7. Contract DSL

You can add a description to your contract that is nothing else but an arbitrary text. Example:

		org.springframework.cloud.contract.spec.Contract.make {
			description('''
given:
	An input
when:
	Sth happens
then:
	Output
''')
		}

You can provide a name of your contract. Let’s assume that you’ve provided a name should register a user. If you do this then the name of the autogenerated test will be equal to validate_should_register_a_user. Also the name of the stub will be should_register_a_user.json in case of a WireMock stub.

	Important
	Please ensure that the name doesn’t contain any characters that will make the generated test not possible to compile. Also remember that if you provide the same name for multiple contracts then your autogenerated tests will fail to compile and your generated stubs will override each other.

If you want to ignore a contract you can either set a value of ignored contracts in the plugin configuration or just set the ignored property on the contract itself:

org.springframework.cloud.contract.spec.Contract.make {
	ignored()
}

You can set the properties inside the body either via the value method

value(consumer(...), producer(...))
value(c(...), p(...))
value(stub(...), test(...))
value(client(...), server(...))

or if you’re using the Groovy map notation for body you can use the $() method

$(consumer(...), producer(...))
$(c(...), p(...))
$(stub(...), test(...))
$(client(...), server(...))

All of the aforementioned approaches are equal. That means that stub and client methods are aliases over the consumer method. Let’s take a closer look at what we can do with those values in the subsequent sections.

You can use regular expressions to write your requests in Contract DSL. It is particularly useful when you want to indicate that a given response should be provided for requests that follow a given pattern. Also, you can use it when you need to use patterns and not exact values both for your test and your server side tests.

Please see the example below:

org.springframework.cloud.contract.spec.Contract.make {
	request {
		method('GET')
		url $(consumer(~/\/[0-9]{2}/), producer('/12'))
	}
	response {
		status 200
		body(
				id: $(anyNumber()),
				surname: $(
						consumer('Kowalsky'),
						producer(regex('[a-zA-Z]+'))
				),
				name: 'Jan',
				created: $(consumer('2014-02-02 12:23:43'), producer(execute('currentDate(it)'))),
				correlationId: value(consumer('5d1f9fef-e0dc-4f3d-a7e4-72d2220dd827'),
						producer(regex('[a-fA-F0-9]{8}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{12}'))
				)
		)
		headers {
			header 'Content-Type': 'text/plain'
		}
	}
}

You can also provide only one side of the communication using a regular expression. If you do that then automatically we’ll provide the generated string that matches the provided regular expression. For example:

org.springframework.cloud.contract.spec.Contract.make {
	request {
		method 'PUT'
		url value(consumer(regex('/foo/[0-9]{5}')))
		body([
			requestElement: $(consumer(regex('[0-9]{5}')))
		])
		headers {
			header('header', $(consumer(regex('application\\/vnd\\.fraud\\.v1\\+json;.*'))))
		}
	}
	response {
		status 200
		body([
			responseElement: $(producer(regex('[0-9]{7}')))
		])
		headers {
			contentType("application/vnd.fraud.v1+json")
		}
	}
}

In this example for request and response the opposite side of the communication will have the respective data generated.

Spring Cloud Contract comes with a series of predefined regular expressions that you can use in your contracts.

protected static final Pattern TRUE_OR_FALSE = Pattern.compile(/(true|false)/)
protected static final Pattern ONLY_ALPHA_UNICODE = Pattern.compile(/[\p{L}]*/)
protected static final Pattern NUMBER = Pattern.compile('-?\\d*(\\.\\d+)?')
protected static final Pattern IP_ADDRESS = Pattern.compile('([01]?\\d\\d?|2[0-4]\\d|25[0-5])\\.([01]?\\d\\d?|2[0-4]\\d|25[0-5])\\.([01]?\\d\\d?|2[0-4]\\d|25[0-5])\\.([01]?\\d\\d?|2[0-4]\\d|25[0-5])')
protected static final Pattern HOSTNAME_PATTERN = Pattern.compile('((http[s]?|ftp):/)/?([^:/\\s]+)(:[0-9]{1,5})?')
protected static final Pattern EMAIL = Pattern.compile('[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,6}')
protected static final Pattern URL = UrlHelper.URL
protected static final Pattern UUID = Pattern.compile('[a-f0-9]{8}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{12}')
protected static final Pattern ANY_DATE = Pattern.compile('(\\d\\d\\d\\d)-(0[1-9]|1[012])-(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])')
protected static final Pattern ANY_DATE_TIME = Pattern.compile('([0-9]{4})-(1[0-2]|0[1-9])-(3[01]|0[1-9]|[12][0-9])T(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])')
protected static final Pattern ANY_TIME = Pattern.compile('(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])')
protected static final Pattern NON_EMPTY = Pattern.compile(/[\S\s]+/)
protected static final Pattern NON_BLANK = Pattern.compile(/^\s*\S[\S\s]*/)
protected static final Pattern ISO8601_WITH_OFFSET = Pattern.compile(/([0-9]{4})-(1[0-2]|0[1-9])-(3[01]|0[1-9]|[12][0-9])T(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])(\.\d{3})?(Z|[+-][01]\d:[0-5]\d)/)

