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Add a Regression Test for a Three.js Bug Fix with Atlas in 2026

Updated 7 min read

To lock in a Three.js bug fix with a robust regression test, Atlas guides you through a red-first workflow, leveraging `vitest` for testing and `npm` for package management. Atlas helps you write a failing test, prove the bug, apply the fix, and confirm the test passes, all while interacting with your familiar Three.js development environment.

How Atlas adds a regression test for a Three.js bug

Atlas streamlines adding a regression test for a Three.js bug by following a strict red-first, green-second discipline, ensuring the fix is robustly validated. This process typically involves 5 core steps, starting with reproducing the bug using `bash` to capture its exact failing behavior.

Atlas integrates directly into your Three.js project, understanding your scene graph, materials, and GLSL shaders through its AST-based indexing. When adding a regression test, Atlas first uses its `bash` tool to help you reproduce the bug, capturing the precise command and output that demonstrates the failure. This ensures the test accurately reflects the bug's manifestation. Next, Atlas employs its `write` tool to draft a new test file, perhaps in `tests/regression/bug-fix-name.test.js`, asserting on the observed wrong behavior. This test is designed to fail before the fix is applied. Atlas then runs this new test using `bash` with your project's `vitest` command, confirming it fails as expected and recording the non-zero exit code in its metadata. Once the failing state is confirmed, Atlas uses its `edit` tool to apply the bug fix, ensuring the replacement is exact and unambiguous. Finally, Atlas re-runs the same `vitest` command to confirm the test now passes, then runs the wider `npm run test` suite to check for any collateral damage, all within a permission-gated environment.

Concrete commands and files for Three.js regression tests

Atlas interacts with your Three.js project using concrete commands like `npm test` and `vitest`, and targets specific files such as `src/MyComponent.js` or `tests/regression/new-bug.test.js`. In 2026, this ensures a familiar and predictable workflow for Three.js developers.

When working with a Three.js codebase, Atlas uses your project's `package.json` to identify the correct test runner, which is `vitest`. To reproduce a bug or run a newly written regression test, Atlas executes commands like `npm test` or `vitest path/to/your/test.test.js` via its `bash` tool. For instance, if a bug involves incorrect geometry disposal, Atlas might help you write a test in `tests/geometry-disposal.test.js` that instantiates a `THREE.BufferGeometry`, asserts its `disposed` property is initially `false`, calls `geometry.dispose()`, and then asserts `geometry.disposed` is `true`. Atlas will then use `bash` to run `vitest tests/geometry-disposal.test.js`. When applying a fix, such as modifying a `dispose()` method in `src/core/BufferGeometry.js`, Atlas uses its `edit` tool, requiring an exact `oldString` to prevent ambiguous replacements. After the fix, Atlas will re-run `vitest tests/geometry-disposal.test.js` to confirm the test passes, then `npm run prettier --write .` to format any changes, ensuring code consistency.

How Atlas ensures review and safety for Three.js code changes

Atlas prioritizes review and safety for Three.js code changes by implementing multiple permission gates and transparent diffs. Every tool call, from `bash` to `edit`, is permission-gated, allowing you to approve or deny actions before they execute, providing 100% control.

Atlas is designed with developer control at its core, especially crucial when modifying a complex Three.js codebase where subtle changes can introduce performance regressions or memory leaks. Before Atlas executes any tool call, such as running `vitest` or applying an `edit` to a `src/materials/MeshStandardMaterial.js` file, it presents a permission prompt based on your allow, ask, or deny rules. This means you explicitly approve every step. When Atlas drafts a plan to address a bug, it does so in a read-only plan agent, presenting the strategy for your review before switching to a build agent that can make changes. For every file edit, Atlas computes a unified diff and surfaces it for your approval before writing to disk. This allows you to inspect the exact changes, like a modification to a `dispose()` method or a new `Vector3` allocation pattern, ensuring they align with your expectations. Atlas also snapshots file changes as git patches, enabling easy diffing and rollback if an unintended side effect is discovered, providing a robust safety net for your Three.js development.

