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Setup & Basic Configuration

This section shows how to set up Extent Reports correctly so it works reliably in real-time projects, including CI pipelines and parallel execution. Version mismatch and bad initialization are the #1 causes of reporting issues—this avoids both.

1️⃣ Dependency Management (Version-Safe)​

Use a single Extent Reports dependency. Avoid mixing legacy reporters.

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.aventstack</groupId>
  <artifactId>extentreports</artifactId>
  <version>5.x.x</version>
</dependency>

✅ Stick to ExtentReports 5.x for Spark reporting and parallel stability.

Common Dependency Mistakes​

  • ❌ Mixing ExtentHtmlReporter (legacy) with Spark
  • ❌ Multiple Extent versions via transitive deps
  • ❌ Copying dependencies from old blogs

2️⃣ Project Folder Structure (CI-Friendly)​

Recommended structure:

project-root/
 ├── reports/
 │    ├── index.html
 │    ├── screenshots/
 │    └── logs/
 └── src/

Why This Works​

  • Relative paths (CI safe)
  • Easy artifact publishing
  • Clean separation of concerns

3️⃣ Basic Initialization (Framework-Level Only)​

Correct Initialization Pattern​

ExtentReports extent = new ExtentReports();
ExtentSparkReporter spark = new ExtentSparkReporter("reports/index.html");

spark.config().setReportName("Automation Test Results");
spark.config().setDocumentTitle("Execution Report");

extent.attachReporter(spark);

Rules You MUST Follow​

  • Initialize once per suite
  • Never initialize inside @Test
  • Never attach reporters multiple times

4️⃣ Creating a Test (Minimal Example)​

ExtentTest test = extent.createTest("Login Test");
test.pass("Login successful");

⚠️ This example is only to understand basics. In real frameworks, test creation happens inside listeners, not test classes.

5️⃣ Flushing the Report (Critical Rule)​

extent.flush();

When to Flush​

  • ✅ Once, after all tests complete
  • ❌ Never per test
  • ❌ Never per method

Flushing multiple times can corrupt the report.

6️⃣ Environment & System Info​

extent.setSystemInfo("OS", System.getProperty("os.name"));
extent.setSystemInfo("Browser", "Chrome");
extent.setSystemInfo("Environment", "QA");

Why This Matters​

  • Helps debugging CI failures
  • Required in enterprise reporting

7️⃣ Validation Checklist​

Before moving ahead, confirm:

✔ Report generates without errors ✔ HTML opens locally and in CI ✔ Only one report per execution ✔ No test-level initialization

🧠 Key Takeaways​

  • Version consistency is mandatory
  • Initialization belongs to the framework layer
  • Flush only once
  • This setup is the foundation for thread safety