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Send requests to REST API

HttpModule is used to test the REST API. It allows you to serialize objects, request at a specified URL, set the necessary headers, and provide access to the response.

Simple Request

Let's say we have a simple EmployeeController with a GetAll() action that returns a list of all employees.

csharp
[ApiController]
[Route("api/employee")]
public class EmployeeController : ControllerBase
{
    private IEmployeeRepository _employeeRepository;

    public EmployeeController(IEmployeeRepository employeeRepository)
    {
        _employeeRepository = employeeRepository;
    }
    
    [Route("all")]
    [HttpGet]
    public async Task<IActionResult> GetAll()
    {
        return Ok(await _employeeRepository.GetAll());
    }

}

IFlueFlameHttpHost provides access to HttpModule via Get, Post, Delete, etc. properties. HttpModule contains methods for setting up an HTTP request and a Send() method for sending a request.

csharp
[Test]
public void GetReturnsOk()
{
    HttpHost.Get
        .Url("/api/employee/all")
        .Send()
}

Request with Query

Let's add a GetByOlderThan action to our EmployeeController that returns employees older than a certain age:

csharp
[Route("older-than")]
[HttpGet]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetByOlderThan([FromQuery(Name = "olderThan"), Range(18, 99)] int olderThan)
{
    if(ModelState.IsValid)
        return Ok(await _employeeRepository.OlderThan(olderThan));
    return BadRequest(ModelState);
}

The AddQuery() method is used to add parameters.

csharp
[Test]
public void GetWithQueryReturnsOk()
{
    HttpHost.Get
        .Url("/api/employee/older-than")
        .AddQuery("olderThan", 45)
        .Send()
}

Request with body

We have an Create action in our EmployeeController that adds a new employee to the database:

csharp
[Route("")]
[HttpPost]
public async Task<IActionResult> Create([FromBody] Employee employee)
{
    if(!ModelState.IsValid)
        return BadRequest(ModelState);
    return Ok(await _employeeRepository.Add(employee));
}

To set the request body, you can call the Json(), Xml() or Text() methods of the HttpModule. They will also set the appropriate ContentType and Accept headers.

csharp
private static Employee ValidEmployee => new()
{
    Age = 23,
    Position = "Php Junior Developer",
    FullName = "Alex Grow"
};
        
[Test]
public void PostReturnsOk()
{
     HttpHost.Post
        .Url("/api/employee")
        .Json(ValidEmployee)
        .Send()
}

The serializer specified in TestApplicationBuilder will be used for serialization. System.Text used by default.

TIP

We don't recommend instantiating an object inside a test, as shown below, as this makes the test less readable.

csharp
[Test]
public void PostReturnsOk()
{
     HttpHost.Post
        .Url("/api/employee")
        .Json(new Employee() 
        {       
            Age = 23,
            Position = "Php Junior Developer",
            FullName = "Alex Grow"
        })
        .Send()
}