Preparing the IDE

It is best to use a proper Java IDE to develop Karate tests. In this section, we will look at how to set up Visual Studio Code and IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition – both are officially supported by Karate Labs.

The IDE used in the book

Throughout the course of the book, the examples will use Visual Studio Code. However, the examples are, of course, runnable in any other IDE that supports Java.

Setting up Visual Studio Code

Now, we will set up the Visual Studio Code IDE, also known as VS Code. It is a free IDE from Microsoft that can be used for a variety of programming languages (including Java and JavaScript) and supports a lot of different plugins.

Downloading VS Code

You can download VS Code from here: https://code.visualstudio.com. It is advisable to download the Stable Build and not the Insiders Edition, as this is a preview release and may not be stable.

After the installation, you will be guided with a Get Started with VS Code assistant...