New in 3.1 Monorepos · Jest and Vitest in one project · Vitest covering tests →

Save a file. Your tests run.
Results land in the editor.

Q: Does it run tests in the background all the time?

No. Nothing runs until you click Start Testing. Stop ends the session. Single Run and Debug clicks from the editor always work.

Live Test Runner reruns the Jest and Vitest tests affected by every save, then shows pass/fail, durations and per-line coverage right next to your code. No terminal. No config.

Install for VS Code Get it on Open VSX

or in VS Code: ext install EshLabs.live-test-runner · works in VSCodium, Cursor & Windsurf

cart.test.ts — Live Test Runner

VS Code editor with green pass and red fail icons in the gutter, inline test durations and Run / Debug / Results buttons above each test

Jest · Vitest · CRAdetected automatically

0 configuses your existing setup

Per-line coverageupdated on every save

Free & open sourceMIT licensed

Features

Everything you need to test without leaving the code

Wallaby-style feedback for Jest and Vitest, built right into VS Code.

⚡

Reruns on save

Only the tests affected by the file you just saved run, so feedback comes in seconds, not minutes.

🌳

Instant test tree

Every file, suite and test in the sidebar as soon as you open the project, before anything runs.

🎯

Editor feedback

Gutter icons, color-coded inline durations, and ▶ Run · ▷ Debug · ◈ Results above every test.

📊

Live code coverage

Per-line coverage bars in your source files. Hover a line to see exactly which tests hit it.

🔍

Results panel

Searchable test list, console output by level, and failure messages with stack traces side by side.

⏱

Timeline Debugger Preview

Step through a finished test line by line, with variable values shown inline. No breakpoints.

Coverage

See what your tests really touch

After the first run, every source file shows per-line coverage. No separate command, no report to open.

Green, amber and red bars: covered by all, some or no tests
Hover any line to list the covering tests with status and duration
Updates on every save as you work

Coverage bars in the editor gutter with a hover listing the tests that cover the line

Results

Output and errors, per test

A three-column panel puts the test list, its console output and its failures in one view.

Search and filter across files, suites and tests
Console output split by level (log, warn, error)
Vitest output is attributed to the exact test that printed it

Results panel with a test list, console output and error details in three columns

Explorer

Your whole suite, always in view

The sidebar tree fills in on project open and turns green and red live as files finish. The status bar keeps a running count.

File → suite → test, including .each templates
Live per-file progress and a run timer
Rerun or debug any node with one click

Live Test Runner sidebar with a tree of test files, suites and tests and their pass/fail status

Get started

Running in under a minute

Your existing Jest or Vitest setup is all it needs.

Install

From the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX.

Open your project

Click the beaker icon. Tests are discovered right away.

Start testing

Click ▶ Start Testing. The full suite runs once.

Just save

Edit and save. The affected tests rerun on their own.

Frameworks

Works with Jest and Vitest

babel-jest, ts-jest and @swc/jest; Create React App (react-scripts 4 & 5); Vitest 3+. Any UI framework: React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, Angular, Astro and more.

Feature	Jest	CRA	Vitest
Run on save, pass/fail	✅	✅	✅
▶ Run / ▷ Debug a single test	✅	✅	✅
Console output	✅ per file	✅ per file	✅ per test
Per-line coverage	✅	✅	✅
Live per-file progress	✅	✅	✅
Rerun tests related to a source file	✅	✅	✅
Monorepos (one project per package, switcher)	✅	🟡	✅
Jest and Vitest in one project	✅	—	✅
Covering tests on hover	✅	✅	✅
Vue / Svelte / Astro components (reruns, coverage, covering tests)	✅	—	✅

✅ supported · 🟡 partial · ⏳ coming soon · Full support matrix

Reviews

Enjoying Live Test Runner?

A quick rating helps other developers find it. Reviews are posted on the marketplace you installed from.

VS Code Marketplace

For VS Code users. Sign in with a Microsoft or GitHub account to rate and review.

Write a review

Open VSX

For VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf, Gitpod and other Open VSX editors. Sign in with GitHub to review.

Write a review

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue on GitHub or give the repo a ⭐.

FAQ

Questions

Which test frameworks are supported?

Jest (babel-jest, ts-jest, @swc/jest), Create React App (react-scripts 4 and 5) and Vitest 3+. Vitest 1 and 2 run with results only. The framework is detected from your project. Any UI framework works — React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, Angular, Astro and more.

Do I need to change my Jest or Vitest config?

No. Live Test Runner uses your existing config and the test binary already in node_modules. Nothing extra is installed into your project.

Does it run tests in the background all the time?

No. Nothing runs until you click Start Testing, and Stop ends the session. Single ▶ Run and ▷ Debug clicks from the editor always work.

Is it free?

Yes. It is free and open source under the MIT license, on the VS Code Marketplace and on Open VSX for VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf and other compatible editors.

How is it different from jest --watch?

Results show up where you write code: gutter icons per test, inline durations, Run and Debug buttons, per-line coverage with a hover listing the tests that hit each line, and a results panel with per-test output and errors.

Stop switching to the terminal.

Install Live Test Runner and get test results the moment you save.

Install for VS Code Read the guide

Save a file. Your tests run.Results land in the editor.