integration-testing-http

Integration testing (HTTP)

Use this skill when

• Adding or changing HTTP handlers, middleware, auth enforcement, or request/response shapes.
• Adding end-to-end test coverage for an endpoint contract (status codes, validation, side effects).
• Debugging integration-test failures specific to HTTP behaviour rather than domain logic.

Do not use this skill when

• The failure is clearly at the unit-test layer (use testing-workflows).
• The change is to the OpenAPI spec only with no handler work (use http-api-openapi).
• Compile errors come from stale generated code (run code-generation first).

Inputs to gather

• The endpoint(s) being asserted and their documented status codes.
• Whether auth is required and the shape of the token/cookie under test.
• The integration-test runner entrypoint for this repository and its DB bootstrap.

First move

• Run the targeted integration test with -v and read the real request/response output before proposing fixes.

Outputs

• Targeted HTTP integration tests or assertions covering the touched endpoint's status codes, auth behavior, request validation, response shape, and side effects.
• New or updated integration cases for changed endpoints, including OpenAPI-aligned expectations when the contract also changed.
• Narrow test rerun results plus broader suite status when shared handlers or middleware were affected.

Catalog position

• Start with testing-workflows for the default test/debug loop.
• Use this when the main risk is HTTP behaviour: endpoint contracts, auth enforcement, validation, or response shapes.
• Pair with http-api-openapi when handler changes and spec changes must stay in sync.

Run

make test-integration
# or targeted:
go test -v -run TestE2E ./path/to/server/pkg/

What integration tests must assert

For every endpoint touched, verify:

Concern	What to assert
Status codes	Happy path + all documented error cases
Auth	Unauthenticated → 401; invalid token → 401 or 403
Request validation	Missing/invalid fields → 400 with error body
Response schema	Required fields present, correct types
Side effects	DB state, events, or derived data match expectations

Adding tests for a new or changed endpoint

1. Update the OpenAPI spec and validate it.
2. Add integration tests covering:
   • Successful request (happy path)
   • Auth failure (missing token + invalid token, if the endpoint requires auth)
   • Input validation failure (malformed or missing required fields)
   • Edge cases specific to the endpoint's logic
3. Run make test-integration — all must pass before merging.

Workflow

See the body and references for HTTP contract testing steps.

Guardrails

• Integration tests use a real or in-memory DB — do not mock the DB layer in integration tests.
• Each test or suite must start from a clean, isolated state — never share mutable state between tests.
• Tests must be order-independent; never rely on execution order.
• Assert auth enforcement explicitly for every endpoint that requires it.

Debugging failures

1. If compile errors appear in generated packages → make generate, then retry.
2. Run with -v to see full request/response output for the failing test.
3. If DB-related failures occur → verify the test DB is initialised and migrations are applied.

Validation

• Run the narrow HTTP integration test or suite that covers the changed endpoint first.
• Confirm status codes, auth behavior, request validation, response shape, and error body assertions are explicit.
• Re-run the repository's broader test target when handler or middleware changes affect shared paths.

Support files

• Read references/examples.md when you need concrete user utterances, expected behaviour, or a model answer shape to mirror.
• Read references/edge-cases.md when the request is a near miss, partially matches this skill, or the first attempt fails.