Snapshot Testing
Snapshot testing is a software testing methodology that captures the output of a component or function at a specific point in time and saves it as a reference file (a snapshot). It then compares future outputs against this snapshot to detect unintended changes, commonly used in UI development to ensure visual consistency. This approach helps catch regressions quickly by highlighting differences between expected and actual results.
Developers should use snapshot testing when working on user interfaces, especially with frameworks like React, Vue, or Angular, to verify that components render correctly without unintended visual changes. It's valuable in continuous integration pipelines to automate regression detection, saving time on manual visual checks and ensuring code changes don't break existing functionality. However, it should be combined with other tests (e.g., unit tests) for comprehensive coverage.