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name testbox-bdd
description Use this skill when writing BDD-style tests with TestBox using describe/it blocks, feature/story/scenario/given/when/then Gherkin-style suites, lifecycle hooks (beforeAll/afterAll/beforeEach/afterEach/aroundEach), focused specs (fit/fdescribe), skipping specs (xit/xdescribe/skip()), spec data binding, asyncAll parallel specs, nested suite trees, labels, or organizing tests around behavior descriptions.

BDD Testing with TestBox

When to Use This Skill

  • Writing BDD-style test bundles for any ColdBox/BoxLang application
  • Using describe(), it(), or Gherkin aliases (feature/story/scenario/given/when/then)
  • Setting up lifecycle methods: beforeAll, afterAll, beforeEach, afterEach, aroundEach
  • Focusing or skipping suites and specs
  • Passing data into specs via data binding
  • Running specs in parallel with asyncAll

Language Reference

Concept BoxLang (.bx) preferred CFML (.cfc) compatible
Class declaration class extends="testbox.system.BaseSpec" {} component extends="testbox.system.BaseSpec" {}
Arrow closures () => {} function() {}
Lambda with args ( currentSpec, data ) => {} function( currentSpec, data ) {}

Canonical Bundle Structure

class extends="testbox.system.BaseSpec" {

    // Global lifecycle — runs ONCE for the entire bundle
    function beforeAll() {
        variables.sut = getInstance( "models.UserService" )
    }

    function afterAll() {
        // global teardown
    }

    function run( testResults, testBox ) {

        describe( "UserService", () => {

            // Suite lifecycle — runs around each it()
            beforeEach( ( currentSpec ) => {
                variables.mockRepo = createMock( "models.UserRepository" )
                variables.sut.$property( propertyName = "userRepository", mock = mockRepo )
            } )

            afterEach( ( currentSpec ) => {
                // per-spec teardown
            } )

            it( "creates a user and returns the saved entity", () => {
                mockRepo.$( "save" ).$results( { id: 1, name: "Alice" } )
                var result = sut.create( { name: "Alice", email: "alice@example.com" } )
                expect( result ).toBeStruct()
                expect( result.id ).toBeNumeric()
                expect( result.name ).toBe( "Alice" )
            } )

            it( "throws ValidationException for missing email", () => {
                expect( () => {
                    sut.create( { name: "Alice" } )
                } ).toThrow( type: "ValidationException" )
            } )

        } )

    }

}

Lifecycle Methods

Global (beforeAll / afterAll)

Run once for the entire bundle — use for expensive one-time setup (boot DI container, seed DB, create JWT keys, etc.).

function beforeAll() {
    ORMSessionClear()
    structClear( request )
    variables.jwt = getInstance( "JWTService@cbsecurity" )
    variables.jwt.getSettings().jwt.tokenStorage.driver = "cachebox"
    variables.securityService = getInstance( "SecurityService" )
}

function afterAll() {
    variables.securityService.logout()
    directoryDelete( "/tests/tmp", true )
}

Suite (beforeEach / afterEach)

Run around every it() in the containing describe(). In nested suites, TestBox walks down the tree for beforeEach and up for afterEach.

describe( "Outer", () => {

    beforeEach( ( currentSpec, data ) => {
        // runs first for all nested specs
    } )

    describe( "Inner", () => {

        beforeEach( ( currentSpec, data ) => {
            // runs second (after outer beforeEach)
        } )

        afterEach( ( currentSpec, data ) => {
            // runs first on the way out (before outer afterEach)
        } )

    } )

    afterEach( ( currentSpec, data ) => {
        // runs last for all nested specs
    } )

} )

aroundEach

Wraps each spec — useful for transaction rollbacks or resource acquisition/release patterns.

aroundEach( ( spec, suite ) => {
    transaction {
        spec.body()   // run the spec inside the transaction
        transactionRollback()
    }
} )

Suite Aliases (Gherkin)

describe() is aliased as: story(), feature(), scenario(), given(), when(). it() is aliased as then() (but then uses the argument name then instead of title).

feature( "Box Volume Calculator", () => {

    scenario( "Calculate box volume", () => {

        given( "a width of 20, height of 30, depth of 40", () => {

            when( "I run the calculation", () => {

                then( "the result is 24000", () => {
                    expect( boxCalc.volume( 20, 30, 40 ) ).toBe( 24000 )
                } )

            } )

        } )

    } )

} )

story( "As an author, I want to list all active users", () => {

    given( "no options", () => {
        then( "it returns all active system users", () => {
            var event = this.get( "/cbapi/v1/authors" )
            expect( event.getResponse() ).toHaveStatus( 200 )
            expect( event.getResponse().getData() ).toBeArray().notToBeEmpty()
        } )
    } )

    given( "isActive = false", () => {
        then( "it returns inactive users", () => {
            var event = this.get( "/cbapi/v1/authors?isActive=false" )
            expect( event.getResponse() ).toHaveStatus( 200 )
            expect( event.getResponse().getData() ).toBeArray().notToBeEmpty()
        } )
    } )

