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Chapter 3: Mocking with Mockito

Introduction​

How to test a UserService that depends on a UserRepository? Without the database, the test fails. The solution: Mock the repository to simulate its behavior.


🎯 Chapter Objectives​

By the end of this chapter, you will know how to:

  1. ✅ Understand why and when to mock
  2. ✅ Create mocks with @Mock and @InjectMocks
  3. ✅ Configure behavior with when().thenReturn()
  4. ✅ Verify calls with verify()
  5. ✅ Use argument matchers

1. Why Mock?​

The Problem​

// This class depends on UserRepository
@Service
public class UserService {
private final UserRepository userRepository;

public User findById(Long id) {
return userRepository.findById(id)
.orElseThrow(() -> new UserNotFoundException(id));
}
}

// How to test without a database?
@Test
void shouldFindUserById() {
UserService service = new UserService(???); // A repository is needed!
}

The Solution: Mocking​

@Test
void shouldFindUserById() {
// Create a FAKE repository
UserRepository mockRepo = mock(UserRepository.class);

// Tell it what to return
when(mockRepo.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(new User("John")));

// Test the service
UserService service = new UserService(mockRepo);
User user = service.findById(1L);

assertEquals("John", user.getName());
}

2. Basic Setup​

import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.ExtendWith;
import org.mockito.InjectMocks;
import org.mockito.Mock;
import org.mockito.junit.jupiter.MockitoExtension;

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class) // ← Activates Mockito
class UserServiceTest {

@Mock // ← Creates a mock
private UserRepository userRepository;

@InjectMocks // ← Injects the mocks
private UserService userService;

@Test
void shouldFindUserById() {
// when/then here
}
}

Injection Flow​

@Mock userRepository ─────┐
├──→ @InjectMocks userService
@Mock anotherDep ─────────┘

3. when().thenReturn()​

Return a Value​

@Test
void shouldReturnUser() {
// Configure the mock
User mockUser = new User(1L, "John", "john@email.com");
when(userRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(mockUser));

// Test
User result = userService.findById(1L);

// Verify
assertEquals("John", result.getName());
}

Return Different Values​

@Test
void shouldReturnDifferentUsers() {
when(userRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(new User("John")));
when(userRepository.findById(2L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(new User("Jane")));
when(userRepository.findById(99L)).thenReturn(Optional.empty());

assertEquals("John", userService.findById(1L).getName());
assertEquals("Jane", userService.findById(2L).getName());
assertThrows(UserNotFoundException.class, () -> userService.findById(99L));
}

Consecutive Calls​

@Test
void shouldReturnDifferentValuesOnConsecutiveCalls() {
when(userRepository.count())
.thenReturn(0L)
.thenReturn(1L)
.thenReturn(2L);

assertEquals(0L, userRepository.count()); // 1st call
assertEquals(1L, userRepository.count()); // 2nd call
assertEquals(2L, userRepository.count()); // 3rd call
assertEquals(2L, userRepository.count()); // Further: last value
}

4. thenThrow() - Simulate Exceptions​

@Test
void shouldThrowException() {
when(userRepository.findById(anyLong()))
.thenThrow(new DatabaseException("Connection failed"));

assertThrows(DatabaseException.class, () -> userService.findById(1L));
}

@Test
void shouldThrowThenSucceed() {
when(userRepository.save(any()))
.thenThrow(new RuntimeException("First call fails"))
.thenReturn(new User("Saved"));

// 1st call: exception
assertThrows(RuntimeException.class, () -> userService.save(new User()));

// 2nd call: success
User saved = userService.save(new User());
assertNotNull(saved);
}

5. Argument Matchers​

any(), anyLong(), anyString()​

@Test
void shouldAcceptAnyId() {
when(userRepository.findById(anyLong())) // Any Long
.thenReturn(Optional.of(new User("Generic")));

assertEquals("Generic", userService.findById(1L).getName());
assertEquals("Generic", userService.findById(999L).getName());
}

Available Matchers​

any()           // Any object
any(User.class) // Any User
anyLong() // Any long
anyInt() // Any int
anyString() // Any String
anyList() // Any List
anyMap() // Any Map
eq(value) // Exact equality (with other matchers)
isNull() // Null
isNotNull() // Not null

Important Rule: All or Nothing​

// ❌ ERROR: Mixing matcher and exact value
when(service.process(anyString(), "fixed")) // ERROR!