Leveraging Atlas's code indexing for Three.js bug fixes

Atlas's advanced code indexing, powered by AST declarations and local Ollama embeddings, significantly aids in pinpointing Three.js bug locations. This allows Atlas to understand the structure of your `Object3D` hierarchy or `Material` properties, rather than just searching blind line windows, making bug identification 10x more efficient.

Unlike traditional keyword search, Atlas indexes your Three.js codebase using tree-sitter to understand AST declarations. This means Atlas comprehends the relationships between your `THREE.Scene` objects, `THREE.Mesh` instances, and their associated `THREE.Geometry` and `THREE.Material` components. When you describe a bug, for example, a memory leak related to `texture.dispose()` not being called, Atlas can semantically search for all `Texture` instantiations and their `dispose` calls across your project. This hybrid semantic and keyword retrieval, fused by reciprocal rank fusion, helps Atlas quickly identify relevant code sections in files like `src/textures/Texture.js` or your custom `SceneManager.js`. Furthermore, Atlas can build its code index with local Ollama embeddings, ensuring your proprietary Three.js code remains off third-party servers, maintaining data privacy while still benefiting from powerful AI-driven code understanding for precise bug fixing.

Step by step

  1. 01Use Atlas's `bash` tool to reproduce the Three.js bug, capturing the exact `npm run dev` or `vitest` command and its failing output.
  2. 02Instruct Atlas's `write` tool to create a new `tests/regression/bug-name.test.js` file, asserting on the observed wrong behavior using `vitest` syntax.
  3. 03Run the newly written Three.js regression test with Atlas's `bash` tool, executing `vitest tests/regression/bug-name.test.js` and confirming it fails with a non-zero exit code.
  4. 04Approve Atlas's plan to apply the fix using its `edit` tool, ensuring the proposed changes to files like `src/core/BufferGeometry.js` are exact and unambiguous.
  5. 05Re-run the same `vitest tests/regression/bug-name.test.js` command with Atlas's `bash` tool, confirming the test now passes.
  6. 06Execute `npm run test` with Atlas's `bash` tool to run the wider `vitest` suite, checking for any collateral damage introduced by the fix.
  7. 07Approve Atlas's suggestion to format the changed files using `npm run prettier --write .` to maintain code style consistency.
  8. 08Allow Atlas to stage and create a git commit for the bug fix and its new regression test, ensuring proper version control.

Frequently asked questions

How does Atlas ensure my Three.js test suite uses `vitest` correctly?
Atlas automatically detects your project's test runner from `package.json`. When you ask Atlas to run tests, it will use `vitest` commands like `vitest path/to/test.js` or `npm test` via its `bash` tool, ensuring full compatibility with your existing Three.js testing setup.
Can Atlas help me fix Three.js memory leaks related to `dispose()` methods?
Yes, Atlas excels at identifying and fixing Three.js memory leaks. It can read your scene graph setup and suggest adding `dispose()` paths for geometries, materials, and textures, ensuring that unmounting a scene properly releases GPU memory. Atlas uses its `edit` tool to apply these fixes, always with your explicit approval.
What if Atlas suggests a change to a Three.js core file like `src/core/Object3D.js`?
Atlas will always present a unified diff for any proposed change, even to core Three.js files. You retain full control and must approve the edit before it's written. This transparency allows you to review modifications to critical files like `src/core/Object3D.js` and ensure they align with your project's needs.
How does Atlas handle formatting Three.js code after a fix?
After applying a fix, Atlas can automatically run your project's formatter, typically `prettier`, on the changed files. It will suggest `npm run prettier --write .` via its `bash` tool and present the diff for your approval, ensuring your Three.js codebase remains consistently formatted.
Does Atlas support local embeddings for Three.js code analysis?
Yes, Atlas can build its code index using local Ollama embeddings. This means your Three.js source code, including custom shaders or complex scene setups, never leaves your local machine, addressing privacy concerns while still leveraging powerful semantic search capabilities for bug fixing and code understanding.
Can Atlas help optimize Three.js performance by reducing allocations?
Absolutely. Atlas can analyze your Three.js render loop and identify per-frame object allocations, such as new `Vector3` instances within `requestAnimationFrame`. It can then suggest and apply changes to move these allocations out of the loop into reusable instances, significantly improving performance and reducing garbage collection overhead.

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