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Overview

This guide covers testing strategies for both the RSS feed handler and Google Chat webhook integration during local development.

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Testing the Healthcheck Endpoint

Verify that your server is running correctly: 
curl http://localhost:3000/healthcheck
Expected Response: 
Running!

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Testing the RSS Feed Handler

The main endpoint processes the Shopify changelog feed and sends updates to Google Chat.

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Basic Test

Trigger the RSS feed handler: 
curl http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed
Expected Response: 
Done!
This will actually send messages to your configured Google Chat webhook if there are new items.

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With Verbose Output

To see detailed console logs during testing:
1

Start the dev server

bun run dev
2

Trigger the endpoint in another terminal

curl http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed
3

Check the server logs

Look for console output in your dev server terminal:
  • “No new items to process” - No updates found
  • “Successfully sent X update(s) to Google Chat” - Messages sent
  • Error messages if something went wrong

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Testing Google Chat Webhook Integration

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Prerequisites

Ensure you have:
  1. A valid Google Chat webhook URL in your .env file
  2. The dev server running (bun run dev)

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Test Message Sending

1

Trigger the RSS feed endpoint

curl http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed
2

Check Google Chat

Open your Google Chat space and verify:
  • A card message appears with “Shopify Changelog Updates”
  • The card shows a list of recent updates
  • Each update has a title, date, and clickable link
  • An “View All Changelogs” button is present

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Test Webhook URL Validity

Verify your webhook URL works independently: 
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Test message from local development"
  }' \
  $WEBHOOK_URL
Replace $WEBHOOK_URL with your actual webhook URL, or use source .env && curl ... to load the variable.

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Testing RSS Feed Parsing

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Manual Feed Inspection

Test what the RSS parser returns:
1

Create a test script

Create test-rss.ts:
test-rss.ts
import Parser from "rss-parser";

const parser = new Parser();
const RSS_FEED_URL = "https://shopify.dev/changelog/feed.xml";

const feed = await parser.parseURL(RSS_FEED_URL);

console.log("Feed Title:", feed.title);
console.log("Total Items:", feed.items.length);
console.log("\nFirst 5 items:");

feed.items.slice(0, 5).forEach((item, index) => {
  console.log(`${index + 1}. ${item.title}`);
  console.log(`   Date: ${item.isoDate || item.pubDate}`);
  console.log(`   Link: ${item.link}`);
  console.log("");
});
2

Run the test script

bun run test-rss.ts

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Test Date Filtering Logic

The handler only processes items newer than yesterday. To test this:
  1. Check the filtering logic in rss-handler.ts:40-64
  2. The getYesterdayDate() function returns yesterday at midnight
  3. Items are filtered based on their isoDate or pubDate
The service uses the following logic:
  • Initial Run: Processes items from yesterday onwards (prevents sending old items)
  • Subsequent Runs: Would process items newer than the last processed date (in production with state persistence)
  • Current Implementation: Always starts from yesterday for each run
To test with different dates, modify the getProcessedState() function in rss-handler.ts:19-22.

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Testing Error Handling

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Missing Webhook URL

Test behavior when WEBHOOK_URL is not set:
1

Remove or comment out WEBHOOK_URL in .env

.env
# WEBHOOK_URL=...
2

Restart the server

bun run dev
3

Trigger the endpoint

curl http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed
4

Check for error

Server logs should show:
Error: WEBHOOK_URL environment variable is not set

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Invalid Webhook URL

Test with an invalid webhook URL: 
WEBHOOK_URL=https://invalid-webhook-url.com bun run dev
Then trigger the endpoint. Server logs should show: 
Failed to send updates to Gchat: [error details]

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Debugging Tips

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Enable Detailed Logging

Add console logs to track the flow: 
// In rss-handler.ts
console.log("Feed fetched:", feed.items.length, "items");
console.log("Filtered items:", newItems.length);
console.log("Items to send:", newItems.map(i => i.title));

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Inspect Card Message Structure

Before sending to Google Chat, log the card structure: 
// In sendToGchat function (rss-handler.ts:115)
console.log("Card message:", JSON.stringify(cardMessage, null, 2));

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Check Network Requests

Use curl’s verbose mode to see full request/response: 
curl -v http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed

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Test with Different RSS Feeds

Temporarily modify the RSS_FEED_URL in rss-handler.ts:4 to test with other feeds: 
const RSS_FEED_URL = "https://example.com/feed.xml";

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Using Bun’s Test Runner

While the project doesn’t currently have test files, you can add them:
1

Create a test file

server.test.ts
import { test, expect } from "bun:test";
import app from "./server";

test("healthcheck returns 200", async () => {
  const req = new Request("http://localhost/healthcheck");
  const res = await app.fetch(req);
  
  expect(res.status).toBe(200);
  expect(await res.text()).toBe("Running!");
});
2

Run tests

bun test
Bun’s test runner is built-in and compatible with Jest-style syntax.

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Common Testing Scenarios

Scenario: RSS feed has no items newer than yesterday.Expected: Console shows “No new items to process”, no Google Chat message sent.How to Test: Run the endpoint multiple times within the same day.
Scenario: RSS feed has several new items.Expected: Single card message with all items listed, newest first.How to Test: Modify getYesterdayDate() to return a date further in the past.
Scenario: Shopify’s RSS feed is down or unreachable.Expected: Error thrown and logged.How to Test: Temporarily change RSS_FEED_URL to an invalid URL.

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Testing in Production-like Environment

To test the cron functionality locally:
Vercel cron jobs run in production. For local testing, manually trigger the endpoint or use a tool like cron on your machine.

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Simulating Cron Execution

# Run once (simulates single cron execution)
curl http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed

# Run on a schedule using watch (every 60 seconds)
watch -n 60 curl -s http://localhost:3000/get-rss-feed

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Next Steps

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