Mock Functions
Mock functions are also known as "spies", because they let you spy on the behavior of a function that is a direct (or indirect) collaborator of the module you're trying to test, rather than only testing the output. You can create a mock function with jest.fn()
. If no implementation is given, the mock function will return nil
when invoked.
Methods
mockFn.getMockName()
mockFn.mock.calls
mockFn.mock.results
mockFn.mock.instances
mockFn.mock.lastCall
mockFn.mockClear()
mockFn.mockReset()
mockFn.mockImplementation(fn)
mockFn.mockImplementationOnce(fn)
mockFn.mockName(value)
mockFn.mockReturnThis()
mockFn.mockReturnValue(value)
mockFn.mockReturnValueOnce(value)
Reference
mockFn.getMockName()
Returns the mock name string set by calling mockFn.mockName(value)
.
mockFn.mock.calls
An array containing the call arguments of all calls that have been made to this mock function. Each item in the array is an array of arguments that were passed during the call.
For example: A mock function f
that has been called twice, with the arguments f('arg1', 'arg2')
, and then with the arguments f('arg3', 'arg4')
, would have a mock.calls
array that looks like this:
{
{'arg1', 'arg2'},
{'arg3', 'arg4'},
}
mockFn.mock.results
An array containing the results of all calls that have been made to this mock function. Each entry in this array is an object containing a type
property, and a value
property. type
will be one of the following:
'return'
- Indicates that the call completed by returning normally.
'incomplete'
- Indicates that the call has not yet completed. This occurs if you test the result from within the mock function itself, or from within a function that was called by the mock.
The value
property contains the value that was thrown or returned. value
is nil when type == 'incomplete'
.
For example: A mock function f
that has been called two times, returning 'result1'
, and then returning 'result2'
, would have a mock.results
array that looks like this:
{
{
type = 'return',
value = 'result1',
},
{
type = 'return',
value = 'result2',
},
}
mockFn.mock.instances
An array that contains all the object instances that have been instantiated from this mock function.
For example: A mock function that has been instantiated twice would have the following mock.instances
array:
local mockFn = jest.fn()
local a = mockFn.new()
local b = mockFn.new()
mockFn.mock.instances[1] == a
mockFn.mock.instances[2] == b
mockFn.mock.lastCall
An array containing the call arguments of the last call that was made to this mock function. If the function was not called, it will return nil
.
For example: A mock function f
that has been called twice, with the arguments f('arg1', 'arg2')
, and then with the arguments f('arg3', 'arg4')
, would have a mock.lastCall
array that looks like this:
{'arg3', 'arg4'}
mockFn.mockClear()
Clears all information stored in the mockFn.mock.calls
, mockFn.mock.instances
and mockFn.mock.results
arrays. Often this is useful when you want to clean up a mocks usage data between two assertions.
Beware that mockClear
will replace mockFn.mock
, not just these three properties! You should, therefore, avoid assigning mockFn.mock
to other variables, temporary or not, to make sure you don't access stale data.
The clearMocks
configuration option is available to clear mocks automatically before each tests.
mockFn.mockReset()
Does everything that mockFn.mockClear()
does, and also removes any mocked return values or implementations.
This is useful when you want to completely reset a mock back to its initial state. (Note that resetting a spy will result in a function with no return value).
Beware that mockReset
will replace mockFn.mock
, not just mockFn.mock.calls
and mockFn.mock.instances
. You should, therefore, avoid assigning mockFn.mock
to other variables, temporary or not, to make sure you don't access stale data.
The mockReset
configuration option is available to reset mocks automatically before each test.
mockFn.mockImplementation(fn)
Accepts a function that should be used as the implementation of the mock. The mock itself will still record all calls that go into and instances that come from itself – the only difference is that the implementation will also be executed when the mock is called.
Note: jest.fn(implementation)
is a shorthand for jest.fn().mockImplementation(implementation)
.
For example:
local mockFn = jest.fn().mockImplementation(function(scalar) return 42 + scalar end)
-- or: jest.fn(function(scalar) return 42 + scalar end)
local a = mockFn(0)
local b = mockFn(1)
a == 42 == true
b == 43 == true
mockFn.mock.calls[1][1] == 0 -- true
mockFn.mock.calls[2][1] == 1 -- true
Mocks should be lightweight and easy to maintain and/or refactor, so users should favor mockReturnValue
over mockImplementation
or mockImplementationOnce
instead where possible.
mockFn.mockImplementationOnce(fn)
Accepts a function that will be used as an implementation of the mock for one call to the mocked function. Can be chained so that multiple function calls produce different results.
local myMockFn = jest.fn()
.mockImplementationOnce(function(cb) return cb(nil, true) end)
.mockImplementationOnce(function(cb) return cb(nil, false) end)
myMockFn(function(err, val) print(val) end) -- true
myMockFn(function(err, val) print(val) end) -- false
When the mocked function runs out of implementations defined with mockImplementationOnce, it will execute the default implementation set with jest.fn(function() return defaultValue end)
or .mockImplementation(function() return defaultValue end)
if they were called:
local myMockFn = jest.fn(function() return 'default' end)
.mockImplementationOnce(function() return 'first call' end)
.mockImplementationOnce(function() return 'second call' end)
print(myMockFn()) -- 'first call'
print(myMockFn()) -- 'second call'
print(myMockFn()) -- 'default'
print(myMockFn()) -- 'default
mockFn.mockName(value)
Accepts a string to use in test result output in place of "jest.fn()" to indicate which mock function is being referenced.
For example:
local mockFn = jest.fn().mockName('mockedFunction')
-- mockFn()
expect(mockFn).toHaveBeenCalled()
Will result in this error:
expect(mockedFunction).toHaveBeenCalled()
Expected number of calls: >= 1
Received number of calls: 0
mockFn.mockReturnThis()
Sets the implementation of mockFn
to return itself whenenever the mock function is called.
mockFn.mockReturnValue(value)
Accepts a value that will be returned whenever the mock function is called.
local mock = jest.fn()
mock.mockReturnValue(42)
mock() -- 42
mock.mockReturnValue(43)
mock() -- 43
mockFn.mockReturnValueOnce(value)
Accepts a value that will be returned for one call to the mock function. Can be chained so that successive calls to the mock function return different values. When there are no more mockReturnValueOnce
values to use, calls will return a value specified by mockReturnValue
.
local myMockFn = jest.fn()
.mockReturnValue('default')
.mockReturnValueOnce('first call')
.mockReturnValueOnce('second call')
print(myMockFn()) -- > 'first call'
print(myMockFn()) -- > 'second call'
print(myMockFn()) -- > 'default'
print(myMockFn()) -- > 'default