Vue Composable Testing Guide

Test composables based on their dependency type: Independent (direct testing) or Dependent (requires component context).

Quick Classification

Type	Characteristics	Testing Approach
Independent	Uses only reactivity APIs (ref, computed, watch)	Test directly like functions
Dependent	Uses lifecycle hooks (onMounted) or inject	Use `withSetup` or `useInjectedSetup` helpers

Testing Independent Composables

Independent composables use only Vue's reactivity system without lifecycle hooks or dependency injection.

// useSum.ts - Independent composable
import type { ComputedRef, Ref } from 'vue'
import { computed } from 'vue'

export function useSum(a: Ref<number>, b: Ref<number>): ComputedRef<number> {
  return computed(() => a.value + b.value)
}

import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
// useSum.spec.ts - Direct testing
import { ref } from 'vue'
import { useSum } from '../useSum'

describe('useSum', () => {
  it('computes sum of two numbers', () => {
    const num1 = ref(2)
    const num2 = ref(3)
    const sum = useSum(num1, num2)

    expect(sum.value).toBe(5)
  })

  it('reacts to value changes', () => {
    const num1 = ref(1)
    const num2 = ref(1)
    const sum = useSum(num1, num2)

    num1.value = 10
    expect(sum.value).toBe(11)
  })
})

Testing Dependent Composables

With Lifecycle Hooks

Composables using onMounted, onUnmounted, etc. require a component context. Use the withSetup helper.

// useLocalStorage.ts - Uses onMounted
import { onMounted, ref, watch } from 'vue'

export function useLocalStorage<TValue>(key: string, initialValue: TValue) {
  const value = ref<TValue>(initialValue)

  onMounted(() => {
    const stored = localStorage.getItem(key)
    if (stored !== null) {
      value.value = JSON.parse(stored)
    }
  })

  watch(value, (newValue) => {
    localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(newValue))
  })

  return { value }
}

// useLocalStorage.spec.ts - Using withSetup
import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
import { useLocalStorage } from '../useLocalStorage'
import { withSetup } from './helpers/withSetup'

describe('useLocalStorage', () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    localStorage.clear()
  })

  it('loads initial value', () => {
    const [result] = withSetup(() => useLocalStorage('key', 'initial'))
    expect(result.value.value).toBe('initial')
  })

  it('loads value from localStorage on mount', () => {
    localStorage.setItem('key', JSON.stringify('stored'))
    const [result] = withSetup(() => useLocalStorage('key', 'initial'))
    expect(result.value.value).toBe('stored')
  })

  it('persists changes to localStorage', () => {
    const [result] = withSetup(() => useLocalStorage('key', 'initial'))
    result.value.value = 'updated'
    expect(JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('key')!)).toBe('updated')
  })
})

With Inject

Composables using inject require provided values. Use the useInjectedSetup helper.

// useMessage.ts - Uses inject
import type { InjectionKey } from 'vue'
import { inject } from 'vue'

export const MessageKey: InjectionKey<string> = Symbol('message')

export function useMessage() {
  const message = inject(MessageKey)

  if (!message) {
    throw new Error('Message must be provided')
  }

  return {
    message,
    getUpperCase: () => message.toUpperCase(),
    getReversed: () => message.split('').reverse().join(''),
  }
}

// useMessage.spec.ts - Using useInjectedSetup
import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
import { MessageKey, useMessage } from '../useMessage'
import { useInjectedSetup } from './helpers/useInjectedSetup'

describe('useMessage', () => {
  it('uses injected message', () => {
    const result = useInjectedSetup(
      () => useMessage(),
      [{ key: MessageKey, value: 'hello world' }]
    )

    expect(result.message).toBe('hello world')
    expect(result.getUpperCase()).toBe('HELLO WORLD')
    expect(result.getReversed()).toBe('dlrow olleh')

    result.unmount()
  })

  it('throws when message not provided', () => {
    expect(() => {
      useInjectedSetup(() => useMessage(), [])
    }).toThrow('Message must be provided')
  })
})

Helper Functions

Create these helpers in your test utilities. See references/test-helpers.md for complete implementations.

withSetup

Mounts a minimal Vue app to trigger lifecycle hooks:

import type { App } from 'vue'
import { createApp } from 'vue'

export function withSetup<TResult>(composable: () => TResult): [TResult, App] {
  let result: TResult
  const app = createApp({
    setup() {
      result = composable()
      return () => {}
    },
  })
  app.mount(document.createElement('div'))
  return [result!, app]
}

useInjectedSetup

Creates a provider component for inject-dependent composables:

import type { InjectionKey } from 'vue'
import { createApp, defineComponent, h, provide } from 'vue'

interface InjectionConfig {
  key: InjectionKey<unknown> | string
  value: unknown
}

export function useInjectedSetup<TResult>(
  setup: () => TResult,
  injections: ReadonlyArray<InjectionConfig> = []
): TResult & { unmount: () => void } {
  let result!: TResult

  const Comp = defineComponent({
    setup() {
      result = setup()
      return () => h('div')
    },
  })

  const Provider = defineComponent({
    setup() {
      injections.forEach(({ key, value }) => {
        provide(key, value)
      })
      return () => h(Comp)
    },
  })

  const el = document.createElement('div')
  const app = createApp(Provider)
  app.mount(el)

  return {
    ...result,
    unmount: () => app.unmount(),
  }
}

Testing Patterns

Async Composables

describe('useAsyncData', () => {
  it('handles async operations', async () => {
    const [result] = withSetup(() => useAsyncData())

    expect(result.isLoading.value).toBe(true)

    await result.fetch()

    expect(result.isLoading.value).toBe(false)
    expect(result.data.value).toBeDefined()
  })
})

Error States

describe('useFetch', () => {
  it('captures errors', async () => {
    vi.spyOn(globalThis, 'fetch').mockRejectedValue(new Error('Network error'))

    const [result] = withSetup(() => useFetch('/api/data'))
    await result.execute()

    expect(result.error.value).toBeInstanceOf(Error)
    expect(result.error.value?.message).toBe('Network error')
  })
})

Cleanup

describe('useInterval', () => {
  it('cleans up on unmount', () => {
    const clearSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, 'clearInterval')

    const [, app] = withSetup(() => useInterval(() => {}, 1000))
    app.unmount()

    expect(clearSpy).toHaveBeenCalled()
  })
})

Best Practices

•Classify first - Determine if composable is independent or dependent before writing tests
•Always unmount - Call app.unmount() or result.unmount() to prevent memory leaks
•Test reactivity - Verify computed values update when dependencies change
•Mock external APIs - Use vi.spyOn or vi.mock for fetch, localStorage, etc.
•Test error paths - Verify composables expose errors correctly
•Clear state - Use beforeEach to reset mocks and external state like localStorage