How to Write Tests for Plugin

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This article explains how to write Fluentd plugin test code using test-unit.
You can write test code with any other testing framework such as RSpec, minitest, etc.
Basics of Plugin Testing
Fluentd provides useful Test Drivers according to plugin type. We can write maintainable test code for plugins using them. We can write helper.rb for output plugin as follows:
$LOAD_PATH.unshift(File.expand_path("../../", __FILE__))
require "test-unit"
require "fluent/test"
require "fluent/test/driver/output"
require "fluent/test/helpers"
​
Test::Unit::TestCase.include(Fluent::Test::Helpers)
Test::Unit::TestCase.extend(Fluent::Test::Helpers)
Note that Fluentd provides useful Test Drivers for input, output, filter, parser and formatter.
The recommended fluentd plugin project structure is:
.
├── Gemfile
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── Rakefile
├── fluent-plugin-<your_fluentd_plugin_name>.gemspec
├── lib
│   └── fluent
│       └── plugin
│           └── <plugin_type>_<your_fluentd_plugin_name>.rb
└── test
    ├── helper.rb
    └── plugin
        └── test_<plugin_type>_<your_fluentd_plugin_name>.rb
Plugin Test Driver Overview
There are some useful Test Drivers for plugin testing. We can write test code for plugins as following:
# Load the module that defines common initialization method (Required)
require 'fluent/test'
# Load the module that defines helper methods for testing (Required)
require 'fluent/test/helpers'
# Load the test driver (Required)
require 'fluent/test/driver/output'
# Load the plugin (Required)
require 'fluent/plugin/out_file'
​
class FileOutputTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  include Fluent::Test::Helpers
​
  def setup
    Fluent::Test.setup   # Setup test for Fluentd (Required)
    # Setup test for plugin (Optional)
    # ...
  end
​
  def teardown
    # Terminate test for plugin (Optional)
  end
​
  def create_driver(conf = CONFIG)
    Fluent::Test::Driver::Output.new(Fluent::Plugin::FileOutput).configure(conf)
  end
​
  # Configuration related test group
  sub_test_case 'configuration' do
    test 'basic configuration' do
      d = create_driver(basic_configuration)
      assert_equal 'something', d.instance.parameter_name
    end
  end
​
  # Another test group goes here
  sub_test_case 'path' do
    test 'normal' do
      d = create_driver('...')
      d.run(default_tag: 'test') do
        d.feed(event_time, record)
      end
      events = d.events
      assert_equal(1, events.size)
    end
  end
end
Testing Utility Methods
You can get a plugin instance by calling Test Driver instance's #instance method. If utility methods are private, use __send__.
# ...
class FileOutputTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  # ...
  # Group by utility method
  sub_test_case '#compression_suffix' do
    test 'returns empty string for nil (no compression method specified)' do
      d = create_driver
      assert_equal('', d.instance.compression_suffix(nil))
    end
  end
end
Test Driver Base API
The methods in this section are available for all Test Driver.
initialize(klass, opts: {}, &block)
Initializes Test Driver instance.
klass: A class of Fluentd plugin
opts: Overwrite system config. This parameter is useful for testing multi
workers.
block: Customize plugin behavior. We can overwrite plugin code in this
block.
Example:
def create_driver(conf={})
  d = Fluent::Test::Driver::Output.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyOutput) do
    attr_accessor :exceptions
    # Almost same as to reopen plugin class
    def prefer_buffered_processing
      false
    end
    def process(tag, es)
      # Drop events
    end
  end
  d.configure(conf)
end
configure(conf, syntax: :v1)
Configures plugin instance managed by the Test Driver.
conf: Fluent::Config::Element or String
syntax: { :v1, :v0, :ruby } :v0 is obsolete.
Example:
def create_driver(conf={})
  Fluent::Test::Driver::Output.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyOutput).configure(conf)
end
​
def test_process
  conf = %[
    path /path/to/something
    host localhost
    port 24229
  ]
  d = create_driver(conf)
end
end_if(&block)
Registers the conditions to stop the running Test Driver gracefully.
All registered conditions must be true before Test Driver stops.
break_if(&block)
Registers the conditions to stop the running Test Driver.
