bug: calling configure() without reactStrictMode resets it to undefined, silently disabling strict mode

Author: tsushanthCreated Jul 21, 2026Updated Jul 29, 2026

Bug

Calling configure() with any config object that omits reactStrictMode silently resets the previously-configured strict mode flag to undefined.

Root cause

In src/config.js:

javascript
function configure(newConfig) {
  if (typeof newConfig === 'function') {
    newConfig = newConfig(getConfig())
  }

  const {reactStrictMode, ...configForDTL} = newConfig

  configureDTL(configForDTL)

  configForRTL = {
    ...configForRTL,
    reactStrictMode,          // <-- always overwrites, even when undefined
  }
}

When newConfig does not include a reactStrictMode key, destructuring yields reactStrictMode = undefined. The spread ...configForRTL correctly carries the previously saved value, but the explicit reactStrictMode property after it overwrites it with undefined.

Reproduction

javascript
import { configure, getConfig } from '@testing-library/react'

// Enable strict mode
configure({ reactStrictMode: true })
console.log(getConfig().reactStrictMode)  // true ✓

// Later, an unrelated configure() call — e.g. from a setup file
configure({ asyncUtilTimeout: 2000 })
console.log(getConfig().reactStrictMode)  // undefined ✗  (expected: true)

The second configure() call erases the strict-mode setting. The function-form callback is affected identically:

javascript
configure(prev => ({ ...prev, asyncUtilTimeout: 2000 }))
// Works because prev spreads reactStrictMode — but only if callers remember to spread prev.
// The plain-object form has no such safety net.

Impact

Tests that rely on global strict-mode configuration (e.g. set in a setupFilesAfterFramework) silently lose that configuration if any later configure() call omits reactStrictMode. This is particularly easy to hit when test utilities or libraries call configure() with their own options.

Fix

Only write reactStrictMode into configForRTL when it is explicitly present in newConfig:

javascript
configForRTL = {
  ...configForRTL,
  ...(reactStrictMode !== undefined && {reactStrictMode}),
}

PR #1461 implements exactly this fix.

Source: testing-library/react-testing-library