How does condition-based waiting improve test speed?

Fixed timeouts (like sleep for 500ms) always take the full duration even if the task finishes in 10ms. Condition polling proceeds the instant the condition is met, saving significant time across large suites.

When should I still use a traditional timeout?

Traditional timeouts should only be used when testing actual timing behavior, such as verifying a debounce interval or throttle period, and should always be documented with the reasoning.

What is a flaky test and how does this skill help?

A flaky test passes and fails inconsistently without code changes, usually due to timing issues. This skill replaces fixed wait times with logic that polls for actual state changes, ensuring the test only proceeds when ready.

Does this work with standard testing frameworks?

Yes, the patterns provided are framework-agnostic and can be implemented in Jest, Vitest, Playwright, Cypress, or any other TypeScript/JavaScript testing environment.

Condition-Based Test Waiting

Name: Condition-Based Test Waiting
Author: Krosebrook

byKrosebrook

•

Security & Testing

Eliminates flaky tests by replacing arbitrary timeouts with intelligent condition polling and state-based synchronization.

About

The Condition-Based Waiting skill provides a robust framework for handling asynchronous operations in testing environments. By moving away from brittle 'sleep' and 'setTimeout' calls, this skill helps developers implement smart polling logic that waits for specific events, state changes, or data conditions to be met before proceeding. This approach significantly reduces test flakiness, optimizes execution speed by eliminating unnecessary wait time, and provides more descriptive error messages when timing dependencies fail, making CI/CD pipelines more reliable.

Key Features

Provides standardized patterns for event, state, and count-based waiting
Includes robust error handling with configurable timeouts and polling intervals
1 GitHub stars
Replaces fixed timeouts with dynamic condition polling
Reduces test execution time by proceeding immediately upon state change
Distinguishes between arbitrary delays and intentional timing behavior testing

Use Cases

Synchronizing file system or database changes during end-to-end testing
Fixing flaky integration tests that fail inconsistently in CI/CD environments
Waiting for complex asynchronous state transitions in distributed systems

About

Key Features

Provides standardized patterns for event, state, and count-based waiting
Includes robust error handling with configurable timeouts and polling intervals
1 GitHub stars
Replaces fixed timeouts with dynamic condition polling
Reduces test execution time by proceeding immediately upon state change
Distinguishes between arbitrary delays and intentional timing behavior testing

Use Cases

Synchronizing file system or database changes during end-to-end testing
Fixing flaky integration tests that fail inconsistently in CI/CD environments
Waiting for complex asynchronous state transitions in distributed systems