create-test-server

Creates a minimal express server for testing

Inspired by the createServer() helper function in the Got tests.

A simple interface for creating a preconfigured express instance listening for both HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

Ports are chosen at random for HTTP/HTTPS. A self signed certificate is automatically generated, along with an associated CA certificate for you to validate against.

Install

npm install --save-dev create-test-server

Usage

createTestServer() has a Promise based API that pairs well with a modern asynchronous test runner such as AVA.

You can create a separate server per test:

import test from 'ava';
import got from 'got';
import createTestServer from 'create-test-server';

test(async t => {
  const server = await createTestServer();

  console.log(server.url);
  // http://localhost:5486
  console.log(server.sslUrl);
  // https://localhost:5487

  // This is just an express route
  // You could use any express middleware too
  server.get('/foo', (req, res) => res.send('bar'));

  const response = await got(server.url + '/foo');
  t.is(response.body, 'bar');
});

Or share a server across multiple tests:

let server;

test.before(async () => {
  server = await createTestServer();
  server.get('/foo', (req, res) => res.send('bar'));
});

test(async t => {
  const response = await got(server.url + '/foo');
  t.is(response.body, 'bar');
});

test(async t => {
  const response = await got(server.url + '/foo');
  t.is(response.statusCode, 200);
});

You can also make properly authenticated SSL requests by setting a common name for the server certificate and validating against the provided CA certificate:

test(async t => {
  const server = await createTestServer({ certificate: 'foobar.com' });
  server.get('/foo', (req, res) => res.send('bar'));

  const response = await got(server.sslUrl + '/foo', {
    ca: server.caCert,
    headers: { host: 'foobar.com' }
  });
  t.is(response.body, 'bar');
});

You can still make an SSL connection without messing about with certificates if your client supports unauthorised SSL requests:

test(async t => {
  const server = await createTestServer();
  server.get('/foo', (req, res) => res.send('bar'));

  const response = await got(server.sslUrl + '/foo', {
    rejectUnauthorized: false
  });
  t.is(response.body, 'bar');
});

You can also easily stop/restart the server. Notice how a new port is used when we listen again:

const server = await createTestServer();
console.log(server.url);
// 'http://localhost:56711'

await server.close();
console.log(server.url);
// undefined

await server.listen();
console.log(server.url);
// 'http://localhost:56804'

API

createTestServer([options])

Returns a Promise which resolves to an (already listening) server.

options

Type: object

options.certificate

Type: string, object
Default: undefined

SSL certificate options to be passed to createCert().

server

express instance resolved from createTestServer()

This is just a normal express instance with a few extra properties.

server.url

Type: string, undefined

The url you can reach the HTTP server on.

e.g: 'http://localhost:5486'

undefined while the server is not listening.

server.sslUrl

Type: string, undefined

The url you can reach the HTTPS server on.

e.g: 'https://localhost:5487'

undefined while the server is not listening.

server.caCert

Type: string

The CA certificate to validate the server certificate against.

server.listen()

Type: function

Returns a Promise that resolves when both the HTTP and HTTPS servers are listening.

Once the servers are listening, server.url and server.sslUrl will be updated.

Please note, this function doesn't take a port argument, it uses a new randomised port each time. Also, you don't need to manually call this after creating a server, it will start listening automatically.

server.close()

Type: function

Returns a Promise that resolves when both the HTTP and HTTPS servers have stopped listening.

Once the servers have stopped listening, server.url and server.sslUrl will be set to undefined.

Related

• create-cert - Super simple self signed certificates

License

MIT © Luke Childs