Using Rspec, how do I test the JSON format of my controller in Rails 3.0.11?

Question

I\'ve scoured the web, but, alas, I just can\'t seem to get Rspec to correctly send content-type so I can test my JSON API. I\'m using the RABL gem for templates, Rails 3.0.

Answer 1

I realize that setting :format => :json is one solution (as noted above). However, I wanted to test the same conditions that the clients to my API would use. My clients would not be setting the :format parameter, instead they would be setting the Accept HTTP header. If you are interested in this solution, here is what I used:

# api/v1/test_controller_spec.rb
require 'spec_helper.rb'
describe Api::V1::TestController do
  render_views
  context "when request sets accept => application/json" do
    it "should return successful response" do
      request.accept = "application/json"
      get :test
      response.should be_success
    end
  end
end

Answer 2

Try moving the :format key inside the params hash of the request, like this:

describe ApplicationsController do
  render_views
  disconnect_sunspot

  let(:application) { Factory.create(:application) }

  subject { application }

  context "JSON" do

    describe "creating a new application" do

      context "when not authorized" do
        it "should not allow creation of an application" do
          params = { :format => 'json', :application => { :name => "foo", :description => "bar" } }
          post :create, params 
          Expect(Application.count).to eq(0)
          expect(response.status).to eq(403)
          expect(JSON.parse(response.body)["status"]).to eq("error")
          expect(JSON.parse(response.body)["message"]).to match(/authorized/)
        end 


      end 

      context "authorized" do
      end 
    end
  end
end

Let me know how it goes! thats the way I have set my tests, and they are working just fine!