ChefSpec is a unit testing framework for testing Chef cookbooks. ChefSpec makes it easy to write examples and get fast feedback on cookbook changes without the need for virtual machines or cloud servers.
ChefSpec runs your cookbook(s) locally with Chef Solo without actually converging a node. This has two primary benefits:
- It's really fast!
- Your tests can vary node attributes, operating systems, and search results to assert behavior under varying conditions.
I just wanted to drop you a line to say "HELL YES!" to ChefSpec. - Joe Goggins
OK ChefSpec is my new best friend. Delightful few hours working with it. - Michael Ivey
Chat with us - #chefspec on Freenode
- ChefSpec 3.0+ requires Ruby 1.9 or higher!
- This documentation corresponds to the master branch, which may be unreleased. Please check the README of the latest git tag or the gem's source for your version's documentation!
- Each resource matcher is self-documented using Yard and has a corresponding aruba test from the examples directory.
- ChefSpec aims to maintain compatability with the two most recent minor versions of Chef. If you are running an older version of Chef it may work, or you will need to run an older version of ChefSpec.
As a general rule, if it is tested in the Travis CI matrix, it is a supported version. The section below details any specific versions that are not supported and why:
- Chef 12 prior to Chef 12.0.2 is not supported due to the lack of a declared resource type. This was fixed in Chef 12.0.2.
Additionally, if you look at a cucumber feature and see a tag like @not_chef_x_y_z
, that means that particular functionality is not supported on those versions of Chef.
If you want knife
to automatically generate spec stubs for you, install knife-spec.
Given an extremely basic Chef recipe that just installs an operating system package:
package 'foo'
the associated ChefSpec test might look like:
require 'chefspec'
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
it 'installs foo' do
expect(chef_run).to install_package('foo')
end
end
Let's step through this file to see what is happening:
- At the top of the spec file we require the chefspec gem. This is required so that our custom matchers are loaded. In larger projects, it is common practice to create a file named "spec_helper.rb" and include ChefSpec and perform other setup tasks in that file.
- The
describe
keyword is part of RSpec and indicates that everything nested beneath is describing theexample::default
recipe. The convention is to have a separate spec for each recipe in your cookbook. - The
let
block on creates theChefSpec:Runner
and then does a fake Chef run with the run_list ofexample::default
. Any subsequent examples can then refer tochef_run
in order to make assertions about the resources that were created during the mock converge. - The
described_recipe
macro is a ChefSpec helper method that infers the recipe from thedescribe
block. Alternatively you could specify the recipe directly. - The
it
block is an example specifying that thefoo
package is installed. Normally you will have multipleit
blocks per recipe, each making a single assertion.
ChefSpec exposes a configuration layer at the global level and at the Runner
level. The following settings are available:
RSpec.configure do |config|
# Specify the path for Chef Solo to find cookbooks (default: [inferred from
# the location of the calling spec file])
config.cookbook_path = '/var/cookbooks'
# Specify the path for Chef Solo to find roles (default: [ascending search])
config.role_path = '/var/roles'
# Specify the path for Chef Solo to find environments (default: [ascending search])
config.environment_path = '/var/environments'
# Specify the path for Chef Solo file cache path (default: nil)
config.file_cache_path = '/var/chef/cache'
# Specify the Chef log_level (default: :warn)
config.log_level = :debug
# Specify the path to a local JSON file with Ohai data (default: nil)
config.path = 'ohai.json'
# Specify the operating platform to mock Ohai data from (default: nil)
config.platform = 'ubuntu'
# Specify the operating version to mock Ohai data from (default: nil)
config.version = '12.04'
end
Values specified at the initialization of a "Runner" merge and take precedence over any global settings:
# Override only the operating system version (platform is still "ubuntu" from above)
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(version: '10.04')
# Use a different operating system platform and version
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(platform: 'centos', version: '5.10')
# Specify a different cookbook_path
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(cookbook_path: '/var/my/other/path', role_path: '/var/my/roles')