} )

Focused Specs and Suites

Prefix with f to run only those suites/specs. All others are skipped.

fdescribe( "I only run", () => {
    fit( "I am the only spec that runs", () => {
        expect( true ).toBeTrue()
    } )
    it( "I am skipped because parent fdescribe runs all children", () => {
        // still runs — parent focus runs all children
    } )
} )

describe( "Normal suite", () => {
    fit( "focused individual spec", () => {
        expect( 1 ).toBe( 1 )
    } )
    it( "this one is skipped", () => { } )
} )

Focused prefixes work on all suite aliases: fdescribe, fstory, ffeature, fscenario, fgiven, fwhen, fit, fthen.

Skipping Specs and Suites

Prefix with x or use the skip argument or call skip() inline.

xdescribe( "disabled suite", () => {
    it( "never runs", () => { } )
} )

xit( "disabled spec", () => { } )

it( "engine-conditional skip", () => {
    if ( !server.keyExists( "lucee" ) ) {
        skip( "Only runs on Lucee" )
    }
    expect( luceeSpecificBehavior() ).toBeTrue()
} )

it( title: "conditional skip closure", body: () => {
    expect( 1 ).toBe( 1 )
}, skip: () => {
    return !structKeyExists( server, "railo" )
} )

Spec Data Binding

Pass a data struct into it() to avoid closure-capture bugs in loops.

var filePaths = directoryList( "/tests/fixtures", false, "path", "*.json" )

for ( var filePath in filePaths ) {
    it(
        title: "#getFileFromPath( filePath )# is valid JSON",
        data: { filePath: filePath },
        body: ( data ) => {
            var json = fileRead( data.filePath )
            expect( json ).notToBeEmpty()
            expect( isJSON( json ) ).toBeTrue( "File is not valid JSON: #data.filePath#" )
        }
    )
}

Nested and Labeled Suites

describe( "Payment processing", { labels: "integration,payments" }, () => {

    describe( "Credit cards", { labels: "credit" }, () => {
        it( "charges a card successfully", { labels: "happy-path" }, () => {
            var result = paymentService.charge( fixtures.validCard, 99.99 )
            expect( result.success ).toBeTrue()
            expect( result.transactionId ).notToBeEmpty()
        } )

        it( "declines an expired card", () => {
            expect( () => {
                paymentService.charge( fixtures.expiredCard, 99.99 )
            } ).toThrow( type: "PaymentDeclinedException" )
        } )
    } )

    describe( "Refunds", () => {
        it( "processes a full refund", () => {
            var result = paymentService.refund( fixtures.completedTransaction )
            expect( result.refunded ).toBeTrue()
        } )
    } )

} )

Run with labels: box testbox run labels=credit excludes=slow

Parallel (asyncAll) Suites

describe( "Parallel cache reads", { asyncAll: true }, () => {

    it( "reads product 1", () => {
        var p = productService.getById( 1 )
        expect( p.getId() ).toBe( 1 )
    } )

    it( "reads product 2", () => {
        var p = productService.getById( 2 )
        expect( p.getId() ).toBe( 2 )
    } )

} )

Rules for asyncAll:

  • All spec variables must be locally scoped (var) or in variables with no inter-spec mutation
  • Add CFThread name attributes or unique keys to avoid lock collisions
  • Reserve for IO-bound or concurrency-sensitive behavior; do not over-parallelize

Key Functions Quick Reference

Function Alias(es) Description
describe( title, body, [labels], [asyncAll], [skip] ) story, feature, scenario, given, when Define a test suite
it( title, body, [labels], [skip], [data] ) then Define a spec / test case
beforeAll( body ) — Run once before all specs in the bundle
afterAll( body ) — Run once after all specs in the bundle
beforeEach( body, [data] ) — Run before each spec in the suite
afterEach( body, [data] ) — Run after each spec in the suite
aroundEach( body ) — Wrap each spec (transaction rollback pattern)
expect( actual ) — Start a fluent expectation chain
expectAll( collection ) — Assert every element in an array/struct
skip( [message], [detail] ) — Skip the current spec or suite inline
addMatchers( matchers ) — Register custom matchers
getInstance( name ) — Shortcut for WireBox getInstance()
debug( var, [label] ) — Output a variable to the debug panel

CommandBox Scaffolding

# Create a new BDD spec
coldbox create bdd name=UserServiceSpec open=true

# Create with handler integration
coldbox create integration-test handler=users