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global Jest SpyOn function doesen't call the original function

I hope someone might help me understanding the interactivity of js prototypes and jest.spOn().
I have a small Example:
An example class in file TestObj.ts:
export default class TestObj {
foo() {
// Do Something e.g.
console.log("Hello World!");
}
}
The following example Test Case is succeeding but the console.log is never executed.
import TestObj from './TestObj';
const spyObj = jest.spyOn(TestObj.prototype, 'foo');
test('debug test', () => {
const obj = new TestObj();
obj.foo();
expect(spyObj).toHaveBeenCalled();
});
If I change the Example Test Case to the following, the test succeeds and the console.log statement is called as expected.
import TestObj from './TestObj';
test('debug test', () => {
const spyObj = jest.spyOn(TestObj.prototype, 'foo');
const obj = new TestObj();
obj.foo();
expect(spyObj).toHaveBeenCalled();
});
Any idea why the version, using the global spyOn variable does not work as expected?
Edit:
It seems to be not related to prototypes.
The same Issue is there for a function without any kind of class,
editing the First Code snippet (TestObj.ts) to this:
export foo() {
// Do Something e.g.
console.log("Hello World!");
};
We receve the same issue for the updated second snipped. (The test succeeds but the console log is never reached.)
import * as testlib from './TestObj';
const spyObj = jest.spyOn(testlib, 'foo');
test('debug test', () => {
testlib.foo();
expect(spyObj).toHaveBeenCalled();
});
However if we update the second snippet to the following the test succeeds and the console log is executed:
import * as testlib from './TestObj';
const spyObj: jest.SpyInstance;
beforeEach(() => {
spyObj = jest.spyOn(testlib, 'foo');
});
test('debug test', () => {
testlib.foo();
expect(spyObj).toHaveBeenCalled();
});
However I have still no clue why I discover this issue.

who ever comes across this post,
Problem explanation
I did a lot more of research(try&error, mdn, jest manpage and a lot of medium articles) and I guess that I found out the reason for the strange behavior. To understand this issue it is important to know a number of points:
1: JS prototypes are global variables, every object of the corresponding type relies on.
2: Jest does not reset global variables after every test, changes made before, or inside any test to a global variable will be kept for the whole test suite (file).
3: The jest spy on function is actually a mockup of the specified function with an implementation calling the function it self. e.g.:
jest.SpyOn(TestObj.prototype, 'foo'); actually is implemented as: TestObj.prototype.foo = new jest.fn().mockImplementation(()=>{original_TestObj.prototype.foo()});
This means spying on a function of a class prototype is actually changing a global variable.
4: Depending on your jest config, there is the possibility to reset mockup functions before every test to the default value. But be careful the default function for spyOn seems to be the same as for jest.fn() it self, an empty implementation, which means the mock-up is still callable but no code, especially not the original implementation is executed.
Solution
avoid changing global variables, if you want your testcases independent from each other.
avoid spying on prototypes, in test cases, if you require the spy only in a single test try to spy on the local object eg:
test('should foo', () => {
const testObj = new TestObj();
const spyOnFn = jest.spyOn(testObj, 'foo');
// Do anything
expect(spyOnFn).to//Have been anything
});
if requiring spyOn implementations of the same function
in more than one test try to create a global variable for the Test
but use the before each functionality of jest to setup the Spy. This
functionality is executed after the reset of all mocks (if enabled).
e.g.:
let spyOnFunction1: jest.SpyInstance;
beforeEach(()=> {
spyOnFunction1 = jest.spyOn(TestObj.prototype, 'foo');
});

Create React App changes behaviour of jest.fn() when mocking async function

I am confused about the below behaviour of jest.fn() when run from a clean CRA project created using npx create-react-app jest-fn-behaviour.
Example:
describe("jest.fn behaviour", () => {
const getFunc = async () => {
return new Promise((res) => {
setTimeout(() => {
res("some-response");
}, 500)
});;
}
const getFuncOuterMock = jest.fn(getFunc);
test("works fine", async () => {
const getFuncInnerMock = jest.fn(getFunc);
const result = await getFuncInnerMock();
expect(result).toBe("some-response"); // passes
})
test("does not work", async () => {
const result = await getFuncOuterMock();
expect(result).toBe("some-response"); // fails - Received: undefined
})
});
The above test will work as expected in a clean JavaScript project but not in a CRA project.
Can someone please explain why the second test fails? It appears to me that when mocking an async function jest.fn() will not work as expected when called within a non-async function (e.g. describe above). It will work only when called within an async function (test above). But why would CRA alter the behaviour in such a way?

