Implementation:Getgauge Taiko Gauge Env Properties

Knowledge Sources	Taiko Gauge Documentation
Domains	Testing, Configuration, Environment
Last Updated	2026-02-12 00:00 GMT

Overview

Concrete mechanism for managing environment-specific test settings through Gauge property files and Taiko's setConfig() runtime API.

Description

Gauge uses .properties files in the env/ directory to configure test execution behavior. The Taiko repository's functional test suite demonstrates this with three property files under test/functional-tests/env/default/:

• default.properties — Framework configuration: report directory, screenshot behavior, spec directory, log directory.
• headless.properties — Browser display mode: headless = true.
• js.properties — Runner settings: test_timeout = 240000, DEBUG = false.

All properties become environment variables at runtime. The hooks.ts lifecycle hooks read these values:

const headless = process.env.headless.toLowerCase() === "true";

Additionally, Taiko's own environment variables control browser behavior:

• TAIKO_BROWSER_ARGS — Browser launch arguments
• TAIKO_BROWSER_PATH — Custom browser binary path
• TAIKO_NAVIGATION_TIMEOUT — Navigation timeout in ms
• TAIKO_RETRY_TIMEOUT — Element retry timeout in ms

The setConfig() API in @BeforeSuite() hooks provides programmatic runtime configuration:

@BeforeSuite()
public async beforeSuite() {
    await startServer();
    setConfig({ navigationTimeout: 60000 });
}

Usage

This implementation is used when configuring different test execution environments (local development, CI/CD, Docker). Create additional environment directories (e.g., env/ci/) and select them with gauge run --env ci.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Taiko
• Reference Files:
  • test/functional-tests/env/default/ — Property files
  • test/functional-tests/tests/hooks.ts (L53-56) — BeforeSuite with setConfig
  • test/functional-tests/manifest.json — Gauge manifest
  • lib/config.js (L1-47) — Taiko config defaults reading env vars

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
.properties files	Key-value text	Yes	—	Gauge property files in env/{envName}/ directories.
Environment variables	System env	No	—	TAIKO_* environment variables overriding Taiko defaults.
setConfig options	Object	No	—	Runtime config object passed to setConfig() in lifecycle hooks.

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
Runtime configuration	Environment state	Properties loaded as environment variables; Taiko config object updated with specified values.

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Environment_Configuration

Requires Environment

• Environment:Getgauge_Taiko_Node_Runtime

See Also

• Implementation:Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Init — Project scaffold creating the env/ directory
• Implementation:Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Step_Decorators — Lifecycle hooks consuming configuration
• Implementation:Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Run — Execution selecting the active environment
• Implementation:Getgauge_Taiko_SetConfig — The Taiko setConfig() API used in hooks