Integration Testing with XState Tests in Next.js 13: Routing Challenges

Question

Hello Stack Overflow community,

I'm currently working on integration testing in a Next.js 13 application that utilizes routing based on the 'app' folder structure. I'm facing challenges when trying to test a specific part of the application that involves transitions between three subpages: the offer list, the offer details, and the shopping cart.

The issue I'm encountering is that Next.js routing is tightly integrated with the 'app' folder structure, and I'm struggling to find a way to apply routing context or providers to my tests in a way that accurately reflects the application's transitions. Specifically, I'd like to mimic the user journey of navigating from the offer list to selecting an offer, adding it to the cart, and navigating to the cart page.

I've attempted to use XState Tests to generate test scenarios, but since the routing is managed within the 'app' folder and not exposed as a straightforward state machine, my tests fail to capture these transitions accurately.

Has anyone else encountered a similar challenge with Next.js 13 and XState Tests when dealing with routing based on the 'app' folder structure? If so, I'd greatly appreciate any insights or suggestions on how to approach integration testing in this scenario.

Here's a simplified example of my test setup:

`// Test code
import { createMachine } from 'xstate';
import { createModel } from '@xstate/test';

// Machine representing the application state
const appMachine = createMachine({
  // ... Define states and transitions ...
});

// Model for testing
const appModel = createModel(appMachine);

// Generate test scenarios
const testPlans = appModel.getSimplePathPlans();

// Run tests
testPlans.forEach((plan) => {
   describe(plan.description, () => {
    plan.paths.forEach((path) => {
      it(path.description, () => {
        // Run the test scenario and assert the application's behavior
      });
    });
  });
});`

I'm open to any guidance or alternative approaches to tackle this routing challenge in my integration tests. Thanks in advance for your help!

In my attempts to address this issue, I initially tried to mock the React Router. However, I encountered a significant challenge when it came to handling navigation within Next.js 13. Instead of using the familiar useHistory hook from the react-router package, Next.js employs its own navigation system through the next/navigation module.

What I expected was to be able to seamlessly replicate user navigation actions in my integration tests, such as clicking on an offer to view its details, adding it to the cart, and navigating to the cart page. I anticipated that mocking the router would allow me to control and observe these transitions accurately within my tests.

Unfortunately, due to the Next.js-specific routing structure within the 'app' folder, I found it challenging to integrate these navigation actions into my tests effectively. As a result, the tests did not reflect the actual user journey as expected.

I would greatly appreciate any insights, suggestions, or alternative approaches to tackling this issue in the context of integration testing with XState Tests and Next.js 13.