Popular Libraries for Automating Visual Regression Testing

1. Percy.io

A visual testing tool called Percy works well with current front-end development processes. It takes screenshots of websites and recognizes visual differences between versions automatically. Percy provides features including responsive design testing support, interfaces with common CI/CD technologies, and visual review and approval workflows.

Who Uses: Development teams who work on websites and online applications and wish to automate visual regression testing as part of their CI/CD processes use Percy.io.

Pros:

  1. Smooth interaction with widely used CI/CD tools, such as GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and CircleCI.
  2. Offers graphic dashboards that make it simple to compare screenshots and identify changes in appearance.
  3. The capacity to take screenshots with different viewport widths and browsers.

Cons:

  1. Restricted free tier, premium programs offer more extensive functionality.
  2. Needs internet access to take and process screenshots.
  3. May not be able to handle dynamic content or complex visual elements without some constraints.

2. BackstopJS

This open-source tool for visual regression testing can be used headless with Puppeteer or within a browser. It uses an easy configuration file to build test scenarios for developers, and it takes screenshots of websites automatically. Features like custom thresholds for change detection, visual diffing, and connection with CI/CD pipelines are all offered by BackstopJS.

Who Uses: Developers and QA engineers who want a command-line interface for setting up and executing visual regression tests are the ones who use BackstopJS.

Pros:

  1. A JSON-based configuration file is used for easy setup and configuration.
  2. Integrating into CI/CD pipelines is made simple by the command-line interface.
  3. Allows for testing on various devices and viewports.

Cons:

  1. Restricted analytical and reporting capabilities in contrast to certain other tools.
  2. Additional manual labor is needed to set up and manage test scenarios.
  3. Perhaps not as appropriate for groups who need sophisticated visual diffing algorithms or a lot of collaboration tools.

3. Applitools Eyes

AI-powered visual validation and regression testing capabilities are offered by Applitools Eyes, a potent visual testing tool. Numerous programming languages and frameworks are supported, such as Cypress, Selenium WebDriver, and others. Advanced functionality like cross-browser testing, layout testing, and connection with CI/CD processes are available with Applitools Eyes.

Who Uses: QA engineers and developers who work on online and mobile applications who need automated visual testing capabilities are avid supporters of Applitools Eyes.

Pros:

  1. Powerful AI-powered visual testing techniques for precise image comparison.
  2. Supports a large number of programming languages and platforms, including desktop, mobile, and web apps.
  3. Intelligent maintenance tools to lower false positives and automatically manage baseline photos.

Cons:

  1. For solo developers or small teams, prices could be somewhat high.
  2. The complex feature setup and configuration learning curve.
  3. restricted offline testing capacity in contrast to several other tools.

Related Articles:

How to Automate Visual Regression Testing?

Automation is essential to simplifying this process since it provides the testing workflow with efficiency, accuracy, and scalability. Development teams can identify visual differences early in the development cycle by automating visual regression testing. This allows for quick feedback and improves the overall quality of the software. Let’s understand about this term in detail.

Table of Content

  • What does Visual Regression Testing Mean?
  • Why should you Automate it?
  • What about Manual Visual Checks?
  • What percentage of Visual Bugs are caught by Automated Visual Regression Tests?
  • Popular Libraries for Automating Visual Regression Testing
  • Conclusion: Automate Visual Regression Testing
  • FAQs: Automate Visual Regression Testing

Similar Reads

What does Visual Regression Testing Mean?

Visual regression testing is a software development technique for identifying unintentional visual modifications made to the user interface (UI) of a web application. To find any differences, screenshots of the user interface (UI) of the application are compared before and after code changes. Developers can guarantee that changes to the coding don’t bring about unexpected visual changes that could degrade the user experience by automating this process. Visual regression testing contributes to the overall quality and usability of the program by ensuring that it looks consistent across a range of browsers, devices, and screen resolutions....

Why should you Automate it?

Enhanced Cooperation: By offering a common framework for evaluating and verifying UI modifications, automated visual regression testing fosters cooperation across developers, designers, and QA engineers. Consistency: Visual regression tests are performed consistently across various browsers, devices, and environments thanks to automation, which produces more dependable and repeatable results. Early Issue Detection: Teams can identify and resolve visual inconsistencies early in the development process, preventing them from developing into more serious issues, by including visual regression testing into the CI/CD pipeline. Efficiency: Teams may test more frequently and thoroughly due to automation, which drastically cuts down on the time and effort needed to do visual regression testing as compared to human techniques. Accuracy: Automated tools can take and compare screenshots with precision, reducing the possibility of human error in manual testing and guaranteeing accurate results. Better User Experience: Automation contributes to the upkeep of a polished and consistent user interface by proactively detecting and fixing visual flaws, which eventually improves user happiness and experience in general....

What about Manual Visual Checks?

Manual visual checks include human testers visually examining a web application’s user interface to find any errors, inconsistencies, or variations. Although automation has many benefits, manual visual checks have a role in the testing process and offer certain advantages of their own....

What percentage of Visual Bugs are caught by Automated Visual Regression Tests?

Although a large percentage of visual flaws can be detected by automated visual regression tests, the precise percentage depends on test design, UI complexity, and the tools and techniques used. To obtain complete test coverage and guarantee a superior user experience, it is frequently required to combine automated testing with manual verification and exploratory testing....

Popular Libraries for Automating Visual Regression Testing

1. Percy.io...

Conclusion

In conclusion, an essential technique in modern software development is automating visual regression testing, which enables teams to effectively maintain the visual coherence and caliber of their online applications. Developers can quickly detect visual regressions, accelerate testing procedures, and produce a refined user experience by utilizing automated tools and frameworks. Accepting it enables development teams to produce high-caliber software that fulfills user expectations while also accelerating release cycles and improving teamwork....

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Automate Visual Regression Testing?

Which procedures work best for automating Visual Regression Testing?...

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