Test Driver should stop running if some of the breaking conditions are true.
broken?
Returns true when some of the breaking conditions are true. Otherwise false.
run(timeout: nil, start: true, shutdown: true, &block)
Runs the Test Driver. This Test Driver will stop running immediately after evaluating the block if given.
Otherwise, you must register the conditions to stop the running Test Driver.
This method may be overridden in subclasses.
timeout: timeout (seconds)
start: if true, start the Test Driver. Otherwise, invoke instance_start
method to start it.
shutdown: if true, shut down the running Test Driver.
Example:
# Run Test Driver and feed an event (output)
d = create_driver
d.run do
  d.feed(time, record)
end
​
# Emit multiple events (output)
d = create_driver
​
d.run(default_tag: 'test', expect_emits: 1, timeout: 10, start: true,  shutdown: false) { d.feed(time, { "k1" => 1 })}
​
d.run(default_tag: 'test', expect_emits: 1, timeout: 10, start: false, shutdown: false) { d.feed(time, { "k1" => 2 })}
​
d.run(default_tag: 'test', expect_emits: 1, timeout: 10, start: true,  shutdown: true ) { d.feed(time, { "k1" => 3 })}
stop?
Returns true when all the stopping conditions are true. Otherwise false.
logs
Returns logs managed by this Test Driver.
instance
Returns the plugin instance managed by this Test Driver.
Test Driver Base Owner API
filter
output
multi_output
run(expect_emits: nil, expect_records: nil, timeout: nil, start: true, shutdown: true, &block)
Run Test Driver. This Test Driver will stop running immediately after evaluating block if given.
Otherwise, you must register conditions to stop running Test Driver.
This method may be overridden in subclasses.
expect_emits: set the number of expected emits
expect_records: set the number of expected records
timeout: timeout (seconds)
start: if true, start the Test Driver. Otherwise, invoke the
instance_start method to start it.
shutdown: if true, shut down the running Test Driver.
Example:
# Run Test Driver and feed an event (owner plugin)
d = create_driver
d.run do
  d.feed(time, record)
end
​
# Emit multiple events (owner plugin)
d = create_driver
​
d.run(default_tag: 'test', expect_emits: 1, timeout: 10, start: true,  shutdown: false) { d.feed(time, { "k1" => 1 })}
​
d.run(default_tag: 'test', expect_emits: 1, timeout: 10, start: false, shutdown: false) { d.feed(time, { "k1" => 2 })}
​
d.run(default_tag: 'test', expect_emits: 1, timeout: 10, start: true,  shutdown: true ) { d.feed(time, { "k1" => 3 })}
events(tag: nil)
Returns the events filtered by the given tag.
tag: filter by this tag. If omitted, it returns all the events.
event_streams(tag: nil)
Returns the event streams filtered by the given tag.
tag: filter by this tag. If omitted, it returns all the event streams.
emit_count
Returns the number of invoking router.emit.
If you want to delay the stopping of the Test Driver until a certain number of records are emitted, you can use d.run(expected_records: n) instead.
Example:
d.run do
  d.feed('test', record)
end
assert_equal(1, d.emit_count)
record_count
Returns the number of records.
If you want to delay the stopping of the Test Driver until a certain number of records are emitted, you can use d.run(expected_records: n) instead.
error_events(tag: nil)
Returns error events filtered by the given tag.
tag: filter by this tag. If omitted, it returns all error events.
Test Driver Base owned API
configure(conf, syntax: :v1)
Configures plugin instance managed by this Test Driver.
conf: Fluent::Config::Element, String, or Hash
syntax: Supported: { :v1, :v0, :ruby } :v0 is obsolete.