The reason for this is, as I mentioned in another answer, that CRA's default Jest setup includes the following line:
resetMocks: true,
Per the Jest docs, that means (emphasis mine):
Automatically reset mock state before every test. Equivalent to
calling jest.resetAllMocks() before each test. This will lead to
any mocks having their fake implementations removed but does not
restore their initial implementation.
As I pointed out in the comments, your mock is created at test discovery time, when Jest is locating all of the specs and calling the describe (but not it/test) callbacks, not at execution time, when it calls the spec callbacks. Therefore its mock implementation is pointless, as it's cleared before any test gets to run.
Instead, you have three options:
As you've seen, creating the mock inside the test itself works. Reconfiguring an existing mock inside the test would also work, e.g. getFuncOuterMock.mockImplementation(getFunc) (or just getFuncOuterMock.mockResolvedValue("some-response")).
You could move the mock creation and/or configuration into a beforeEach callback; these are executed after all the mocks get reset:
describe("jest.fn behaviour", () => {
let getFuncOuterMock;
// or `const getFuncOuterMock = jest.fn();`
beforeEach(() => {
getFuncOuterMock = jest.fn(getFunc);
// or `getFuncOuterMock.mockImplementation(getFunc);`
});
...
});
resetMocks is one of CRA's supported keys for overriding Jest configuration, so you could add:
"jest": {
"resetMocks": false
},
into your package.json.
However, note that this can lead to false positive tests where you expect(someMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(some, args) and it passes due to an interaction with the mock in a different test. If you're going to disable the automatic resetting, you should also change the implementation to create the mock in beforeEach (i.e. the let getFuncOuterMock; example in option 2) to avoid state leaking between tests.
Note that this is nothing to do with sync vs. async, or anything other than mock lifecycle; you'd see the same behaviour with the following example in a CRA project (or a vanilla JS project with the resetMocks: true Jest configuration):
describe("the problem", () => {
const mock = jest.fn(() => "foo");
it("got reset before I was executed", () => {
expect(mock()).toEqual("foo");
});
});
● the problem › got reset before I was executed
expect(received).toEqual(expected) // deep equality
Expected: "foo"
Received: undefined

How to monkey patch a single method when using jest.mock

I'm using Jest to test a JS project which imports a third party library. I've been able to successfully mock the third-party library by doing this at the top of my test file:
jest.mock('third-party');
But now, I need to customize the mock implementation of a single method inside the third-party library. Let give diagram how the third-party library is structured because I think that's where I'm getting tripped up:
Third-Party Library Package
Exports Constructor1
properties
tons of instance methods...
Exports Constructor2
properties...
instance methodA
instance methodB <- This is what I want to monkey patch.
I want to monkey patch this because mocking this library currently gives me this in my test:
import { Constructor2 } from 'third-party';
jest.mock('third-party');
describe('Thing', () => {
var instance
beforeEach(() => {
instance = new Thing();
instance.constuctor2instance = new Constructor2();
instance.controls = instance.constuctor2instance.methodB();
// methodB returns nothing because it's mocked. I want it to return a custom implementation.
});
test('test 1', () => {
// Fake test just for example
expect(instance.constuctor2instance).toBeInstanceOf(Constructor2); // Success
jest.spyOn(instance.controls, 'nestedFunction'); // Fails because instance.controls is undefined
});
});
So, how can I provide a custom implementation for methodB without having to define the implementation of the whole third party library or even the entire Constructor2...just one method?
**EDIT with solution from below from ** #Teneff
jest.mock('third-party');
const mockControls = {
nestedFunction: jest.fn()
};
beforeEach(() => {
Constructor2.prototype.controls.mockImplementation(() => mockControls);
});
afterEach(() => {
jest.resetAllMocks();
});

You can use Constructor2's prototype like this
const mockControls = {
nestedFunction: jest.fn(),
};
Constructor2.prototype.methodB.mockImplementation(() => mockControls);
and you won't have to spy on it, you'd be able to make assertions like so:
expect(mockControls.nestedFunction).toHaveBeenCalledWith(...);

How stub a global dependency's new instance method in nodejs with sinon.js

Sorry for the confusing title, I have no idea how to better describe it. Let's see the code:
var client = require('some-external-lib').createClient('config string');
//constructor
function MyClass(){
}
MyClass.prototype.doSomething = function(a,b){
client.doWork(a+b);
}
MyClass.prototype.doSomethingElse = function(c,d){
client.doWork(c*d);
}
module.exports = new MyClass();
Test:
var sinon = require('sinon');
var MyClass = requre('./myclass');
var client = require('some-external-lib').createClient('config string');
describe('doSomething method', function() {
it('should call client.doWork()',function(){
var stub = sinon.stub(client,'doWork');
MyClass.doSomething();
assert(stub.calledOnce); //not working! returns false
})
})
I could get it working if .createClient('xxx') is called inside each method instead, where I stub client with:
var client = require('some-external-lib');
sinon.stub(client, 'createClient').returns({doWork:function(){})
But it feels wrong to init the client everytime the method each being called.
Is there a better way to unit test code above?
NEW: I have created a minimal working demo to demonstrate what I mean: https://github.com/markni/Stackoverflow30825202 (Simply npm install && npm test, watch the test fail.) This question seeks a solution make the test pass without changing main code.

