Implementation:Getgauge Taiko Gauge Init

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

Overview

External tool procedure for initializing a Gauge test project scaffold with Taiko as the browser automation engine.

Description

gauge init js is the Gauge CLI command that creates a new test project with the standard directory structure. When combined with Taiko, this produces a project capable of running browser automation tests described in natural language specifications.

The initialization creates:

• manifest.json — Declares the project language (js or ts) and active plugins (html-report, screenshot).
• env/default/default.properties — Baseline configuration for reports, screenshots, and timeouts.
• specs/ — Directory for .spec specification files.
• tests/ — Directory for step implementation files.

The Taiko repository's own functional test suite at test/functional-tests/ serves as the canonical reference implementation. Its manifest.json declares "Language": "ts" and its package.json declares dependencies on taiko and gauge-ts.

Usage

This implementation is used when setting up a new Gauge+Taiko test project from scratch. The typical sequence is:

1. Install Gauge CLI: npm install -g @getgauge/cli
2. Initialize the project: gauge init js (or gauge init ts)
3. Install Taiko: npm install taiko
4. Configure the project for browser automation testing

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Taiko
• Reference Files:
  • test/functional-tests/manifest.json — Example Gauge manifest
  • test/functional-tests/package.json — Example project dependencies
  • docs/integrating_with_test_runners.md — Integration documentation

CLI Commands

# Initialize a JavaScript Gauge project
gauge init js

# Initialize a TypeScript Gauge project
gauge init ts

# Install Taiko as a dependency
npm install taiko gauge-ts

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
language	string	Yes	—	Project language: js or ts. Determines the runner and template used for scaffolding.

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
Project scaffold	Directory structure	manifest.json, env/, specs/, tests/ directories with template files.

Side Effects

• Creates project directories and template files in the current working directory.
• Generates manifest.json declaring the language runner and default plugins.

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Project_Setup

Requires Environment

• Environment:Getgauge_Taiko_Node_Runtime

See Also

• Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Spec_Format — Writing specifications within the initialized project
• Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Step_Decorators — Implementing steps within the tests/ directory
• Getgauge_Taiko_Gauge_Env_Properties — Configuring the env/ property files