protected static Pattern anyOf(String... values){
	return Pattern.compile(values.collect({"^$it\$"}).join("|"))
}

String onlyAlphaUnicode() {
	return ONLY_ALPHA_UNICODE.pattern()
}

String number() {
	return NUMBER.pattern()
}

String anyBoolean() {
	return TRUE_OR_FALSE.pattern()
}

String ipAddress() {
	return IP_ADDRESS.pattern()
}

String hostname() {
	return HOSTNAME_PATTERN.pattern()
}

String email() {
	return EMAIL.pattern()
}

String url() {
	return URL.pattern()
}

String uuid(){
	return UUID.pattern()
}

String isoDate() {
	return ANY_DATE.pattern()
}

String isoDateTime() {
	return ANY_DATE_TIME.pattern()
}

String isoTime() {
	return ANY_TIME.pattern()
}

String iso8601WithOffset() {
	return ISO8601_WITH_OFFSET.pattern()
}

String nonEmpty() {
	return NON_EMPTY.pattern()
}

String nonBlank() {
	return NON_BLANK.pattern()
}

so in your contract you can use it like this

Contract dslWithOptionalsInString = Contract.make {
	priority 1
	request {
		method POST()
		url '/users/password'
		headers {
			contentType(applicationJson())
		}
		body(
				email: $(consumer(optional(regex(email()))), producer('[email protected]')),
				callback_url: $(consumer(regex(hostname())), producer('http://partners.com'))
		)
	}
	response {
		status 404
		headers {
			contentType(applicationJson())
		}
		body(
				code: value(consumer("123123"), producer(optional("123123"))),
				message: "User not found by email = [${value(producer(regex(email())), consumer('[email protected]'))}]"
		)
	}
}

It is possible to provide optional parameters in your contract. It’s only possible to have optional parameter for the:

Example:

org.springframework.cloud.contract.spec.Contract.make {
	priority 1
	request {
		method 'POST'
		url '/users/password'
		headers {
			contentType(applicationJson())
		}
		body(
				email: $(consumer(optional(regex(email()))), producer('[email protected]')),
				callback_url: $(consumer(regex(hostname())), producer('http://partners.com'))
		)
	}
	response {
		status 404
		headers {
			header 'Content-Type': 'application/json'
		}
		body(
				code: value(consumer("123123"), producer(optional("123123")))
		)
	}
}

By wrapping a part of the body with the optional() method you are in fact creating a regular expression that should be present 0 or more times.

That way for the example above the following test would be generated if you pick Spock:

"""
 given:
  def request = given()
    .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
    .body('''{"email":"[email protected]","callback_url":"http://partners.com"}''')

 when:
  def response = given().spec(request)
    .post("/users/password")

 then:
  response.statusCode == 404
  response.header('Content-Type')  == 'application/json'
 and:
  DocumentContext parsedJson = JsonPath.parse(response.body.asString())
  assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("['code']").matches("(123123)?")
"""

and the following stub:

'''
{
  "request" : {
    "url" : "/users/password",
    "method" : "POST",
    "bodyPatterns" : [ {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.['email'] =~ /([a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,6})?/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.['callback_url'] =~ /((http[s]?|ftp):\\\\/)\\\\/?([^:\\\\/\\\\s]+)(:[0-9]{1,5})?/)]"
    } ],
    "headers" : {
      "Content-Type" : {
        "equalTo" : "application/json"
      }
    }
  },
  "response" : {
    "status" : 404,
    "body" : "{\\"code\\":\\"123123\\",\\"message\\":\\"User not found by email == [not.existing@user.com]\\"}",
    "headers" : {
      "Content-Type" : "application/json"
    }
  },
  "priority" : 1
}
'''