# By default ChefSpec sets a new temporary directory for file caching in every run.
# This can be overridden by passing the `file_cache_path` option.
# Note: Resources containing `Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]` in their name or
# attributes, will fail unless this option is specified.
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(file_cache_path: '/var/chef/cache')
# Add debug log output
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(log_level: :debug).converge(described_recipe)
NOTE You do not need to specify a platform and version to use ChefSpec. However, some cookbooks may rely on Ohai data that ChefSpec cannot not automatically generate. Specifying the platform
and version
keys instructs ChefSpec to load stubbed Ohai attributes from another platform using fauxhai.
If you are using Berkshelf, simply require chefspec/berkshelf
in your spec_helper
after requiring chefspec
:
# spec_helper.rb
require 'chefspec'
require 'chefspec/berkshelf'
Requiring this file will:
- Create a temporary working directory
- Download all the dependencies listed in your
Berksfile
into the temporary directory - Set ChefSpec's
cookbook_path
to the temporary directory
If you are using Librarian, simply require chefspec/librarian
in your spec_helper
after requiring chefspec
:
# spec_helper.rb
require 'chefspec'
require 'chefspec/librarian'
Requiring this file will:
- Create a temporary working directory
- Download all the dependencies listed in your
Cheffile
into the temporary directory - Set ChefSpec's
cookbook_path
to the temporary directory
NOTE In order to test the cookbook in the current working directory, you
have to write your Cheffile
like this:
# Cheffile
site 'https://supermarket.chef.io/api/v1'
cookbook 'name_of_your_cookbook', path: '.'
ChefSpec is actually an RSpec extension, so you can run your tests using the RSpec CLI:
$ rspec
You can also specify a specific spec to run and various RSpec command line options:
$ rspec spec/unit/recipes/default_spec.rb --color
For more information on the RSpec CLI, please see the documentation.
ChefSpec asserts that resource actions have been performed. In general, ChefSpec follows the following pattern:
require 'chefspec'
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
it 'does something' do
expect(chef_run).to ACTION_RESOURCE(NAME)
end
end
where:
- ACTION - the action on the resource (e.g.
install
) - RESOURCE - the name of the resource (e.g.
package
) - NAME - the name attribute for the resource (e.g.
apache2
)
NOTE One exception to this rule is the create_if_missing
action on the file
resource. In this case the assertion is actually create_file_if_missing
. Refer to examples/file/spec/create_if_missing_spec.rb
for some examples.
Here's a more concrete example:
require 'chefspec'
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
it 'does something' do
expect(chef_run).to install_package('apache2')
end
end
This test is asserting that the Chef run will have a package resource with the name apache2 with an action of install.
To test that a resource action is performed with a specific set of attributes, you can call with(ATTRIBUTES_HASH)
on the expectation, per the following example:
require 'chefspec'
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
it 'does something' do
expect(chef_run).to modify_group('docker').with(members: ['vagrant'])
end
end
This test is asserting that the Chef run will have a group resource with the name docker, an action of modify, and an attributes hash including { members: ['vagrant'] }
.
ChefSpec includes matchers for all of Chef's core resources using the above schema. Each resource matcher is self-documented using Yard and has a corresponding cucumber test from the examples directory.
Additionally, ChefSpec includes the following helpful matchers. They are also documented in Yard, but they are included here because they do not follow the "general pattern".
