#globalSetup

• Type: string | string[]
• Default: undefined

The globalSetup option in Rstest allows you to run setup and teardown code that executes once before all tests and after all tests complete. This is useful for:

• Starting and stopping databases
• Initializing test services
• Cleaning up resources after test runs

import { defineConfig } from '@rstest/core';

export default defineConfig({
  globalSetup: ['./global-setup.ts'],
});

#Differences from setupFiles

Choose the scope that matches the resource you need:

setupFiles does not recognize exported setup or teardown functions. Its top-level code runs before each file and can register hooks for later cleanup.

#Global setup file formats

You can write global setup files in two formats:

#Named functions (recommended)

// global-setup.ts

export async function setup() {
  console.log('Setting up test environment...');

  // Initialize database, start services, etc.
  // await startDatabase();
}

export async function teardown() {
  console.log('Tearing down test environment...');

  // Cleanup resources
  // await stopDatabase();
}

Either export can be omitted; a file that exports neither and has no default function fails the run.

#Default function returning teardown

// global-setup.ts
export default async function globalSetup() {
  console.log('Setting up test environment...');

  // Initialize resources
  const database = await connectDatabase();
  const server = await startTestServer();

  // Return teardown function
  return async () => {
    console.log('Cleaning up resources...');
    await server.stop();
    await database.disconnect();
  };
}

#Sharing values with tests

Global setup runs in a separate setup worker. Tests cannot access its module-scope variables, such as a database connection. Share connection details through environment variables, then create the connection in the test environment.

Environment variable changes made in global setup are passed to Node.js test workers without changing the host process's process.env.

#Browser projects

For Browser Mode, environment sharing follows these rules:

• Changes from the browser project's own globalSetup are available through process.env and import.meta.env, alongside the built-in NODE_ENV and RSTEST values.
• Explicit env configuration takes precedence over values from global setup.
• Other host environment variables are not forwarded automatically. In mixed Node.js and browser projects, Node.js projects' global setup changes are not merged into browser tests.

Browser provider hooks (modifyRstestConfig) run during test discovery, before the setup stage. Any globalSetup entries they add or change are therefore included.

#Watch mode

Once a project's global setup succeeds, watch reruns reuse it. The teardown runs when the watch session closes. Put initialization that must repeat for each test file in setupFiles.

#Multiple global setup files

When using multiple global setup files:

• Setup functions execute sequentially in the order provided
• Teardown functions execute in reverse order (LIFO - Last In, First Out)
• If any setup fails, the entire test run fails

#Example: database setup

// db-setup.ts
let dbConnection: any;

export async function setup() {
  const { MongoClient } = await import('mongodb');
  const client = new MongoClient(process.env.TEST_MONGODB_URI!);
  await client.connect();

  dbConnection = client.db('test');

  // Seed test data
  await dbConnection.collection('users').insertMany([
    { name: 'John', email: 'john@example.com' },
    { name: 'Jane', email: 'jane@example.com' },
  ]);

  console.log('✓ Database connected and seeded');
}

export async function teardown() {
  if (dbConnection) {
    await dbConnection.dropDatabase();
    await dbConnection.client.close();
    console.log('✓ Database cleaned up');
  }
}

import { defineConfig } from '@rstest/core';

export default defineConfig({
  globalSetup: ['./db-setup.ts'],
  include: ['**/*.test.ts'],
});