Test Driver Event Feeder API
filter
output
multi_output
run(default_tag: nil, **kwargs, &block)
Runs EventFeeder.
default_tag: the default tag of the event
Example:
d.run(default_tag: 'test') do
  d.feed(event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
end
feed(tag, time, record)
Feeds an event to plugin instance.
tag: the tag of the event
time: event timestamp
record: event record
Example:
d.run do
  d.feed('test', event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
end
feed(tag, array_event_stream)
Feeds an array of event stream to plugin instance.
tag: the tag of the event
array_event_stream: array of [time, record]
time: event timestamp
record: event record
Example:
d.run do
  d.feed('test', [
    [event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, user1!' }],
    [event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, user2!' }]
  ])
end
feed(tag, es)
Feeds an event stream to plugin instance.
tag: the tag of the event
es: event stream object
Example:
es = Fluent::OneEventStream.new(event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
d.run do
  d.feed('test', es)
end
feed(record)
Feeds an event with default tag to plugin instance.
record: event record
Example:
d.run(default_tag: 'test') do
  d.feed({ 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
  # Same as above ^
  d.feed(event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
end
feed(time, record)
Feeds an event with default tag to plugin instance.
time: event timestamp
record: event record
Example:
d.run(default_tag: 'test') do
  d.feed(event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
end
feed(array_event_stream)
Feeds an array of event stream with default tag to plugin instance.
array_event_stream: array of [time, record]
time: event timestamp
record: event record
Example:
d.run(default_tag: 'test') do
  d.feed([
    [event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, user1!' }],
    [event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, user2!' }]
  ])
end
feed(es)
Feeds an event stream with default tag to plugin instance.
es: event stream object
Example:
es = Fluent::OneEventStream.new(event_time, { 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' })
d.run(default_tag: 'test') do
  d.feed(es)
end
Test Driver Filter API
filtered_records
Collects the filtered records.
d = create_driver(config)
d.run do
  d.feed('filter.test', event_time, { 'foo' => 'bar', 'message' => msg })
end
d.filtered_records
Test Driver Output API
run(flush: true, wait_flush_completion: true, force_flush_retry: false, **kwargs, &block)
flush: flush forcibly
wait_flush_completion: if true, waiting for flush to complete
force_flush_retry: if true, retrying flush forcibly
Run Test Driver. This Test Driver will be stop running immediately after evaluating the block if given.
Otherwise, you must register conditions to stop running Test Driver.
Example:
d = create_driver(config)
d.run do
  d.feed('filter.test', event_time, { 'foo' => 'bar', 'message' => msg })
end
formatted
Returns the formatted records.
Example:
d = create_driver(config)
d.run do
  d.feed('filter.test', event_time, { 'foo' => 'bar', 'message' => msg })
end
d.formatted
flush
Flushes forcibly.
Example:
d = create_driver(config)
d.run do
  d.feed('filter.test', event_time, { 'foo' => 'bar', 'message' => msg })
end
d.flush
Test Helpers
assert_equal_event_time(expected, actual, message = nil)
Asserts the EventTime instance.
expected: expected EventTime instance
actual: actual EventTime instance
message: message to display when assertion fails
Example:
parser = create_parser
parser.parse(text) do |time, record|
  assert_equal_event_time(event_time('2017-12-27 09:43:50.123456789'), time)
end
config_element(name = 'test', argument = '', params = {}, elements = [])
Create Fluent::Config::Element instance.
name: element name such as match, filter, source, buffer, inject,
format, parse, etc.
argument: argument for section defined by config_argument
params: parameters for section defined by config_element
elements: child elements of this config element
Example:
conf = config_element('match', '**', {
  'path' => "#{TMP_DIR}/prohibited/${tag}/file.%Y%m%d.log",
}, [
     config_element('buffer', 'time,tag', {
      'time_key' => 86400,
      'timekey_zone' => '+0000'
    })
  ]
)
d = create_driver(conf)
event_time(str = nil, format: nil)
Creates a Fluent::EventTime instance.
str: time represented as String
format: parse str as time according to this format. See also
​Time.strptime.
Example:
time = event_time
time = event_time('2016-10-03 23:58:09 UTC')
time = event_time('2016-04-11 16:40:01 +0000')
time = event_time('2016-04-17 11:15:00 -0700')
time = event_time('2011-01-02 13:14:15')
time = event_time('Sep 11 00:00:00', format: '%b %d %H:%M:%S')
time = event_time('28/Feb/2013:12:00:00 +0900', format: '%d/%b/%Y:%H:%M:%S %z')
time = event_time('2017-02-06T13:14:15.003Z', format: '%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%L%z')
with_timezone(tz, &block)
Processes the given block with tz. This method overrides ENV['TZ'] while processing its block.
tz: timezone. This is set to ENV['TZ'].