Assert that the Chef run included a recipe from another cookbook
expect(chef_run).to include_recipe('other_cookbook::recipe')
Keep the resources from an included recipe from being loaded into the Chef run, but test that the recipe was included
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
before do
allow_any_instance_of(Chef::Recipe).to receive(:include_recipe).and_call_original
allow_any_instance_of(Chef::Recipe).to receive(:include_recipe).with('other_cookbook::default')
end
it 'includes the other_cookbook' do
expect_any_instance_of(Chef::Recipe).to receive(:include_recipe).with('other_cookbook::default')
chef_run
end
end
Assert that a resource notifies another in the Chef run
resource = chef_run.template('/etc/foo')
expect(resource).to notify('service[apache2]').to(:restart).immediately
Assert that a resource subscribes to another in the Chef run
resource = chef_run.service('apache2')
expect(resource).to subscribe_to('template[/etc/foo]').on(:create).delayed
Assert that the Chef run renders a file (with optional content); this will match cookbook_file
, file
, and template
resources and can also check the resulting content
expect(chef_run).to render_file('/etc/foo')
expect(chef_run).to render_file('/etc/foo').with_content('This is content')
expect(chef_run).to render_file('/etc/foo').with_content(/regex works too.+/)
expect(chef_run).to render_file('/etc/foo').with_content { |content|
# Regular RSpec matches work in here
expect(content).to include('any RSpec matcher')
}
You can use any RSpec content matcher inside of the with_content
predicate:
expect(chef_run).to render_file('/etc/foo').with_content(start_with('# First line'))
It is possible to assert which Chef phase of execution a resource is created. Given a resource that is installed at compile time using run_action
:
package('apache2').run_action(:install)
You can assert that this package is installed during runtime using the .at_compile_time
predicate on the resource matcher:
expect(chef_run).to install_package('apache2').at_compile_time
Similarly, you can assert that a resource is executed during convergence time:
expect(chef_run).to install_package('apache2').at_converge_time
Since "converge time" is the default behavior for all recipes, this test might be redundant and the predicate could be dropped depending on your situation.
Assert that a resource performs no action
resource = chef_run.execute('install')
expect(resource).to do_nothing
For more complex examples, please see the examples directory or the Yard documentation.
Node attribute can be set when creating the Runner
. The initializer yields a block that gives full access to the node object:
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) do
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new do |node|
node.set['cookbook']['attribute'] = 'hello'
end.converge(described_recipe)
end
end
ChefSpec provides mocked automatic Ohai data using fauxhai. To mock out automatic
attributes, you must use the automatic
key:
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) do
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new do |node|
node.automatic['memory']['total'] = '512kB'
end.converge(described_recipe)
end
end
The node
that is returned is actually a Chef::Node
object.
To set an attribute within a specific test, set the attribute in the it
block and then (re-)converge the node:
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new } # Notice we don't converge here
it 'performs the action' do
chef_run.node.set['cookbook']['attribute'] = 'hello'
chef_run.converge(described_recipe) # The converge happens inside the test
expect(chef_run).to do_something
end
end
All the examples thus far have used the ChefSpec::SoloRunner
, which runs ChefSpec in Chef Solo mode. ChefSpec also includes the ability to create in-memory Chef Servers. This server can be populated with fake data and used to test search, data bags, and other "server-only" features.
To use the ChefSpec server, simply replace ChefSpec::SoloRunner
with ChefSpec::ServerRunner
:
describe 'example::default' do
- let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
+ let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::ServerRunner.converge(described_recipe) }
end
This will automatically create a Chef Server, synchronize all the cookbooks in your cookbook_path
, and wire all the internals of Chef together. Recipe calls to search
, data_bag
and data_bag_item
will now query this ChefSpec server.
The ChefSpec server includes a collection of helpful DSL methods for populating data into the Chef Server.
Create a client:
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
server.create_client('my_client', { admin: true })
end
Create a data bag (and items):
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
server.create_data_bag('my_data_bag', {
'item_1' => {
'password' => 'abc123'
},
'item_2' => {
'password' => 'def456'
}
})
end
Create an environment:
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
server.create_environment('my_environment', { description: '...' })
end
Create a node:
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
server.create_node('my_node', { run_list: ['...'] })
end
Note: the current "node" is always uploaded to the server. However, due to the way the Chef Client compiles cookbooks, you must update the current node on the server if any attributes are changed:
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
node.set['attribute'] = 'value'
