
});

Advantages

Environment simplification: No complex Electron setup
Controlled testing: Precise control over IPC return values
Scenario coverage: Easy to test success/failure cases
Speed: Mock calls are faster than real IPC

Notes

Ensure mock behavior matches real IPC interface
Use vi.mocked() for type safety
Reset mocks in beforeEach to avoid test interference
Verify both return values and that IPC methods were called correctly