// ✅ OK: Use eq() for the exact value
when(service.process(anyString(), eq("fixed")))

argThat() - Custom Matcher​

@Test
void shouldMatchCustomCondition() {
when(userRepository.save(argThat(user ->
user.getName() != null && user.getName().length() > 3
))).thenReturn(new User("Saved"));

// Works
User saved = userService.save(new User("John"));
assertNotNull(saved);

// Does not match -> returns null (default mock behavior)
User notSaved = userService.save(new User("Jo"));
assertNull(notSaved);
}

6. verify() - Verify Calls​

Simple Verification​

@Test
void shouldCallRepository() {
userService.delete(1L);

// Verify that deleteById was called with 1L
verify(userRepository).deleteById(1L);
}

Number of Calls​

@Test
void shouldCallRepositoryCorrectTimes() {
userService.processAll();

verify(userRepository, times(3)).save(any()); // Exactly 3 times
verify(userRepository, atLeast(2)).findById(any()); // At least 2 times
verify(userRepository, atMost(5)).count(); // At most 5 times
verify(userRepository, never()).delete(any()); // Never called
}

Order of Calls​

@Test
void shouldCallInOrder() {
userService.createAndNotify(new User("John"));

InOrder inOrder = inOrder(userRepository, emailService);

// Verify order
inOrder.verify(userRepository).save(any()); // First save
inOrder.verify(emailService).sendWelcome(any()); // Then email
}

verifyNoMoreInteractions​

@Test
void shouldOnlyCallSpecificMethods() {
userService.findById(1L);

verify(userRepository).findById(1L);
verifyNoMoreInteractions(userRepository); // No other calls
}

7. @Spy - Partial Mock​

Difference Mock vs Spy​

// Mock: All calls are simulated (return null/0/false by default)
@Mock
private UserService mockService;

// Spy: Real implementation, but can override certain methods
@Spy
private UserService spyService;

Usage​

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class PartialMockTest {

@Spy
private ArrayList<String> spyList = new ArrayList<>();

@Test
void testSpy() {
// Real call
spyList.add("one");
spyList.add("two");
assertEquals(2, spyList.size());

// Override behavior
when(spyList.size()).thenReturn(100);
assertEquals(100, spyList.size());

// The element is really there
assertEquals("one", spyList.get(0));
}
}

doReturn() vs when() with Spy​

@Spy
private UserService userService;

@Test
void testSpy() {
// ❌ PROBLEM: when() calls the real method first!
when(userService.riskyMethod()).thenReturn("safe");

// ✅ SOLUTION: doReturn() does not call the real method
doReturn("safe").when(userService).riskyMethod();
}

8. Capturing Arguments​

ArgumentCaptor​

@Test
void shouldCaptureArgument() {
ArgumentCaptor<User> userCaptor = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(User.class);

userService.register("John", "john@email.com", "password");

verify(userRepository).save(userCaptor.capture());

User savedUser = userCaptor.getValue();
assertEquals("John", savedUser.getName());
assertEquals("john@email.com", savedUser.getEmail());
assertNotNull(savedUser.getPassword()); // Encoded
}

With Annotation​

@Captor
private ArgumentCaptor<User> userCaptor;

@Test
void shouldCaptureMultipleArgs() {
userService.saveAll(List.of(new User("A"), new User("B")));

verify(userRepository, times(2)).save(userCaptor.capture());

List<User> capturedUsers = userCaptor.getAllValues();
assertEquals(2, capturedUsers.size());
assertEquals("A", capturedUsers.get(0).getName());
assertEquals("B", capturedUsers.get(1).getName());
}

9. Complete Example​

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class OrderServiceTest {

@Mock
private OrderRepository orderRepository;

@Mock
private ProductService productService;

@Mock
private EmailService emailService;

@InjectMocks
private OrderService orderService;

@Captor
private ArgumentCaptor<Order> orderCaptor;

@Test
void shouldCreateOrderSuccessfully() {
// Arrange
Product product = new Product(1L, "Laptop", 1000.0);
when(productService.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(product));
when(orderRepository.save(any())).thenAnswer(inv -> {
Order order = inv.getArgument(0);
order.setId(100L);
return order;
});

// Act
Order order = orderService.createOrder(1L, 2, "john@email.com");

// Assert
assertNotNull(order);
assertEquals(100L, order.getId());
assertEquals(2000.0, order.getTotal());

// Verify
verify(productService).findById(1L);
verify(orderRepository).save(orderCaptor.capture());
verify(emailService).sendOrderConfirmation(eq("john@email.com"), any());

Order savedOrder = orderCaptor.getValue();
assertEquals(2, savedOrder.getQuantity());
}

@Test
void shouldThrowWhenProductNotFound() {
// Arrange
when(productService.findById(anyLong())).thenReturn(Optional.empty());

// Act & Assert
assertThrows(ProductNotFoundException.class,
() -> orderService.createOrder(999L, 1, "test@email.com"));

// Verify no order was saved
verify(orderRepository, never()).save(any());
verify(emailService, never()).sendOrderConfirmation(anyString(), any());
}
}

10. Summary​

Annotations​

AnnotationDescription
@MockCreates a mock
@InjectMocksInjects mocks into the tested class
@SpyPartial mock (real implementation)
@CaptorCaptures arguments
@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)Activates Mockito

Key Methods​

// Configuration
when(mock.method()).thenReturn(value);
when(mock.method()).thenThrow(exception);
doReturn(value).when(spy).method();

// Verification
verify(mock).method();
verify(mock, times(3)).method();
verify(mock, never()).method();
verifyNoMoreInteractions(mock);

// Matchers
any(), anyLong(), anyString()
eq(value)
argThat(condition)

🎯 Next Step​

Mockito is perfect for unit tests, but sometimes you need to test with real resources. That's the role of integration tests.

➡️ Chapter 4: Integration Tests


⬅️ Back to Module 9