# At this point, the server already has a copy of the current node object due
# to the way Chef compiled the resources. However, that node does not have
# this new value. As such, you must "save" the node back to the server to
# persist this attribute update.
server.update_node(node)
end
You may also use the stub_node
macro, which will create a new Chef::Node
object and accepts the same parameters as the Chef Runner and a Fauxhai object:
www = stub_node(platform: 'ubuntu', version: '12.04') do |node|
node.set['attribute'] = 'value'
end
# `www` is now a local Chef::Node object you can use in your test. To publish
# this node to the server, call `create_node`:
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
server.create_node(www)
end
Create a role:
ChefSpec::ServerRunner.new do |node, server|
server.create_role('my_role', { default_attributes: {} })
end
NOTE The ChefSpec server is empty at the start of each example to avoid interdependent tests.
Given a recipe with shell guard:
template '/tmp/foo.txt' do
not_if 'grep text /tmp/foo.txt'
end
ChefSpec will raise an error like:
Real commands are disabled. Unregistered command: `grep text /tmp/foo.txt`
You can stub this command with:
stub_command("grep text /tmp/foo.txt").and_return(true)
============================================================
Just like the error message says, you must stub the command result. This can be done inside a before
block or inside the it
block, and the stubbing method accepts both a value or Ruby code. If provided a value, the result is static. If provided a Ruby block, the block is evaluated each time the search is called.
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
before do
stub_command("grep text /tmp/foo.txt").and_return(true)
end
end
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
before do
stub_command("grep text /tmp/foo.txt") { rand(50)%2 == 0 }
end
end
NOTE This is not required if you are using a ChefSpec server.
Given a recipe that executes a data_bag
method:
data_bag('users').each do |user|
data_bag_item('users', user['id'])
end
ChefSpec will raise an error like:
Real data_bags are disabled. Unregistered data_bag: data_bag(:users)
You can stub this data_bag with:
stub_data_bag("users").and_return([])
============================================================
Just like the error message says, you must stub the result of the data_bag
call. This can be done inside a before
block or inside the it
block, and the stubbing method accepts both a value or Ruby code. If provided a value, the result is static. If provided a Ruby block, the block is evaluated each time the search is called.
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
before do
stub_data_bag('users').and_return([])
end
end
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
before do
stub_data_bag('users').and_return(['svargo', 'francis'])
stub_data_bag_item('users', 'svargo').and_return({ ... })
stub_data_bag_item('users', 'francis') { (ruby code) }
end
end
If you are using Encrypted Data Bag Items, you'll need to dive into the RSpec layer and stub that class method instead:
describe 'example::default' do
before do
allow(Chef::EncryptedDataBagItem).to receive(:load).with('users', 'svargo').and_return(...)
end
end
NOTE This is not required if you are using a ChefSpec server.
Because ChefSpec is a unit-testing framework, it is recommended that all third-party API calls be mocked or stubbed. ChefSpec exposes a helpful RSpec macro for stubbing search results in your tests. If you converge a Chef recipe that implements a search
call, ChefSpec will throw an error like:
Real searches are disabled. Unregistered search: search(:node, 'name:hello')
You can stub this search with:
stub_search(:node, 'name:hello') { }
============================================================
Just like the error message says, you must stub the search result. This can be done inside a before
block or inside the it
block, and the stubbing method accepts both a value or Ruby code. If provided a value, the result is static. If provided a Ruby block, the block is evaluated each time the search is called.
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
before do
stub_search(:node, 'name:hello').and_return([])
end
end
describe 'example::default' do
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
before do
stub_search(:node, 'name:hello') { (ruby_code) }
end
end
ChefSpec can generate a report of resources read over resources tested.
To generate the coverage report, add the following to your spec_helper.rb
before you require any "Chef" code:
require 'chefspec'
ChefSpec::Coverage.start!
# Existing spec_helper contents...
By default, that method will output helpful information to standard out:
ChefSpec Coverage report generated...