Example:
time = with_timezone('UTC+02') do
  parser = Fluent::TimeParser.new('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%N', true)
  parser.parse('2016-09-02 18:42:31.123456789')
end
assert_equal_event_time(time, event_time('2016-09-02 18:42:31.123456789 -02:00', format: '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%N %z'))
with_worker_config(root_dir: nil, workers: nil, worker_id: nil, &block)
Processes block with the given parameters. This method overrides the system configuration while processing its block.
This is useful for testing Fluentd's internal behavior related to multi workers.
root_dir: root directory
workers: the number of workers
worker_id: ID of workers
Example:
class Dummy < Fluent::Plugin::Output
end
​
d = Dummy.new
with_worker_config(workers: 2, worker_id: 1) do
  d.configure(conf)
end
​
# ...
time2str(time, localtime: false, format: nil)
Converts time to String.
This is useful for testing the formatter.
time: Fluent::EventTime instance. See also
​Time.at.
localtime: If true, processes time as localtime. Otherwise UTC.
format: See also
​Time#strftime.
formatter = configure_formatter(conf)
formatted = formatter.format(tag, time, record)
assert_equal("#{time2str(time)}\t#{JSON.dump(record)}\n", formatted)
msgpack(type)
type: Available types: { :factory, :packer, :unpacker }
Shorthand for:
Fluent::MessagePackFactory.factory
Fluent::MessagePackFactory.packer 
Fluent::MessagePackFactory.unpacker
Example:
events = []
factory = msgpack(:factory)
factory.unpacker.feed_each(binary) do |obj|
  events << obj
end
capture_stdout(&block)
Captures the standard output while processing the given block.
This is useful for testing Fluentd utility commands.
Example:
captured_string = capture_stdout do
  # Print something to STDOUT
  puts 'Hello!'
end
​
assert_equal('Hello!\n', capture_stdout)
Testing Input Plugins
You must test the input plugins' router#emit method. But you do not have to test this method explicitly. Its testing code pattern is encapsulated in the Input Test Driver.
You can write input plugins test like this:
require 'fluent/test'
require 'fluent/test/driver/input'
require 'fluent/test/helpers'
require 'fluent/plugin/input_my'
​
class MyInputTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  include Fluent::Test::Helpers
​
  setup do
    Fluent::Test.setup
  end
​
  def create_driver(conf = {})
    Fluent::Test::Driver::Input.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyInput).configure(conf)
  end
​
  test 'emit' do
    d = create_driver(config)
    d.run(timeout: 0.5)
​
    d.events.each do |tag, time, record|
      assert_equal('input.test', tag)
      assert_equal({ 'foo' => 'bar' }, record)
      assert(time.is_a?(Fluent::EventTime))
    end
  end
end
Testing Filter Plugins
You must test filter plugins' #filter method. But you do not have to test this method explicitly. Its testing code pattern is encapsulated in Filter Test Driver.
You can write filter plugins test like this:
require 'fluent/test'
require 'fluent/test/driver/filter'
require 'fluent/test/helpers'
require 'fluent/plugin/filter_my'
​
class MyInputTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  include Fluent::Test::Helpers
​
  setup do
    Fluent::Test.setup
  end
​
  def create_driver(conf = {})
    Fluent::Test::Driver::Filter.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyFilter).configure(conf)
  end
​
  test 'filter' do
    d = create_driver(config)
    time = event_time
    d.run do
      d.feed('filter.test', time, { 'foo' => 'bar', 'message' => msg })
    end
​
    assert_equal(1, d.filtered_records.size)
  end
end
Testing Output Plugins
You must test output plugins' #process or #write or #try_write method. But you do not have to test this method explicitly. Its testing code pattern is encapsulated in the Output Test Driver.
