Check that button is disabled in react-testing-library

I have a React component that generates a button whose content contains a <span> element like this one:

function Click(props) {
    return (
        <button disable={props.disable}>
            <span>Click me</span>
        </button>
    );
}

I want to test the logic of this component with the use of react-testing-library and mocha + chai.

The problem at which I stuck at the moment is that the getByText("Click me") selector returns the <span> DOM node, but for the tests, I need to check the disable attribute of the <button> node. What is the best practice for handling such test cases? I see a couple of solutions, but all of them sound a little bit off:

  1. Use data-test-id for <button> element
  2. Select one of the ancestors of the <Click /> component and then select the button within(...) this scope
  3. Click on the selected element with fireEvent and check that nothing has happened

Can you suggest a better approach?


Assert if button is disabled

You can use the toHaveAttribute and closest to test it.

import { render } from '@testing-library/react';

const { getByText } = render(Click);
expect(getByText(/Click me/i).closest('button')).toHaveAttribute('disabled');

or toBeDisabled

expect(getByText(/Click me/i).closest('button')).toBeDisabled();

Assert if button is enabled

To check if the button is enabled, use not as follows

expect(getByText(/Click me/i).closest('button')).not.toBeDisabled();

You can use toBeDisabled() from @testing-library/jest-dom, it is a custom jest matcher to test the state of the DOM:

https://github.com/testing-library/jest-dom

Example:

<button>Submit</button>
expect(getByText(/submit/i)).toBeDisabled()

For someone who is looking for the test in which the button is not disabled.

import { render } from '@testing-library/react';

const { getByText } = render(Click);
expect(getByText(/Click me/i).getAttribute("disabled")).toBe(null)

I would politely argue you are testing an implementation detail, which react-testing-library discourages.

The more your tests resemble the way your software is used, the more confidence they can give you.

If a button is disabled, a user doesn't see a disabled prop, instead they see nothing happen. If a button is enabled, a user doesn't see the omission of a disabled prop, instead they see something happen.

I believe you should be testing for this instead:

const Button = (props) => (
  <button 
    type="submit" 
    onClick={props.onClick} 
    disabled={props.disabled}
  >
    Click me
  </button>
);

describe('Button', () => {
  it('will call onClick when enabled', () => {
    const onClick = jest.fn();
    render(<Button onClick={onClick} disabled={false} />);
    userEvent.click(getByRole('button', /click me/i));
    expect(onClick).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
  });

  it('will not call onClick when disabled', () => {
    const onClick = jest.fn();
    render(<Button onClick={onClick} disabled={true} />);
    userEvent.click(getByRole('button', /click me/i));
    expect(onClick).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
  });
})