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JavaScript continuous integration with Hudson and JsTestDriver

JsTestDriver's JUnit compatible XML output makes it dead simple to set up JavaScript continuous integration. This post will help you get started with Hudson.

Installing Hudson

Setting up continuous integration with Hudson is pretty simple - especially if you're on a Debian based Linux. hudson-ci.org has a nice and simple recipe for installing the Hudson .deb: 

wget -O /tmp/key http://hudson-ci.org/debian/hudson-ci.org.key
sudo apt-key add /tmp/key
wget -O /tmp/hudson.deb http://hudson-ci.org/latest/debian/hudson.deb
sudo dpkg --install /tmp/hudson.deb

The .deb will not automatically install dependencies, so depending on your system, the installation might fail in the face of missing dependencies. If that's the case, simply copy the name of the missing packages, and run `apt-get install pacakge1 package2`. In my case I was missing the daemon package, so I also had to run 

sudo apt-get install daemon

And then the Hudson install finished automatically.

This is really all you need, and Hudson should now be running on http://localhost:8080.

Installing required plugins

In order to run the tests with Hudson we need to install a single plugin. Depending on your version control software of choice, you might also want to get a plugin to support it. I use Git, so I'll show you how to run JsTestDriver jobs from a Git repository.

From the frontpage, click on "Manage Hudson", then "Manage Plugins". Hit the "Available" pane. Tick the checkbox next to "Git Plugin" (if you use Git), and the box next to "xUnit Plugin". All the way in the lower right corner you will find an "Install" button. Click it. When Hudson completes the installation, follow through and click the "Restart when no jobs are running" button.

Configuring a JsTestDriver project with Hudson

When Hudson is back up, click the create new job displayed on the restart page. Give the job a name, such as "My Tested JS Project". Choose to "Build a free-style software project" and then hit "OK".

Optional: Configure the Git repository

If you use Git, choose the Git option under "Source Code Management". New fields will appear. The easiest way to test is to just create a temporary local repository: 

➜  ~  mkdir -p /tmp/git/myproject.git
➜  ~  git init --bare /tmp/git/myproject.git

Tell Hudson the location of the Git repository by entering "file:///tmp/git/myproject.git" into the "URL of repository" field. The rest are optional, if you don't know what to do with them, just leave them as is.

Also, importantly, Hudson will fail unless you configure Git for the hudson user. This is simple to do: 

➜  ~  sudo su hudson
➜  ~  git config --global user.name "Hudson"
➜  ~  git config --global user.email "hudson@localhost"

Build triggers

Next we need to set up a build trigger. You will likely have your own opinion on how to do this, but for the purpose of this guide, we will set Hudson to poll the SCM. When you tick the box next to "Poll the SCM", Hudson prompts for a schedule. It expects a cron-like pattern. For instance, to poll once every hour on the hour, enter 0 * * * *.

Build step

We only need one build step in this project, namely the JsTestDriver task. Hit "Add build step" and select "Execute shell". Then enter the following command: 

java -jar test/JsTestDriver-1.2.2.jar \
  --config jsTestDriver.conf \
  --server http://localhost:4223 
  --tests all --testOutput . --reset

Note that this assumes that you will make sure the server runs separately, and that it has browsers attached to it. I've found this to work the best. It also assumes that you bundle JsTestDriver-1.2.2.jar inside the test directory in your project. If this is not the case, adjust accordingly. Same goes for the path to the configuration file.

Post-build Actions

Under "Post-build Actions", select "Publish JUnit test result report", and enter TEST-*.xml as the pattern.

Finally, you can set up Email notification such that team members get an email when the build fails if you prefer. To do so, select "E-mail Notification" and list the desired email addresses separated by a space.

Finally, hit "Save" and your project should be created.

Start the JsTestDriver server

From the same machine, start JsTestDriver on port 4223: 

java -jar test/JsTestDriver-1.2.2.jar --port 4223

Capture a few browsers to http://localhost:4223

If you're using Git as I am, push to the local repository: 

git remote add local file:///tmp/git/myproject.git
git push local master

Build it

The final step is to try a build. You can either grab a coffee and wait for Hudson to build on the schedule you configured, or you can issue a build manually. In the left column on your project page, there's a link called "Build now". Click it. Now. Hudson will start processing your build, and hopefully if all goes well, it will stop with a blue ball indicating success.

If you're more comfortable with red/green as fail/success indicators, there's a plugin called "Green balls" which you can install from the plugin manager.

When you're all done, it should look something like this:

Published 16. October 2010 in javascript og test driven development.

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