Needle vs Roborazzi
Needle
github.comRoborazzi
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Needle | Roborazzi |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Visual Regression Testing Software | 8.1 (#9) | 8.5 (#5) |
| Integrations | The README demonstrates a nose test case using Selenium to open a web page and check an element screenshot. | Roborazzi is available on Maven Central and provides Gradle tasks for recording, comparing, and verifying screenshots. |
| License | The package metadata classifies Needle under the OSI-approved BSD License. | The repository identifies Roborazzi as licensed under Apache License 2.0. |
| Purpose | Needle tests CSS and other web visuals by comparing screenshots with known good screenshots. | Roborazzi is an open-source library for making JVM Android integration tests visible through screenshot testing. |
| Security | GitHub reports that the project has no SECURITY.md policy and no published security advisories. | The AI assertion documentation advises passing API keys through environment variables rather than hard-coding them in code. |
Plans
In their own words
Needle
Needle is an open-source Python testing library for checking rendered website visuals and layout. It captures selected page areas and compares them with baseline screenshots, helping identify visual changes in CSS, fonts, images, and SVGs. It also tests calculated CSS values and HTML element positions. Needle works with Selenium and nose, and documentation describes installing it with pip after Selenium. Browser-driver options include remote, PhantomJS, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari; NeedleFirefox is the default. PIL is the default screenshot engine, with PerceptualDiff and ImageMagick available as alternatives. PerceptualDiff and ImageMagick can create a diff PNG when comparisons fail. Tests can set viewport dimensions for responsive-site checks. Screenshot cleanup after successful tests is optional and disabled by default, while failed-comparison screenshots remain available. Package metadata describes the project as operating-system independent and for developers, while the listed platform is Linux. The repository uses a BSD license. PyPI lists version 0.5.0, released April 2, 2017, as the latest release. Needle is free and has no paid plan.
Roborazzi
Roborazzi is an open-source library for screenshot testing in JVM-based Android integration tests. It records images, compares them with saved baselines and can fail verification when a screenshot differs. Through Robolectric, Android tests can run as JVM tests without a device or emulator. Capture options include Jetpack Compose nodes, Espresso views, Android Views and Compose lambdas; the library can also create screenshot tests for Compose previews and common Compose Multiplatform previews. It supports Compose Desktop and JVM preview tests, rendering images with the host’s Skia, while Compose Multiplatform iOS support is experimental. Gradle tasks cover recording, comparison and verification, and the project documents GitHub Actions workflows for screenshot checks in CI. An IDE plugin shows test screenshots in IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio. Optional capabilities include UI-tree JSON output, accessibility checks, animated GIF or APNG capture, and experimental AI image assertions. Roborazzi is free, available on Maven Central and licensed under Apache License 2.0. It has no direct Bazel support, and graphics may render differently across operating systems.