The Karma test runner supports executing unit tests against the Node.js server.
The tests themselves can use Jasmine
, QUnit
,
or Mocha
libraries in Karma-specific edition.
Besides running unit tests, with Karma you can measure how much of your code is covered with tests. For more details, see Monitoring Code Coverage for JavaScript. To run tests with coverage, you need an additional Karma-related package.
On this page:
- Preparing to Install the Karma Test Runner
- Installing the Karma Test Runner
- Configuring Testing Frameworks in a Project
-
Download and install Node.js
. The framework is required for two reasons:
- The Karma test runner is started through Node.js.
- NPM, which is a part of the framework, is also the easiest way to download the Karma test runner.
-
If you are going to use the command line mode, make sure the following paths are added to the
PATH
variable:- The path to the parent folder of the Node.js executable file.
-
The path to the
npm
folder.
This enables you to launch the Karma test runner and npm from any folder.
-
Install and enable the NodeJS repository plugin.
The plugin is not bundled with PyCharm, but it is available from the PyCharm plugin repository.
Once enabled, the plugin is available at the IDE level, that is, you can use it in all your PyCharm projects. See Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins for details.
-
Install and enable the Karma repository plugin.
The plugin is not bundled with PyCharm, but it is available from the PyCharm plugin repository.
Once enabled, the plugin is available at the IDE level, that is, you can use it in all your PyCharm projects. See Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins for details.
Installing the Karma Test Runner
The easiest way to install the Karma test runner is to use the Node Package Manager (npm),
which is a part of Node.js.
Depending on the desired location of the Karma test runner executable file, choose one of the following methods:
- Install the test runner globally at the PyCharm level so it can be used in any PyCharm project.
- Install the test runner in a specific project and thus restrict its use to this project.
- Install the test runner in a project as a development dependency.
In either installation mode, make sure that the parent folder of the Karma test runner is added to the PATH
variable.
This enables you to launch the test runner from any folder.
PyCharm provides user interface both for global and project installation as well as supports installation through the command line.
Global installation makes the test runner available at the PyCharm level so it can be used in any PyCharm project.
Moreover, during installation the parent folder of the test runner is automatically added to the PATH
variable,
which enables you to launch the test runner from any folder.
To install the test runner globally, do one of the following:
-
Run the installation from the command line in the global mode:
-
Launch the embedded Terminal
by hovering your mouse pointer over
in the lower left corner of PyCharm and choosing Terminal from the menu (see Working with Embedded Local Terminal for details).
-
Switch to the directory where NPM is stored or define a
PATH
variable for it so it is available from any folder, see Installing NodeJs. -
Type the following command at the command line prompt:
npm install -g karma
The
-g
key makes the test runner run in the global mode. Because the installation is performed through NPM, the Karma test runner is installed in thenpm
folder. Make sure this parent folder is added to thePATH
variable. This enables you to launch the test runner from any folder.For more details on the NPM operation modes, see npm documentation
. For more information about installing the Karma test runner, see https://npmjs.org/package/karma
.
-
Launch the embedded Terminal
by hovering your mouse pointer over
-
Run NPM from PyCharm using the Node.js and NPM page of the Settings dialog box.
- Open the Settings dialog box by choosing or pressing Ctrl+Alt+S and click Node.js and NPM under Languages&Frameworks.
-
On the packagePage page that opens, the Packages area shows all the engineDependent packages
that are currently installed on your computer, both at the global and at the project level.
Click
.
- In the Available Packages dialog box that opens, select the required package to install.
-
Select the Options check box and type
-g
in the text box next to it. - Optionally specify the product version and click Install Package to start installation.
Installing the test runner in a specific project restricts its use to this project. To run project installation, do one of the following:
-
Run the installation from the command line:
-
Launch the embedded Terminal
by hovering your mouse pointer over
in the lower left corner of PyCharm and choosing Terminal from the menu (see Working with Embedded Local Terminal for details).
-
Switch to the project root folder and type the following command at the command line prompt:
npm install karma
-
Launch the embedded Terminal
by hovering your mouse pointer over
-
Run NPM from PyCharm using the Node.js and NPM page of the Settings dialog box.
- Open the Settings dialog box by choosing or pressing Ctrl+Alt+S, see Accessing Settings for details. Then click Node.js and NPM under the Languages & Frameworks node.
-
On the Node.js and NPM page that opens, the Packages area shows all the Node.js-dependent packages
that are currently installed on your computer, both at the global and at the project level.
Click
.
- In the Available Packages dialog box that opens, select the required package.
- Optionally specify the product version and click Install Package to start installation.
Project level installation is helpful and reliable in template-based projects
of the type Node Boilerplate or Node.js Express, which already have the node_modules
folder.
The latter is important because NPM installs the Karma test runner
in a node_modules
folder. If your project already contains such folder, the Karma test runner is installed there.
Projects of other types or empty projects may not have a node_modules
folder.
In this case npm goes upwards in the folder tree and installs the Karma test runner
in the first detected node_modules
folder. Keep in mind that this detected node_modules
folder may be outside your current project root.
Finally, if no node_modules
folder is detected in the folder tree either,
the folder is created right under the current project root and the Karma test runner is installed there.
In either case, make sure that the parent folder of the Karma test runner is added to the PATH
variable.
This enables you to launch the test runner from any folder.
-
Download the Jasmine, QUnit, or Mocha framework. The easiest way is to use the Node.js Package Manager:
- Choose Settings dialog box that opens, click Node.js and NPM. and in the
- On the Node.js page that opens, click Install in the Packages area.
-
In the Available Packages dialog box that opens, select
karma-jasmine
,karma-qunit
, orkarma-mocha
package and click Install Package. Close the dialog box when ready. PyCharm returns to the Node.js page, where the selected package is added to the Packages list. Click OK.
- To enable PyCharm to resolve references to the downloaded framework and provide code completion and other types of coding assistance, configure the framework as a PyCharm JavaScript library.