Each factory has a name and a set of attributes. The name is used to guess the class of the object by default, but it's possible to explicitly specify it:
# This will guess the User class
FactoryGirl.define do
factory :user do
first_name 'John'
last_name 'Doe'
admin false
end
# This will use the User class (Admin would have been guessed)
factory :admin, :class => User do
first_name 'Admin'
last_name 'User'
admin true
end
# The same, but using a string instead of class constant
factory :admin, :class => 'user' do
first_name 'Admin'
last_name 'User'
admin true
end
end
It is highly recommended that you have one factory for each class that provides the simplest set of attributes necessary to create an instance of that class. If you're creating ActiveRecord objects, that means that you should only provide attributes that are required through validations and that do not have defaults. Other factories can be created through inheritance to cover common scenarios for each class.
Attempting to define multiple factories with the same name will raise an error.
Factories can be defined anywhere, but will be automatically loaded if they are defined in files at the following locations:
test/factories.rb
spec/factories.rb
test/factories/*.rb
spec/factories/*.rb
factory_girl supports several different build strategies: build, create, attributes_for and stub:
# Returns a User instance that's not saved
user = FactoryGirl.build(:user)
# Returns a saved User instance
user = FactoryGirl.create(:user)
# Returns a hash of attributes that can be used to build a User instance:
attrs = FactoryGirl.attributes_for(:user)
# Returns an object with all defined attributes stubbed out:
stub = FactoryGirl.stub(:user)
No matter which strategy is used, it's possible to override the defined attributes by passing a hash:
# Build a User instance and override the first_name property
user = FactoryGirl.build(:user, :first_name => 'Joe')
user.first_name
# => "Joe"
If repeating "FactoryGirl" is too verbose for you, you can mix the syntax methods in:
# rspec
RSpec.configure do |config|
config.include Factory::Syntax::Methods
end
# Test::Unit
class Test::Unit::TestCase
include Factory::Syntax::Methods
end
Most factory attributes can be added using static values that are evaluated when the factory is defined, but some attributes (such as associations and other attributes that must be dynamically generated) will need values assigned each time an instance is generated. These "lazy" attributes can be added by passing a block instead of a parameter:
factory :user do
# ...
activation_code { User.generate_activation_code }
end
Attributes can be based on the values of other attributes using the proxy that is yielded to lazy attribute blocks:
factory :user do
first_name 'Joe'
last_name 'Blow'
email { "#{first_name}.#{last_name}@example.com".downcase }
end
FactoryGirl.create(:user, :last_name => 'Doe').email
# => "joe.doe@example.com"
Associated instances can be generated by using the association method when defining a lazy attribute:
factory :post do
# ...
author
end
You can also specify a different factory or override attributes:
factory :post do
# ...
association :author, :factory => :user, :last_name => 'Writely'
end
The behavior of the association method varies depending on the build strategy used for the parent object.
# Builds and saves a User and a Post
post = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
post.new_record? # => false
post.author.new_record # => false
# Builds and saves a User, and then builds but does not save a Post
post = FactoryGirl.build(:post)
post.new_record? # => true
post.author.new_record # => false
If the factory name is the same as the association name, the factory name can be left out.
You can easily create multiple factories for the same class without repeating common attributes by using inheritance:
factory :post do
# the 'title' attribute is required for all posts
title 'A title'
end
factory :approved_post, :parent => :post do
approved true
# the 'approver' association is required for an approved post
association :approver, :factory => :user
end
Unique values in a specific format (for example, e-mail addresses) can be generated using sequences. Sequences are defined by calling sequence in a definition block, and values in a sequence are generated by calling Factory.next:
# Defines a new sequence
FactoryGirl.define do
sequence :email do |n|
"person#{n}@example.com"
end
end
Factory.next :email
# => "person1@example.com"
Factory.next :email
# => "person2@example.com"
Sequences can be used as attributes:
factory :user do
email
end
Or in lazy attributes:
factory :invite do
invitee { Factory.next(:email) }
end
And it's also possible to define an in-line sequence that is only used in a particular factory:
factory :user do
sequence(:email) {|n| "person#{n}@example.com" }
end
You can also override the initial value:
factory :user do
sequence(:email, 1000) {|n| "person#{n}@example.com" }
end
Without a block, the value will increment itself, starting at its initial value:
factory :post do
sequence(:position)
end
Factory_girl makes available three callbacks for injecting some code:
- after_build - called after a factory is built (via FactoryGirl.build)
- after_create - called after a factory is saved (via FactoryGirl.create)
- after_stub - called after a factory is stubbed (via FactoryGirl.stub)
Examples:
# Define a factory that calls the generate_hashed_password method after it is built
factory :user do
after_build { |user| generate_hashed_password(user) }
end
Note that you'll have an instance of the user in the block. This can be useful.
You can also define multiple types of callbacks on the same factory:
factory :user do
after_build { |user| do_something_to(user) }
after_create { |user| do_something_else_to(user) }
end
Factories can also define any number of the same kind of callback. These callbacks will be executed in the order they are specified:
factory :user do
after_create { this_runs_first }
after_create { then_this }
end
Calling FactoryGirl.create will invoke both after_build and after_create callbacks.
Also, like standard attributes, child factories will inherit (and can also define) callbacks from their parent factory.
Sometimes, you'll want to create or build multiple instances of a factory at once.
built_users = FactoryGirl.build_list(:user, 25)
created_users = FactoryGirl.create_list(:user, 25)
These methods will build or create a specific amount of factories and return them as an array. To set the attributes for each of the factories, you can pass in a hash as you normally would.
twenty_year_olds = FactoryGirl.build_list(:user, 25, :date_of_birth => 20.years.ago)
Users' tastes for syntax vary dramatically, but most users are looking for a common feature set. Because of this factory_girl supports "syntax layers" which provide alternate interfaces. See Factory::Syntax for information about the various layers available. For example, the Machinist-style syntax is popular:
require 'factory_girl/syntax/blueprint'
require 'factory_girl/syntax/make'
require 'factory_girl/syntax/sham'
Sham.email {|n| "#{n}@example.com" }
User.blueprint do
name { 'Billy Bob' }
email { Sham.email }
end
User.make(:name => 'Johnny')