Total Resources: 6
Touched Resources: 1
Touch Coverage: 16.67%
Untouched Resources:
package[git] bacon/recipes/default.rb:2
package[build-essential] bacon/recipes/default.rb:3
package[apache2] bacon/recipes/default.rb:4
package[libvrt] bacon/recipes/default.rb:5
package[core] bacon/recipes/default.rb:6
By default, ChefSpec will test all cookbooks that are loaded as part of the Chef Client run. If you have a cookbook with many dependencies, this may be less than desireable. To restrict coverage reporting against certain cookbooks, ChefSpec::Coverage
yields a block:
ChefSpec::Coverage.start! do
add_filter 'vendor/cookbooks'
end
The add_filter
method accepts a variety of objects. For example:
ChefSpec::Coverage.start! do
# Strings are interpreted as file paths, with a forward anchor
add_filter 'vendor/cookbooks'
# Regular expressions must be escaped, but provide a nicer API for negative
# back tracking
add_filter /cookbooks\/(?!omnibus)/
# Custom block filters yield a {Chef::Resource} object - if the block
# evaluates to true, it will be filtered
add_filter do |resource|
# Bob's cookbook's are completely untested! Ignore them until he gets his
# shit together.
resource.source_file =~ /cookbooks\/bob-(.+)/
end
end
For more complex scenarios, you can create a custom Filter
object that inherits from ChefSpec::Coverage::Filter
and implements the matches?
method.
class CustomFilter < ChefSpec::Coverage::Filter
def initialize(arg1, arg2, &block)
# Create a custom initialization method, do some magic, etc.
end
def matches?(resource)
# Custom matching logic in here - anything that evaluates to "true" will be
# filtered.
end
end
ChefSpec::Coverage.start! do
add_filter CustomFilter.new('foo', :bar)
end
If you are using ChefSpec's Berkshelf plugin, a filter is automatically created for you. If you would like to ignore that filter, you can clear
all the filters before defining your own:
ChefSpec::Coverage.start! do
filters.clear
# Add your custom filters now
end
If you want to mock out node.chef_environment
, you'll need to use RSpec mocks/stubs twice:
let(:chef_run) do
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new do |node|
# Create a new environment (you could also use a different :let block or :before block)
env = Chef::Environment.new
env.name 'staging'
# Stub the node to return this environment
allow(node).to receive(:chef_environment).and_return(env.name)
# Stub any calls to Environment.load to return this environment
allow(Chef::Environment).to receive(:load).and_return(env)
end.converge('cookbook::recipe')
end
There is probably a better/easier way to do this. If you have a better solution, please open an issue or Pull Request so we can make this less painful :)
WARNING Cookbooks with dashes (hyphens) are difficult to test with ChefSpec because of how Chef classifies objects. We recommend naming cookbooks with underscores (_
) instead of dashes (-
).
ChefSpec overrides all providers to take no action (otherwise it would actually converge your system). This means that the steps inside your LWRP are not actually executed. If an LWRP performs actions, those actions are never executed or added to the resource collection.
In order to run the actions exposed by your LWRP, you have to explicitly tell the Runner
to step into it:
require 'chefspec'
describe 'foo::default' do
let(:chef_run) do
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(step_into: ['my_lwrp']).converge('foo::default')
end
it 'installs the foo package through my_lwrp' do
expect(chef_run).to install_package('foo')
end
end
NOTE: If your cookbook exposes LWRPs, it is highly recommended you also create a libraries/matchers.rb
file as outlined below in the "Packaging Custom Matchers" section. You should never step_into
an LWRP unless you are testing it. Never step_into
an LWRP from another cookbook!
ChefSpec exposes the ability for cookbook authors to package custom matchers inside a cookbook so that other developers may take advantage of them in testing. This is done by creating a special library file in the cookbook named matchers.rb
:
# cookbook/libraries/matchers.rb
if defined?(ChefSpec)
def my_custom_matcher(resource_name)
ChefSpec::Matchers::ResourceMatcher.new(resource, action, resource_name)
end
end
-
The entire contents of this file must be wrapped with the conditional clause checking if
ChefSpec
is defined. -
Each matcher is actually a top-level method. The above example corresponds to the following RSpec test:
expect(chef_run).to my_custom_matcher('...')