It is also possible to define a method call to be executed on the server side during the test. Such a method can be added to the class defined as "baseClassForTests" in the configuration. Example:

Contract

org.springframework.cloud.contract.spec.Contract.make {
	request {
		method 'PUT'
		url $(consumer(regex('^/api/[0-9]{2}$')), producer('/api/12'))
		headers {
			header 'Content-Type': 'application/json'
		}
		body '''\
				[{
					"text": "Gonna see you at Warsaw"
				}]
			'''
	}
	response {
		body (
				path: $(consumer('/api/12'), producer(regex('^/api/[0-9]{2}$'))),
				correlationId: $(consumer('1223456'), producer(execute('isProperCorrelationId($it)')))
		)
		status 200
	}
}

Base class

abstract class BaseMockMvcSpec extends Specification {

	def setup() {
		RestAssuredMockMvc.standaloneSetup(new PairIdController())
	}

	void isProperCorrelationId(Integer correlationId) {
		assert correlationId == 123456
	}

	void isEmpty(String value) {
		assert value == null
	}

}

	Important
	You can’t use both a String and execute to perform concatenation. E.g. calling header('Authorization', 'Bearer ' + execute('authToken()')) will lead to improper results. To make this work just call header('Authorization', execute('authToken()')) and ensure that the authToken() method returns everything that you need.

The type of the object read from the JSON can be one of the followings depending on the JSON path:

In the request part of the contract you can specify that the body should be taken from a method.

	Important
	You have to provide both the consumer and the producer side and the execute part can be applied for the whole body. Not for parts of it!

Example:

Contract contractDsl = Contract.make {
	request {
		method 'GET'
		url '/something'
		body(
				$(c("foo"), p(execute("hashCode()")))
		)
	}
	response {
		status 200
	}
}

This will result in calling the hashCode() method in the request body. It would more or less like this:

// given:
 MockMvcRequestSpecification request = given()
   .body(hashCode());

// when:
 ResponseOptions response = given().spec(request)
   .get("/something");

// then:
 assertThat(response.statusCode()).isEqualTo(200);

The best situation is to provide fixed values but sometimes you need to reference a request in your response. In order to do this you can profit from the fromRequest() method that allows you to reference a bunch of elements from the HTTP request. You can use the following options:

Let’s take a look at the following contract

Contract contractDsl = Contract.make {
	request {
		method 'GET'
		url('/api/v1/xxxx') {
			queryParameters {
				parameter("foo", "bar")
				parameter("foo", "bar2")
			}
		}
		headers {
			header(authorization(), "secret")
			header(authorization(), "secret2")
		}
		body(foo: "bar", baz: 5)
	}
	response {
		status 200
		headers {
			header(authorization(), "foo ${fromRequest().header(authorization())} bar")
		}
		body(
				url: fromRequest().url(),
				param: fromRequest().query("foo"),
				paramIndex: fromRequest().query("foo", 1),
				authorization: fromRequest().header("Authorization"),
				authorization2: fromRequest().header("Authorization", 1),
				fullBody: fromRequest().body(),
				responseFoo: fromRequest().body('$.foo'),
				responseBaz: fromRequest().body('$.baz'),
				responseBaz2: "Bla bla ${fromRequest().body('$.foo')} bla bla"
		)
	}
}

Running a JUnit test generation will lead in creation of a test looking more or less like this

// given:
 MockMvcRequestSpecification request = given()
   .header("Authorization", "secret")
   .header("Authorization", "secret2")
   .body("{\"foo\":\"bar\",\"baz\":5}");

// when:
 ResponseOptions response = given().spec(request)
   .queryParam("foo","bar")
   .queryParam("foo","bar2")
   .get("/api/v1/xxxx");

// then:
 assertThat(response.statusCode()).isEqualTo(200);
 assertThat(response.header("Authorization")).isEqualTo("foo secret bar");
// and:
 DocumentContext parsedJson = JsonPath.parse(response.getBody().asString());
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("url").isEqualTo("/api/v1/xxxx");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("fullBody").isEqualTo("{\"foo\":\"bar\",\"baz\":5}");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("paramIndex").isEqualTo("bar2");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("responseFoo").isEqualTo("bar");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("authorization2").isEqualTo("secret2");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("responseBaz").isEqualTo(5);
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("responseBaz2").isEqualTo("Bla bla bar bla bla");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("param").isEqualTo("bar");
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("authorization").isEqualTo("secret");

As you can see elements from the request have been properly referenced in the response.