You can write output plugins test like this:
require 'fluent/test'
require 'fluent/test/driver/output'
require 'fluent/test/helpers'
require 'fluent/plugin/output_my'
​
class MyInputTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  include Fluent::Test::Helpers
​
  setup do
    Fluent::Test.setup
  end
​
  def create_driver(conf = {})
    Fluent::Test::Driver::Output.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyOutput).configure(conf)
  end
​
  test 'emit' do
    d = create_driver(config)
    time = event_time
    d.run do
      d.feed('output.test', time, { 'foo' => 'bar', 'message' => msg })
    end
​
    assert_equal(1, d.events.size)
  end
end
Testing Parser Plugins
You must test the parser plugins' #parse method.
You can write parser plugins test like this:
require 'fluent/test'
require 'fluent/test/driver/parser'
require 'fluent/test/helpers'
require 'fluent/plugin/parser_my'
​
class MyParserTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  include Fluent::Test::Helpers
​
  setup do
    Fluent::Test.setup
  end
​
  def create_driver(conf = {})
    Fluent::Test::Driver::Parser.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyParser).configure(conf)
  end
​
  def create_parser(conf)
    create_driver(conf).instance
  end
​
  test 'parse' do
    parser = create_parser(conf)
    parser.parse(text) do |time, record|
      assert_equal(event_time('2017-12-26 11:56:50.1234567879'), time)
      assert_equal({ 'message' => 'Hello, Fluentd!' }, record)
    end
  end
end
Testing Formatter Plugins
You must test the formatter plugins' #format method.
You can write formatter plugins test like this:
require 'fluent/test'
require 'fluent/test/driver/formatter'
require 'fluent/test/helpers'
require 'fluent/plugin/formatter_my'
​
class MyFormatterTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  include Fluent::Test::Helpers
​
  setup do
    Fluent::Test.setup
  end
​
  def create_driver(conf = {})
    Fluent::Test::Driver::Formatter.new(Fluent::Plugin::MyFormatter).configure(conf)
  end
​
  def create_formatter(conf)
    create_driver(conf).instance
  end
​
  test 'format' do
    formatter = create_formatter(conf)
    formatted = formatter.format(tag, time, record)
    assert_equal('message:awesome\tgreeting:hello', formatted)
  end
end
Tests for Logs
Testing logs is easy.
Code example:
# d is a Test Driver instance
assert_equal(1, d.logs.size)
logs = d.logs
​
assert do
  logs.any? { |log| log.include?(expected_log) }
end
​
assert do
  logs.last.match?(/This is last log/)
end
If this article is incorrect or outdated, or omits critical information, please let us know. Fluentd is an open-source project under Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). All components are available under the Apache 2 License.
How to Write Service Discovery Plugin
Configuration Parameter Types
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On this page
Basics of Plugin Testing
Plugin Test Driver Overview
Testing Utility Methods
Test Driver Base API
initialize(klass, opts: {}, &block)
configure(conf, syntax: :v1)
end_if(&block)
break_if(&block)
broken?
run(timeout: nil, start: true, shutdown: true, &block)
stop?
logs
instance
Test Driver Base Owner API
run(expect_emits: nil, expect_records: nil, timeout: nil, start: true, shutdown: true, &block)
events(tag: nil)
event_streams(tag: nil)
emit_count
record_count
error_events(tag: nil)
Test Driver Base owned API
configure(conf, syntax: :v1)
Test Driver Event Feeder API
run(default_tag: nil, **kwargs, &block)
feed(tag, time, record)
feed(tag, array_event_stream)
feed(tag, es)
feed(record)
feed(time, record)
feed(array_event_stream)
feed(es)
Test Driver Filter API
filtered_records
Test Driver Output API
run(flush: true, wait_flush_completion: true, force_flush_retry: false, **kwargs, &block)
formatted
flush
Test Helpers
assert_equal_event_time(expected, actual, message = nil)
config_element(name = 'test', argument = '', params = {}, elements = [])
event_time(str = nil, format: nil)
with_timezone(tz, &block)
with_worker_config(root_dir: nil, workers: nil, worker_id: nil, &block)
time2str(time, localtime: false, format: nil)
msgpack(type)
capture_stdout(&block)
Testing Input Plugins
Testing Filter Plugins
Testing Output Plugins
Testing Parser Plugins
Testing Formatter Plugins
Tests for Logs