The problem arises at the place of test definition. The fact is that in Node.js it is rather difficult to do a dependency injection. While researching it in regard of your answer I came across an interesting article where DI is implemented via a custom loadmodule function. It is a rather sophisticated solution, but maybe eventually you will come to it so I think it is worth mentioning. Besides DI it gives a benefit of access to private variables and functions of the tested module.
To solve the direct problem described in your question you can stub the client creation method of the some-external-lib module.
var sinon = require('sinon');
//instantiate some-external-lib
var client = require('some-external-lib');
//stub the function of the client to create a mocked client
sinon.stub(client, 'createClient').returns({doWork:function(){})
//due to singleton nature of modules `require('some-external-lib')` inside
//myClass module will get the same client that you have already stubbed
var MyClass = require('./myclass');//inside this your stubbed version of createClient
//will be called.
//It will return a mock instead of a real client
However, if your test gets more complicated and the mocked client gets a state you will have to manually take care of resetting the state between different unit tests. Your tests should be independent of the order they are launched in. That is the most important reason to reset everything in beforeEach section

You can use beforeEach() and afterEach() hooks to stub global dependency.
var sinon = require('sinon');
var MyClass = requre('./myclass');
var client = require('some-external-lib').createClient('config string');
describe('doSomething method', function() {
beforeEach(function () {
// Init global scope here
sandbox = sinon.sandbox.create();
});
it('should call client.doWork()',function(){
var stub = sinon.stub(client,'doWork').yield();
MyClass.doSomething();
assert(stub.calledOnce); //not working! returns false
})
afterEach(function () {
// Clean up global scope here
sandbox.restore();
});
})

Part of the problem is here: var stub = sinon.stub(client,'doWork').yield();
yield doesn't return a stub. In addition, yield expects the stub to already have been called with a callback argument.
Otherwise, I think you're 95% of the way there. Instead of re-initializing for every test, you could simply remove the stub:
describe('doSomething method', function() {
it('should call client.doWork()',function(){
var stub = sinon.stub(client,'doWork');
MyClass.doSomething();
assert(stub.calledOnce);
stub.restore();
})
})
BTW, another poster suggested using Sinon sandboxes, which is a convenient way to automatically remove stubs.

Stub out module function

Edit: Being a little bit more precise.
I want to test usecases for a Github API wrapper extension, that our team has created. For testing, we don't want to use API wrapper extension directly, so we want to stub out its functions. All calls to the API wrapper should be stubbed out for the tests, not just creating a clone stub.
I have a module "github" in Node.js:
module.exports = function(args, done) {
...
}
And I am requiring it like this:
var github = require('../services/github');
Now, I would like to stub out github(...) using Sinon.js:
var stub_github = sinon.stub(???, "github", function (args, callback) {
console.log("the github(...) call was stubbed out!!");
});
But sinon.stub(...) expects from me to pass an object and a method and does not allow me to stub out a module that is a function.
Any ideas?

There might be a way to accomplish this in pure Sinon, but I suspect it would be pretty hacky. However, proxyquire is a node library that is designed for solving these sort of issues.
Supposing you want to test some module foo that makes use of the github module; you'd write something like:
var proxyquire = require("proxyquire");
var foo = proxyquire(".foo", {"./github", myFakeGithubStub});
where myFakeGithubStub can be anything; a complete stub, or the actual implementation with a few tweaks, etc.
If, in the above example, myFakeGithubStub has a property "#global" set as true, (i.e. by executing myFakeGithubStub["#global"] = true) then the github module will be replaced with the stub not only in the foo module itself, but in any module that the foo module requires. However, as stated in the proxyquire documentation on the global option, generally speaking this feature is a sign of poorly designed unit tests and should be avoided.

I found that this worked for me...
const sinon = require( 'sinon' );
const moduleFunction = require( 'moduleFunction' );
// Required modules get added require.cache.
// The property name of the object containing the module in require.cache is
// the fully qualified path of the module e.g. '/Users/Bill/project/node_modules/moduleFunction/index.js'
// You can get the fully qualified path of a module from require.resolve
// The reference to the module itself is the exports property
const stubbedModule = sinon.stub( require.cache[ require.resolve( 'moduleFunction' ) ], 'exports', () => {
// this function will replace the module
return 'I\'m stubbed!';
});
// sidenote - stubbedModule.default references the original module...
You have to make sure that you stub the module (as above) before it's required elsewhere...
// elsewhere...
const moduleFunction = require( 'moduleFunction' );
moduleFunction(); // returns 'I'm stubbed!'

Simplest solution is to refactor your module:
instead of this:
module.exports = function(args, done) {
...
}
do this:
module.exports = function(){
return module.exports.github.apply(this, arguments);
};
module.exports.github = github;
function github(args, done) {
...
}
Now you can require it with:
const github = require('../services/github.js');
//or
const github = require('../services/github.js').github;
To stub:
const github = require('../services/github.js');
let githubStub = sinon.stub(github, 'github', function () {
...
});

If you are doing
var github = require('../services/github');
in global scope, then you can using 'global' as the object and 'github' as the method to be stubbed out.
var stub_github = sinon.stub(global, "github", function (args, callback) {
console.log("the github(...) call was stubbed out!!");
});