The generated WireMock stub will look more or less like this:

{
  "request" : {
    "urlPath" : "/api/v1/xxxx",
    "method" : "POST",
    "headers" : {
      "Authorization" : {
        "equalTo" : "secret2"
      }
    },
    "queryParameters" : {
      "foo" : {
        "equalTo" : "bar2"
      }
    },
    "bodyPatterns" : [ {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.baz == 5)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.foo == 'bar')]"
    } ]
  },
  "response" : {
    "status" : 200,
    "body" : "{\"url\":\"{{{request.url}}}\",\"param\":\"{{{request.query.foo.[0]}}}\",\"paramIndex\":\"{{{request.query.foo.[1]}}}\",\"authorization\":\"{{{request.headers.Authorization.[0]}}}\",\"authorization2\":\"{{{request.headers.Authorization.[1]}}}\",\"fullBody\":\"{{{escapejsonbody}}}\",\"responseFoo\":\"{{{jsonpath this '$.foo'}}}\",\"responseBaz\":{{{jsonpath this '$.baz'}}} ,\"responseBaz2\":\"Bla bla {{{jsonpath this '$.foo'}}} bla bla\"}",
    "headers" : {
      "Authorization" : "{{{request.headers.Authorization.[0]}}}"
    },
    "transformers" : [ "response-template" ]
  }
}

So sending a request as the one presented in the request part of the contract will lead in sending the following response body

{
  "url" : "/api/v1/xxxx?foo=bar&foo=bar2",
  "param" : "bar",
  "paramIndex" : "bar2",
  "authorization" : "secret",
  "authorization2" : "secret2",
  "fullBody" : "{\"foo\":\"bar\",\"baz\":5}",
  "responseFoo" : "bar",
  "responseBaz" : 5,
  "responseBaz2" : "Bla bla bar bla bla"
}

Important

This feature will work only with WireMock having version greater or equal to 2.5.1. We’re using WireMock’s response-template response transformer. It’s using Handlebars to convert the Mustache {{{ }}} templates into proper values. Additionally we’re registering 2 helper functions. escapejsonbody - that escapes the request body in a format that can be embedded in a JSON. Another is jsonpath that for a given parameter knows how to find an object in the request body.

If you’ve been working with Pact this might seem familiar. Quite a few users are used to having a separation between the body and setting dynamic parts of your contract.

That’s why you can profit from two separate sections. One is called stubMatchers where you can define the dynamic values that should end up in a stub. You can set it in the request or inputMessage part of your contract. The other is called testMatchers which is present in the response or outputMessage side of the contract.

Currently we support only JSON Path based matchers with the following matching possibilities. For stubMatchers:

For testMatchers:

Let’s take a look at the following example:

Contract contractDsl = Contract.make {
	request {
		method 'GET'
		urlPath '/get'
		body([
				duck: 123,
				alpha: "abc",
				number: 123,
				aBoolean: true,
				date: "2017-01-01",
				dateTime: "2017-01-01T01:23:45",
				time: "01:02:34",
				valueWithoutAMatcher: "foo",
				valueWithTypeMatch: "string",
				key: [
						'complex.key' : 'foo'
				]
		])
		stubMatchers {
			jsonPath('$.duck', byRegex("[0-9]{3}"))
			jsonPath('$.duck', byEquality())
			jsonPath('$.alpha', byRegex(onlyAlphaUnicode()))
			jsonPath('$.alpha', byEquality())
			jsonPath('$.number', byRegex(number()))
			jsonPath('$.aBoolean', byRegex(anyBoolean()))
			jsonPath('$.date', byDate())
			jsonPath('$.dateTime', byTimestamp())
			jsonPath('$.time', byTime())
			jsonPath("\$.['key'].['complex.key']", byEquality())
		}
		headers {
			contentType(applicationJson())
		}
	}
	response {
		status 200
		body([
				duck: 123,
				alpha: "abc",
				number: 123,
				aBoolean: true,
				date: "2017-01-01",
				dateTime: "2017-01-01T01:23:45",
				time: "01:02:34",
				valueWithoutAMatcher: "foo",
				valueWithTypeMatch: "string",
				valueWithMin: [
					1,2,3
				],
				valueWithMax: [
					1,2,3
				],
				valueWithMinMax: [
					1,2,3
				],
				valueWithMinEmpty: [],
				valueWithMaxEmpty: [],
				key: [
				        'complex.key' : 'foo'
				]
		])
		testMatchers {
			// asserts the jsonpath value against manual regex
			jsonPath('$.duck', byRegex("[0-9]{3}"))
			// asserts the jsonpath value against the provided value
			jsonPath('$.duck', byEquality())
			// asserts the jsonpath value against some default regex
			jsonPath('$.alpha', byRegex(onlyAlphaUnicode()))
			jsonPath('$.alpha', byEquality())
			jsonPath('$.number', byRegex(number()))
			jsonPath('$.aBoolean', byRegex(anyBoolean()))
			// asserts vs inbuilt time related regex
			jsonPath('$.date', byDate())
			jsonPath('$.dateTime', byTimestamp())
			jsonPath('$.time', byTime())
			// asserts that the resulting type is the same as in response body
			jsonPath('$.valueWithTypeMatch', byType())
			jsonPath('$.valueWithMin', byType {
				// results in verification of size of array (min 1)
				minOccurrence(1)
			})
			jsonPath('$.valueWithMax', byType {
				// results in verification of size of array (max 3)
				maxOccurrence(3)
			})
			jsonPath('$.valueWithMinMax', byType {
				// results in verification of size of array (min 1 & max 3)
				minOccurrence(1)
				maxOccurrence(3)
			})
			jsonPath('$.valueWithMinEmpty', byType {
				// results in verification of size of array (min 0)
				minOccurrence(0)
			})
			jsonPath('$.valueWithMaxEmpty', byType {
				// results in verification of size of array (max 0)
				maxOccurrence(0)
			})
			// will execute a method `assertThatValueIsANumber`
			jsonPath('$.duck', byCommand('assertThatValueIsANumber($it)'))
			jsonPath("\$.['key'].['complex.key']", byEquality())
		}
		headers {
			contentType(applicationJson())
		}
	}
}

In this example we’re providing the dynamic portions of the contract in the matchers sections. For the request part you can see that for all fields but valueWithoutAMatcher we’re setting explicitly the values of regular expressions we’d like the stub to contain. For the valueWithoutAMatcher the verification will take place in the same way as without the usage of matchers - the test will perform an equality check in this case.

For the response side in the testMatchers section we’re defining all the dynamic parts in a similar manner. The only difference is that we have the byType matchers too. In that case we’re checking 4 fields in the way that we’re verifying whether the response from the test has a value whose JSON path matching the given field is of the same type as the one defined in the response body and:

The resulting test would look more or less like this (note that we’re separating the autogenerated assertions and the one from matchers with an and section):

// given:
 MockMvcRequestSpecification request = given()
   .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
   .body("{\"duck\":123,\"alpha\":\"abc\",\"number\":123,\"aBoolean\":true,\"date\":\"2017-01-01\",\"dateTime\":\"2017-01-01T01:23:45\",\"time\":\"01:02:34\",\"valueWithoutAMatcher\":\"foo\",\"valueWithTypeMatch\":\"string\"}");

// when:
 ResponseOptions response = given().spec(request)
   .get("/get");

