In 2025, I've been struggling with resetting development data effectively. I often need specific app states, like a user having 3 pending orders, to test features properly. I find myself resorting to one-off scripts or creating massive seed files, and I'm curious about how others manage this. I'm looking for insights on several points:
- When you need a specific state, what methods do you use to create or reset it?
- Do you prefer using factories, snapshots, or raw SQL scripts?
- How do you ensure your seed files stay modular and versioned among the team?
- Who else in your team runs seeds (like QA or design), and how do they handle it?
- Has anyone tried tools like Snaplet or other branching tools for this purpose?
2 Answers
I usually write tests using an in-memory database for speed, and then test on an actual database too. I can export or import various datasets from acceptance or production to dev, which is super helpful. Plus, my dev setup is virtual, so I use checkpoints to jump back to specific states whenever I need to. Checkpoints are great for preparing demos; I can literally rewind my machine to a previous state.
For apps that require a lot of user interaction, I like using Storybook to write stories for my components, which isolates them from the rest of the app. It allows me to mock data by passing props into my React components, making it perfect for testing edge cases like empty states or datasets with lots of data. If a component makes network requests, I just add some MSW handlers to mock those as well. It's a bit more work, but it does the job well!
So you still rely on mock data, huh? Do you keep that in a shared folder for reuse in your seed functions?
That sounds like an efficient setup! What tool do you use for those virtual checkpoints?