TDD with React: A low-friction approach with examples

Test-driven development (TDD) for React applications often faces challenges due to the tightly coupled nature of popular testing tools like Enzyme and React Test Renderer, which can lead to brittle tests. These tools make it difficult to write unit tests that remain stable when implementation details change. The article advocates for using React Testing Library (RTL) as a more user-centric alternative, which emphasizes testing components based on what users can see and interact with, rather than relying on implementation-specific selectors. RTL's API allows for intuitive, straightforward testing by focusing on user-facing attributes and efficiently handling asynchronous operations, making it an ideal choice for TDD practitioners. This approach aligns well with product requirements, enabling developers to create robust tests that mirror real-world user interactions and ultimately ensuring that the source code reliably meets user expectations.