// then:
 assertThat(response.statusCode()).isEqualTo(200);
 assertThat(response.header("Content-Type")).matches("application/json.*");
// and:
 DocumentContext parsedJson = JsonPath.parse(response.getBody().asString());
 assertThatJson(parsedJson).field("valueWithoutAMatcher").isEqualTo("foo");
// and:
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.duck", String.class)).matches("[0-9]{3}");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.duck", Integer.class)).isEqualTo(123);
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.alpha", String.class)).matches("[\\p{L}]*");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.alpha", String.class)).isEqualTo("abc");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.number", String.class)).matches("-?\\d*(\\.\\d+)?");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.aBoolean", String.class)).matches("(true|false)");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.date", String.class)).matches("(\\d\\d\\d\\d)-(0[1-9]|1[012])-(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.dateTime", String.class)).matches("([0-9]{4})-(1[0-2]|0[1-9])-(3[01]|0[1-9]|[12][0-9])T(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])");
 assertThat(parsedJson.read("$.time", String.class)).matches("(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])");
 assertThat((Object) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithTypeMatch")).isInstanceOf(java.lang.String.class);
 assertThat((Object) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMin")).isInstanceOf(java.util.List.class);
 assertThat((java.lang.Iterable) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMin", java.util.Collection.class)).hasSizeGreaterThanOrEqualTo(1);
 assertThat((Object) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMax")).isInstanceOf(java.util.List.class);
 assertThat((java.lang.Iterable) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMax", java.util.Collection.class)).hasSizeLessThanOrEqualTo(3);
 assertThat((Object) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMinMax")).isInstanceOf(java.util.List.class);
 assertThat((java.lang.Iterable) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMinMax", java.util.Collection.class)).hasSizeBetween(1, 3);
 assertThat((Object) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMinEmpty")).isInstanceOf(java.util.List.class);
 assertThat((java.lang.Iterable) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMinEmpty", java.util.Collection.class)).hasSizeGreaterThanOrEqualTo(0);
 assertThat((Object) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMaxEmpty")).isInstanceOf(java.util.List.class);
 assertThat((java.lang.Iterable) parsedJson.read("$.valueWithMaxEmpty", java.util.Collection.class)).hasSizeLessThanOrEqualTo(0);
 assertThatValueIsANumber(parsedJson.read("$.duck"));

	Important
	Notice that for the byCommand method we are calling the assertThatValueIsANumber. This method needs to be defined in the test base class or should be statically imported to your tests. Notice that the byCommand call was converted to assertThatValueIsANumber(parsedJson.read("$.duck"));. That means that we took the method name and passed the proper JSON path as a parameter to it.

and the WireMock stub like this:

				'''
{
  "request" : {
    "urlPath" : "/get",
    "method" : "POST",
    "headers" : {
      "Content-Type" : {
        "matches" : "application/json.*"
      }
    },
    "bodyPatterns" : [ {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.['valueWithoutAMatcher'] == 'foo')]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.['valueWithTypeMatch'] == 'string')]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$.['list'].['some'].['nested'][?(@.['anothervalue'] == 4)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$.['list'].['someother'].['nested'][?(@.['anothervalue'] == 4)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$.['list'].['someother'].['nested'][?(@.['json'] == 'with value')]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.duck =~ /([0-9]{3})/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.duck == 123)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.alpha =~ /([\\\\p{L}]*)/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.alpha == 'abc')]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.number =~ /(-?\\\\d*(\\\\.\\\\d+)?)/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.aBoolean =~ /((true|false))/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.date =~ /((\\\\d\\\\d\\\\d\\\\d)-(0[1-9]|1[012])-(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]))/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.dateTime =~ /(([0-9]{4})-(1[0-2]|0[1-9])-(3[01]|0[1-9]|[12][0-9])T(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]))/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$[?(@.time =~ /((2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]))/)]"
    }, {
      "matchesJsonPath" : "$.list.some.nested[?(@.json =~ /(.*)/)]"
    } ]
  },
  "response" : {
    "status" : 200,
    "body" : "{\\"duck\\":123,\\"alpha\\":\\"abc\\",\\"number\\":123,\\"aBoolean\\":true,\\"date\\":\\"2017-01-01\\",\\"dateTime\\":\\"2017-01-01T01:23:45\\",\\"time\\":\\"01:02:34\\",\\"valueWithoutAMatcher\\":\\"foo\\",\\"valueWithTypeMatch\\":\\"string\\",\\"valueWithMin\\":[1,2,3],\\"valueWithMax\\":[1,2,3],\\"valueWithMinMax\\":[1,2,3]}",
    "headers" : {
      "Content-Type" : "application/json"
    }
  }
}
'''

	Important
	If you use a matcher then the part of the request / response that the matcher is addressing via the JSON Path will get removed from assertion. In case of verifying a collection you have to create matchers for all elements of the collection.

