dotnet-integration-testing

Integration Test Setup

Overview

Integration tests verify the full request pipeline:

• WebApplicationFactory - In-memory test server
• Testcontainers - Real PostgreSQL in Docker
• Respawn - Fast database cleanup between tests
• Authentication helpers - Test with different users/roles

Quick Reference

| Component | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | IntegrationTestWebAppFactory | Custom test server factory | | BaseIntegrationTest | Base class for all tests | | Respawner | Database cleanup utility | | TestAuthHandler | Fake authentication handler |

Test Project Structure

tests/
└── {name}.Api.IntegrationTests/
    ├── Infrastructure/
    │   ├── IntegrationTestWebAppFactory.cs
    │   ├── BaseIntegrationTest.cs
    │   ├── TestAuthHandler.cs
    │   └── FakeUserContext.cs
    ├── {Feature}/
    │   ├── Create{Entity}Tests.cs
    │   └── Get{Entity}Tests.cs
    └── {name}.Api.IntegrationTests.csproj

Template: Test Project File

<!-- tests/{name}.Api.IntegrationTests/{name}.Api.IntegrationTests.csproj -->
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>
    <IsTestProject>true</IsTestProject>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="FluentAssertions" Version="6.12.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing" Version="8.0.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.8.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Respawn" Version="6.1.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="Testcontainers.PostgreSql" Version="3.6.0" />
    <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.6.2" />
    <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.5.4">
      <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
      <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
    </PackageReference>
  </ItemGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <ProjectReference Include="..\..\src\{name}.api\{name}.api.csproj" />
    <ProjectReference Include="..\..\src\{name}.infrastructure\{name}.infrastructure.csproj" />
  </ItemGroup>

</Project>

Template: WebApplicationFactory

// tests/{name}.Api.IntegrationTests/Infrastructure/IntegrationTestWebAppFactory.cs
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.TestHost;
using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Extensions;
using Testcontainers.PostgreSql;
using {name}.infrastructure;

namespace {name}.Api.IntegrationTests.Infrastructure;

public class IntegrationTestWebAppFactory 
    : WebApplicationFactory<Program>, IAsyncLifetime
{
    private readonly PostgreSqlContainer _dbContainer = new PostgreSqlBuilder()
        .WithImage("postgres:15-alpine")
        .WithDatabase("testdb")
        .WithUsername("postgres")
        .WithPassword("postgres")
        .Build();

    protected override void ConfigureWebHost(IWebHostBuilder builder)
    {
        builder.ConfigureTestServices(services =>
        {
            // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
            // REPLACE DATABASE WITH TEST CONTAINER
            // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
            
            services.RemoveAll(typeof(DbContextOptions<ApplicationDbContext>));

            services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
            {
                options.UseNpgsql(_dbContainer.GetConnectionString());
            });

            // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
            // REPLACE AUTHENTICATION WITH TEST HANDLER
            // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
            
            services.AddAuthentication(options =>
            {
                options.DefaultAuthenticateScheme = TestAuthHandler.SchemeName;
                options.DefaultChallengeScheme = TestAuthHandler.SchemeName;
            })
            .AddScheme<TestAuthSchemeOptions, TestAuthHandler>(
                TestAuthHandler.SchemeName,
                options => { });

            // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
            // REPLACE EXTERNAL SERVICES WITH FAKES
            // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
            
            // services.RemoveAll<IEmailService>();
            // services.AddSingleton<IEmailService, FakeEmailService>();
        });

        builder.UseEnvironment("Testing");
    }

    public async Task InitializeAsync()
    {
        await _dbContainer.StartAsync();
        
        // Apply migrations
        using var scope = Services.CreateScope();
        var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<ApplicationDbContext>();
        await dbContext.Database.MigrateAsync();
    }

    public new async Task DisposeAsync()
    {
        await _dbContainer.StopAsync();
    }
}

Template: Test Authentication Handler

// tests/{name}.Api.IntegrationTests/Infrastructure/TestAuthHandler.cs
using System.Security.Claims;
using System.Text.Encodings.Web;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;

namespace {name}.Api.IntegrationTests.Infrastructure;

public class TestAuthSchemeOptions : AuthenticationSchemeOptions
{
    public Guid? UserId { get; set; }
    public string? Email { get; set; }
    public string[]? Roles { get; set; }
    public string[]? Permissions { get; set; }
}

public class TestAuthHandler : AuthenticationHandler<TestAuthSchemeOptions>
{
    public const string SchemeName = "TestScheme";
    public const string TestUserIdHeader = "X-Test-User-Id";
    public const string TestUserEmailHeader = "X-Test-User-Email";
    public const string TestUserRolesHeader = "X-Test-User-Roles";
    public const string TestUserPermissionsHeader = "X-Test-User-Permissions";

    public TestAuthHandler(
        IOptionsMonitor<TestAuthSchemeOptions> options,
        ILoggerFactory logger,
        UrlEncoder encoder)
        : base(options, logger, encoder)
    {
    }

    protected override Task<AuthenticateResult> HandleAuthenticateAsync()
    {
        // Check for test headers
        if (!Request.Headers.TryGetValue(TestUserIdHeader, out var userIdHeader))
        {
            return Task.FromResult(AuthenticateResult.NoResult());
        }

        if (!Guid.TryParse(userIdHeader, out var userId))
        {
            return Task.FromResult(AuthenticateResult.Fail("Invalid user ID"));
        }

        var claims = new List<Claim>
        {
            new(ClaimTypes.NameIdentifier, userId.ToString()),
            new("sub", userId.ToString())
        };

        // Add email
        if (Request.Headers.TryGetValue(TestUserEmailHeader, out var emailHeader))
        {
            claims.Add(new Claim(ClaimTypes.Email, emailHeader.ToString()));
            claims.Add(new Claim("email", emailHeader.ToString()));
        }

        // Add roles
        if (Request.Headers.TryGetValue(TestUserRolesHeader, out var rolesHeader))
        {
            foreach (var role in rolesHeader.ToString().Split(','))
            {
                claims.Add(new Claim(ClaimTypes.Role, role.Trim()));
            }
        }

        // Add permissions
        if (Request.Headers.TryGetValue(TestUserPermissionsHeader, out var permissionsHeader))
        {
            foreach (var permission in permissionsHeader.ToString().Split(','))
            {
                claims.Add(new Claim("permission", permission.Trim()));
            }
        }

        var identity = new ClaimsIdentity(claims, SchemeName);
        var principal = new ClaimsPrincipal(identity);
        var ticket = new AuthenticationTicket(princi