# garris/BackstopJS

Catch CSS curve balls.

Repository: https://github.com/garris/BackstopJS
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/backstopjs
Homepage: http://backstopjs.org
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: javascript, screen-capture, chrome-headless, backstopjs, visual-regression-tests
Last push: 2024-09-07T22:39:52+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4340, "days_push": 725, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7176, forks 619 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:56.417058+00:00)

## What it is
BackstopJS is a Node.js tool that automates visual regression testing of web apps by capturing screenshots with Chrome Headless and comparing them over time. It provides a CLI, in-browser diff reporting UI, and supports user interaction scripting via Playwright or Puppeteer.

## Use cases
- catch unintended CSS changes in my web app
- compare screenshots of my site before and after a refactor
- run visual regression tests in CI
- diff UI screenshots across viewports
- approve visual changes with a browser report
- test responsive layouts for regressions

## When to choose
- you need automated screenshot-based visual regression testing
- you want a browser UI to inspect and approve visual diffs
- you need CI-friendly visual tests with JUnit reports
- you want cross-platform consistent rendering via Docker

## When to avoid
- you need unit or functional testing rather than visual comparison
- you want pixel-perfect testing of non-web desktop or mobile native apps
- you need a fully hosted visual testing service with team review workflows

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: testing, e2e-testing, image-processing
- domain: testing, web-development, frontend
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: visual-regression-testing, screenshot-testing, chrome-headless, puppeteer, playwright, css-testing, nodejs, docker

## Member repositories
- garris/BackstopJS (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:56.417058+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:39:56.268742+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/garris/BackstopJS (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:56.417058+00:00, sha c5894760c003)
  - homepage: http://backstopjs.org (fetched 2026-08-29T08:35:26.509555+00:00, sha a65622cf1a9f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.