-
ChefSpec::Matchers::ResourceMatcher
accepts three parameters:- The name of the resource to find in the resource collection (i.e. the name of the LWRP).
- The action that resource should receive.
- The value of the name attribute of the resource to find. (This is typically proxied as the value from the matcher definition.)
ChefSpec's built-in ResourceMatcher
should satisfy most common use cases for packaging a custom matcher with your LWRPs. However, if your cookbook is extending Chef core or is outside of the scope of a traditional "resource", you may need to create a custom matcher. For more information on custom matchers in RSpec, please watch the Railscast on Custom Matchers or look at some of the other custom matchers in ChefSpec's source code.
Suppose I have a cookbook named "motd" with a resource/provider "message".
# motd/resources/message.rb
actions :write
default_action :write
attribute :message, name_attribute: true
# motd/providers/message.rb
action :write do
# ...
end
Chef will dynamically build the motd_message
LWRP at runtime that can be used in the recipe DSL:
motd_message 'my message'
You can package a custom ChefSpec matcher with the motd cookbook by including the following code in libraries/matchers.rb
:
# motd/libraries/matchers.rb
if defined?(ChefSpec)
def write_motd_message(message)
ChefSpec::Matchers::ResourceMatcher.new(:motd_message, :write, message)
end
end
Other developers can write RSpec tests against your LWRP in their cookbooks:
expect(chef_run).to write_motd_message('my message')
Don't forget to include documentation in your cookbook's README noting the custom matcher and its API!
As a caveat, if your custom LWRP uses a custom provides
value as shown below (Chef 12+), you will need to package slightly different custom matchers:
# motd/resources/message.rb
actions :write
default_action :write
provides :foobar
attribute :message, name_attribute: true
With a custom provides
declaration, the resource is still inserted into the resource collection with its generic name; provides
is just sugar for use in the recipe. As such, you will also need to introduce sugar into your custom matchers:
# motd/libraries/matchers.rb
if defined?(ChefSpec)
def write_foobar(message)
ChefSpec::Matchers::ResourceMatcher.new(:motd_message, :write, message)
end
end
Notice that we have changed the name of the method to match the "foobar" action, but the resource matcher definition remains unchanged. When the Chef run executes, the resource will be inserted into the collection as motd_message
, even though it was given a custom provides.
If you are testing a cookbook that does not package its LWRP matchers, you can create your own following the same pattern as the "Packaging Custom Matchers" section. Simply, create a file at spec/support/matchers.rb
and add your resource matchers:
# spec/support/matchers.rb
def my_custom_matcher(resource_name)
ChefSpec::Matchers::ResourceMatcher.new(:resource, :action, resource_name)
end
Then require this file in your spec_helper.rb
so the matcher can be used:
require_relative 'support/matchers'
Please use this as a temporary solution. Consider sending a Pull Request to the LWRP author(s) packaging the custom resource matchers (see previous section).
ChefSpec also provides a helper method to define a method on the Chef runner for locating a resource in the collection. This is helpful while asserting against custom resource notifications.
