Nullean.Snapshots 0.5.0

<p align="center"> <a href="https://snapshots.nullean.net"> <picture> <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: light)" srcset="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nullean/snapshots/main/docs/images/brand/png/lockup-light.png"> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nullean/snapshots/main/docs/images/brand/png/lockup.png" alt="snapshots." width="276" height="96"> </picture> </a> </p>

<p align="center"><strong>Structural Snapshot tests for .NET</strong></p>

<p align="center"> <a href="https://www.nuget.org/packages/Nullean.Snapshots.AwesomeAssertions"><img alt="NuGet" src="https://img.shields.io/nuget/v/Nullean.Snapshots.AwesomeAssertions?color=9fc9ea&label=nuget"></a> <a href="https://github.com/nullean/snapshots/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img alt="CI" src="https://github.com/nullean/snapshots/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg"></a> <a href="https://snapshots.nullean.net"><img alt="Docs" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-snapshots.nullean.net-c6dd7a"></a> </p>

Nullean.Snapshots is snapshot testing on AwesomeAssertions for text, HTML, JSON, YAML, PNG images, browser journeys and HTTP responses. A test's output is compared with a verified file kept with your tests, or with a string literal right in the test (inline snapshots); when it differs, the test fails with a short, plain message that says exactly what moved and how to accept it. A small native AOT CLI, snap, reviews and accepts what changed.

[Test]
public void Serializes() =>
	catalog.Should().MatchJsonSnapshot(AppJsonContext.Default.Catalog);

JSON did not match snapshot: tests/Shop.Tests/.snapshots/CatalogTests/Serializes.verified.json
3 difference(s):
$.items[0].name   expected "kibana"   actual "Kibana"   (verified.json:5:15)
$.items[1]        missing in actual   (verified.json:7:5)
$.extra           unexpected in actual
Received: .artifacts/.snapshots/received/Shop.Tests/CatalogTests/Serializes.received.json
Accept:   snap accept Shop.Tests/CatalogTests/Serializes   (or: dnx Nullean.Snapshots.Cli accept Shop.Tests/CatalogTests/Serializes)

How it works

• Compared by structure, not by text. HTML compares as a DOM; JSON and YAML compare as trees. Attribute order, whitespace, key order and 1 versus 1.0 do not fail a test, and a changed field is reported by its path, with the line and column in the verified file. Images compare by their pixels, perceptually and with anti-aliasing left out, so a screenshot passes on every machine.
• Verified files, or the value right in the test. Short values can be inline snapshots: MatchInlineSnapshot("""…""") keeps the expected value as a string literal, and accepting rewrites that literal.
• Messages people and agents can act on. Plain text without colour codes, repository-relative paths, at most 20 differences and 80 lines, and the exact command to accept. They read the same in a terminal, a CI log and an agent's context.
• You accept, or nothing changes. Nothing is ever accepted for you. SNAPSHOT_ACCEPT=1 works on your machine; with CI set it is ignored, and the failure says so.
• Tidy. Verified files live in one .snapshots/ folder per test project, mirroring your test files. Received files go to obj/ or your artifacts folder, never into source.
• Lightweight. Every package is trimming- and native-AOT-safe, the core has no heavy dependencies, and every write goes through a file system scoped to the snapshot folders.

Packages

Getting started

<PackageReference Include="Nullean.Snapshots.AwesomeAssertions" Version="0.*" />
<PackageReference Include="Nullean.Snapshots.Json" Version="0.*" />
<PackageReference Include="Nullean.Snapshots.TUnit" Version="0.*" />

dotnet tool install --global Nullean.Snapshots.Cli
snap            # walk through what changed: accept, reject or skip each snapshot

The first run of a new snapshot fails and writes a received file. Read it, accept it with snap accept <key> (or snap review), and commit the verified file. From then on a change in output is a decision you make with the difference in front of you.

Read more at snapshots.nullean.net: the formats, the snap workflow, snapshots in CI, working with coding agents, and the reference.

Versions are 0.x while the API settles. The packages need .NET 10.

Contributing

See AGENTS.md for conventions, DECISIONS.md for the choices behind the design and ROADMAP.md for the plan. scripts/docs.sh builds and serves the documentation locally, given a docs-builder binary.

License

MIT, see LICENSE.txt.