Introduction to Gatling scripting with JavaScript

Learn how to get started with Gatling and create a Gatling simulation with JavaScript.

Gatling is a highly flexible load-testing platform. You can write load tests in Java, Kotlin, Scala, JavaScript, and TypeScript, or use our no-code feature with Gatling Enterprise. In this guide, we cover a “Hello world”-style example for JavaScript of how to:

• install and setup your local dev environment,
• write your first simulation,
• run your simulation locally.

Setup#

This section guides you through installation and setting up your developer environment. This guide uses JavaScript and the gatling-js-demo project. The JavaScript SDK is currently available for the HTTP protocol only.

Install Gatling#

Then, use the following procedure to install Gatling:

1. Download the Gatling JS demo project zip file using the following download button:

   Download Gatling for JavaScript

2. Unzip and open the project in your IDE or terminal.

3. navigate to the /javascript folder for JavaScript projects in your terminal.

4. Run npm install to install the packages and dependencies including the gatling command.

Simulation construction#

This guide introduces the basic Gatling HTTP features. Gatling provides a cloud-hosted web application https://computer-database.gatling.io for running sample simulations. You’ll learn how to construct simulations using the JavaScript SDK.

Learn the simulation components#

A Gatling simulation consists of the following:

• importing Gatling functions,
• configuring the protocol (commonly HTTP),
• describing a scenario,
• setting up the injection profile (virtual users profile).

The following procedure teaches you to develop the simulation from each constituent component. If you want to skip ahead and copy the final simulation, jump to Test execution. Learn more about simulations in the Documentation.

Setup the file#

To set up the test file use the following procedure:

1. In your IDE create the myfirstsimulation.gatling.js file in the javascript/src/ folder.
2. Copy the following import statements and past them in the myfirstsimulation.gatling.js file.

import {
  scenario,
  simulation,
  constantUsersPerSec
} from "@gatling.io/core";
import { http } from "@gatling.io/http";

Define the Simulation function#

The simulation function takes the setUp function as an argument, which is used to write a script. To add the simulation function, after the import statements, add:

export default simulation((setUp) => {

});

Define an HTTP protocol#

Inside the simulation function, define an HTTP protocol. Learn about all of the HttpProtocolBuilder options in the Documentation. For this example, the baseUrl property is hardcoded as the Gatling computer database test site, and the acceptHeader and contentTypeHeader properties are set to application/json. Add the HTTP protocol:

export default simulation((setUp) => {

  // Add the HttpProtocolBuilder:
  const httpProtocol =
    http.baseUrl("https://computer-database.gatling.io")
      .acceptHeader("application/json")
      .contentTypeHeader("application/json");
});

Write the scenario#

The next step is to describe the user journey. For a web application, this usually consists of a user arriving at the application and then a series of interactions with the application. The following scenario mocks a user arriving on the home page of the Gatling sample application. Add the scenario:

export default simulation((setUp) => {

  const httpProtocol =
    http.baseUrl("https://computer-database.gatling.io")
      .acceptHeader("application/json")
      .contentTypeHeader("application/json");

  // Add the ScenarioBuilder:
  const myScenario = scenario("My Scenario")
    .exec(http("Request 1").get("/computers/"));
});

See the Documentation for the available scenario components.

Define the injection profile#

The final component of a Gatling simulation is the injection profile. In your simulation you must call the setUp function exactly once to configure the injection profile. If you have several scenarios, each needs its own injection profile.

The following example adds 2 users per second for 60 seconds and each user executes the scenario we defined in Write the Scenario. See the Documentation for all of the injection profile options.

export default simulation((setUp) => {

  const httpProtocol =
    http.baseUrl("https://computer-database.gatling.io")
      .acceptHeader("application/json")
      .contentTypeHeader("application/json");

  const myScenario = scenario("My Scenario")
    .exec(
      http("Request 1").get("/computers/"));

  // Add the setUp block:
  setUp(
    myScenario.injectOpen(constantUsersPerSec(2).during(60))
  ).protocols(httpProtocol);
});

Congrats! You have written your first Gatling simulation. The next step is to learn how to run the simulation locally.

Test execution#

Now, you should have a completed simulation that looks like the following:

import {
  constantUsersPerSec,
  scenario,
  simulation
} from "@gatling.io/core";
import { http } from "@gatling.io/http";

export default simulation((setUp) => {

  const httpProtocol =
    http.baseUrl("https://computer-database.gatling.io")
      .acceptHeader("application/json")
      .contentTypeHeader("application/json");

  const myScenario = scenario("My Scenario")
    .exec(http("Request 1")
      .get("/computers/"));

  setUp(
    myScenario.injectOpen(constantUsersPerSec(2).during(60))
  ).protocols(httpProtocol);
});

Run the Simulation locally#

The open-source version of Gatling allows you to run simulations locally, generating load from your computer. Using the terminal, you can launch your test with the following command in the javascript project directory:

npx gatling run --simulation myfirstsimulation

When the test has finished, there is an HTML link in the terminal that you can use to access the static report.

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