# matchers.rb
ChefSpec.define_matcher :my_custom_resource
And then in your spec suite, you can obtain the custom resource for assertions:
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge('...') }
it 'notifies the thing' do
custom = chef_run.my_custom_resource('name')
expect(custom).to notify('service[apache2]').to(:restart).immediately
end
In Chef 11, custom formatters were introduced and ChefSpec uses a custom formatter to suppress Chef Client output. In the event of a convergence failure, ChefSpec will output the error message from the run to help you debug:
================================================================================
Recipe Compile Error in apt_package/recipes/install.rb
================================================================================
RuntimeError
------------
RuntimeError
Cookbook Trace:
---------------
.../apt_package/recipes/install.rb:1:in `from_file'
.../apt_package/spec/install_spec.rb:4:in `block (2 levels) in <top (required)>'
.../apt_package/spec/install_spec.rb:7:in `block (2 levels) in <top (required)>'
Relevant File Content:
----------------------
.../apt_package/recipes/install.rb:
1>> raise RuntimeError
2:
3: apt_package 'default_action'
This output is automatically silenced when using RSpec's raise_error
matcher:
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge('cookbook::recipe') }
it 'raises an error' do
expect {
chef_run
}.to raise_error
end
You can also assert that a particular error was raised. If the error matches the given type, the output is suppressed. If not, the test fails and the entire stack trace is presented.
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge('cookbook::recipe') }
it 'raises an error' do
expect {
chef_run
}.to raise_error(RuntimeError)
end
Even though ChefSpec is cookbook-centric, you can still converge multiple recipes and roles in a single ChefSpec::SoloRunner
instance. Given a cookbook "bacon" with a default recipe:
# cookbooks/bacon/recipes/default.rb
package 'foo'
and a default attributes file:
# cookbooks/bacon/attributes/default.rb
default['bacon']['temperature'] = 200
and a role "breakfast":
# roles/breakfast.rb
default_attributes(
'bacon' => {
'temperature' => 150 # NOTE: This is different from the default value
}
)
run_list([
'recipe[bacon::default]'
])
You can test that the role is appropriately applied by telling the ChefSpec::SoloRunner
to converge on the role instead of a recipe:
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.converge('role[breakfast]') }
Assert that the run_list is properly expanded:
expect(chef_run).to include_recipe('bacon::default')
Assert that the correct attribute is used:
expect(chef_run.node['bacon']['temperature']).to eq(150)
NOTE If your roles live somewhere outside of the expected path, you must set RSpec.config.role_path
to point to the directory containing your roles before invoking the #converge
method!
RSpec.configure do |config|
config.role_path = '/var/my/roles' # global setting
end
# - OR -
ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new(role_path: '/var/my/roles') # local setting
ChefSpec aims to provide the easiest and simplest path for new users to write RSpec examples for Chef cookbooks. In doing so, it makes some sacrifices in terms of speed and agility of execution. In other words, ChefSpec favors "speed to develop" over "speed to execute". Many of these decisions are directly related to the way Chef dynamically loads resources at runtime.
If you understand how RSpec works and would like to see some significant speed improvements in your specs, you can use the ChefSpec::Cacher
module inspired by Juri Timošin. Simply convert all your let
blocks to cached
:
# before
let(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
# after
cached(:chef_run) { ChefSpec::SoloRunner.new }
Everything else should work the same. Be advised, as the method name suggests, this will cache the results of your Chef Client Run for the entire RSpec example. This makes stubbing more of a challenge, since the node is already converged. For more information, please see Juri Timošin's blog post on faster specs as well as the discussion in #275.
- CustomInk's Testing Chef Cookbooks
- Jake Vanderdray's Practical ChefSpec
- Jim Hopp's excellent Test Driven Development for Chef Practitioners
- Joshua Timberman's Starting ChefSpec Examples
- Juri Timošin's post on faster specs
- Seth Vargo's Chef recipe code coverage
- Seth Vargo's TDDing tmux talk
- Stephen Nelson Smith's Test-Driven Infrastructure with Chef
-
Fork the repository from GitHub.
-
Clone your fork to your local machine:
$ git clone git@github.com:USER/chefspec.git
-
Create a git branch
$ git checkout -b my_bug_fix
-
Write tests
-
Make your changes/patches/fixes, committing appropriately
-
Run the tests:
bundle exec rake
-
Push your changes to GitHub
-
Open a Pull Request
ChefSpec is on Travis CI which tests against multiple Chef and Ruby versions.
If you are contributing, please see the Contributing Guidelines for more information.
MIT - see the accompanying LICENSE file for details.