Let’s look at the following example:

Contract.make {
    request {
        method 'GET'
        url("/foo")
    }
    response {
        status 200
        body(events: [[
                                 operation          : 'EXPORT',
                                 eventId            : '16f1ed75-0bcc-4f0d-a04d-3121798faf99',
                                 status             : 'OK'
                         ], [
                                 operation          : 'INPUT_PROCESSING',
                                 eventId            : '3bb4ac82-6652-462f-b6d1-75e424a0024a',
                                 status             : 'OK'
                         ]
                ]
        )
        testMatchers {
            jsonPath('$.events[0].operation', byRegex('.+'))
            jsonPath('$.events[0].eventId', byRegex('^([a-fA-F0-9]{8}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{12})$'))
            jsonPath('$.events[0].status', byRegex('.+'))
        }
    }
}

This will lead in creating the following test (showing just the assertion section)

and:
	DocumentContext parsedJson = JsonPath.parse(response.body.asString())
	assertThatJson(parsedJson).array("['events']").contains("['eventId']").isEqualTo("16f1ed75-0bcc-4f0d-a04d-3121798faf99")
	assertThatJson(parsedJson).array("['events']").contains("['operation']").isEqualTo("EXPORT")
	assertThatJson(parsedJson).array("['events']").contains("['operation']").isEqualTo("INPUT_PROCESSING")
	assertThatJson(parsedJson).array("['events']").contains("['eventId']").isEqualTo("3bb4ac82-6652-462f-b6d1-75e424a0024a")
	assertThatJson(parsedJson).array("['events']").contains("['status']").isEqualTo("OK")
and:
	assertThat(parsedJson.read("\$.events[0].operation", String.class)).matches(".+")
	assertThat(parsedJson.read("\$.events[0].eventId", String.class)).matches("^([a-fA-F0-9]{8}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{4}-[a-fA-F0-9]{12})\$")
	assertThat(parsedJson.read("\$.events[0].status", String.class)).matches(".+")

As you can see the assertion is malformed. That’s because only the first element of the array got asserted. In order to fix this it’s best to apply the assertion to the whole $.events collection and assert it via the byCommand(…​) method.

The output message can be triggered by calling a method (e.g. a Scheduler was started and a message was sent)

def dsl = Contract.make {
	// Human readable description
	description 'Some description'
	// Label by means of which the output message can be triggered
	label 'some_label'
	// input to the contract
	input {
		// the contract will be triggered by a method
		triggeredBy('bookReturnedTriggered()')
	}
	// output message of the contract
	outputMessage {
		// destination to which the output message will be sent
		sentTo('output')
		// the body of the output message
		body('''{ "bookName" : "foo" }''')
		// the headers of the output message
		headers {
			header('BOOK-NAME', 'foo')
		}
	}
}

In this case the output message will be sent to output if a method called bookReturnedTriggered will be executed. In the message publisher’s side we will generate a test that will call that method to trigger the message. On the consumer side you can use the some_label to trigger the message.

The output message can be triggered by receiving a message.

def dsl = Contract.make {
	description 'Some Description'
	label 'some_label'
	// input is a message
	input {
		// the message was received from this destination
		messageFrom('input')
		// has the following body
		messageBody([
		        bookName: 'foo'
		])
		// and the following headers
		messageHeaders {
			header('sample', 'header')
		}
	}
	outputMessage {
		sentTo('output')
		body([
		        bookName: 'foo'
		])
		headers {
			header('BOOK-NAME', 'foo')
		}
	}
}

In this case the output message will be sent to output if a proper message will be received on the input destination. In the message publisher’s side we will generate a test that will send the input message to the defined destination. On the consumer side you can either send a message to the input destination or use the some_label to trigger the message.

In HTTP you have a notion of client/stub and `server/test notation. You can use them also in messaging but we’re providing also the consumer and produer methods as presented below (note you can use either $ or value methods to provide consumer and producer parts)

Contract.make {
	label 'some_label'
	input {
		messageFrom value(consumer('jms:output'), producer('jms:input'))
		messageBody([
				bookName: 'foo'
		])
		messageHeaders {
			header('sample', 'header')
		}
	}
	outputMessage {
		sentTo $(consumer('jms:input'), producer('jms:output'))
		body([
				bookName: 'foo'
		])
	}
}