spec-kemal
Version, currently 1.3.011 versions
- 1.3.0latestMay 4, 2026
- 1.2.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 1.1.1not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 1.1.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 1.0.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 0.5.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 0.4.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 0.3.1not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 0.3.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 0.2.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
- 0.1.0not indexedJun 10, 2026
github.com/kemalcr/spec-kemal
Easy testing for Kemal applications
60 stars
4 dependents
License: MIT
Installation
# Add this to your shard.yml
dependencies:
spec-kemal:
github: kemalcr/spec-kemal
version: ~> 1.3.0Then run:
shards installshard.yml
- Crystal
>= 1.12.0- License
- MIT
- Author
- Serdar Dogruyol <dogruyolserdar@gmail.com>
Dependencies
Development Dependencies
- kemal*github: kemalcr/kemaldev
- kemal-session*github: kemalcr/kemal-sessiondev
README
# spec-kemal
[](https://github.com/kemalcr/spec-kemal/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](https://github.com/kemalcr/spec-kemal/releases)
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
Testing helpers for the [Kemal](https://kemalcr.com) web framework. Write expressive and readable tests for your Kemal applications using Crystal's built-in `spec` library.
## Table of Contents
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
- [API Reference](#api-reference)
- [HTTP Methods](#http-methods)
- [WebSocket testing](#websocket-testing)
- [Response Object](#response-object)
- [Headers](#headers)
- [Request Body](#request-body)
- [Testing Patterns](#testing-patterns)
- [JSON APIs](#json-apis)
- [Form Data](#form-data)
- [Authentication](#authentication)
- [Sessions](#sessions)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [License](#license)
## Installation
Add spec-kemal to your `shard.yml` as a **development dependency**:
```yaml
name: your-kemal-app
version: 0.1.0
dependencies:
kemal:
github: kemalcr/kemal
development_dependencies:
spec-kemal:
github: kemalcr/spec-kemal
```
Then run:
```bash
shards install
```
## Quick Start
### 1. Set up your spec helper
Create or update `spec/spec_helper.cr`:
```crystal
require "spec"
require "spec-kemal"
require "../src/your-kemal-app"
Spec.before_each do
Kemal.config.env = "test"
Kemal.config.setup
end
Spec.after_each do
Kemal.config.clear
end
```
### 2. Write your tests
```crystal
# spec/your-kemal-app_spec.cr
require "./spec_helper"
describe "My Kemal App" do
it "renders the homepage" do
get "/"
response.status_code.should eq 200
response.body.should contain "Welcome"
end
it "creates a new user" do
post "/users", body: {name: "Crystal"}.to_json,
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/json"}
response.status_code.should eq 201
end
end
```
### 3. Run your tests
```bash
KEMAL_ENV=test crystal spec
```
## API Reference
### HTTP Methods
spec-kemal provides helper methods for all standard HTTP verbs:
| Method | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `get(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends a GET request |
| `post(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends a POST request |
| `put(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends a PUT request |
| `patch(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends a PATCH request |
| `delete(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends a DELETE request |
| `head(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends a HEAD request |
| `options(path, headers?, body?)` | Sends an OPTIONS request |
**Parameters:**
- `path : String` - The request path (e.g., `"/users"`, `"/api/v1/posts?page=2"`)
- `headers : HTTP::Headers?` - Optional HTTP headers
- `body : String?` - Optional request body
An additional overload is available for GET with a WebSocket handshake:
- `get(path, headers?, body?, *, websocket : Bool)` — when `websocket` is `true`, builds a valid `Upgrade: websocket` request (see [WebSocket testing](#websocket-testing)).
### WebSocket testing
Kemal exposes WebSockets with `ws "/path"`. spec-kemal splits testing into **handshake-only** (fast, in-memory) and **full duplex** (real upgrade, your `on_message` runs).
| Approach | API | `ws` handler runs? | Typical assertions |
|----------|-----|-------------------|--------------------|
| Handshake only | `get path, websocket: true` or `SpecKemal.process_request` + `websocket_request_headers` | No | **101**, `Sec-WebSocket-Accept`, **400** / **426** on bad requests |
| Messages | `connect_websocket` | Yes | Echo, broadcast, auth via `Origin` / cookies |
Handshake-only requests go through `SpecKemal.process_request`, which does **not** call [HTTP::Server::Response#upgrade_handler](https://crystal-lang.org/api/latest/HTTP/Server/Response.html). That matches normal `get`/`post` helpers: the route is matched and the upgrade response is built, but no WebSocket I/O runs. Use `connect_websocket` whenever you need `socket.on_message`, pings, or closing behavior.
Assume an echo route (adjust the path to your app):
```crystal
ws "/chat" do |socket, _env|
socket.on_message { |message| socket.send message }
end
```
#### Handshake-only (`get …, websocket: true`)
```crystal
get "/chat", websocket: true
response.status_code.should eq 101
response.headers["Upgrade"].should eq "websocket"
```
To assert `Sec-WebSocket-Accept` for a **known** key (RFC 6455 test vector), pass headers from `websocket_request_headers(sec_key:)` into `get` (`connect_websocket` also accepts `sec_key:` for the same purpose):
```crystal
key = "dGhlIHNhbXBsZSBub25jZQ=="
headers = websocket_request_headers(sec_key: key)
get "/chat", headers: headers, websocket: true
response.status_code.should eq 101
response.headers["Sec-WebSocket-Accept"].should eq HTTP::WebSocket::Protocol.key_challenge(key)
```
Invalid handshakes are ordinary HTTP responses — still in-memory (reuse the same `/chat` route):
```crystal
bad = websocket_request_headers
bad.delete "Sec-WebSocket-Key"
SpecKemal.process_request HTTP::Request.new("GET", "/chat", bad)
response.status_code.should eq 400
bad = websocket_request_headers
bad["Sec-WebSocket-Version"] = "7"
SpecKemal.process_request HTTP::Request.new("GET", "/chat", bad)
response.status_code.should eq 426
```
#### Full session (`connect_websocket`)
Runs the real upgrade on a loopback socket pair (UNIX socket pair on Unix-like systems, TCP on Windows), then yields a client [HTTP::WebSocket](https://crystal-lang.org/api/latest/HTTP/WebSocket.html). After the block returns, the client and server I/O are closed. The last `response` is the client’s **101 Switching Protocols** handshake.
Pattern: register `on_message`, **spawn** `client.run` so frames are processed, **yield** once so the fiber starts, then `send` / assert on a `Channel`:
```crystal
connect_websocket "/chat" do |client|
replies = Channel(String).new(1)
client.on_message { |message| replies.send message }
spawn { client.run }
Fiber.yield
client.send "hello"
replies.receive.should eq "hello"
end
response.status_code.should eq 101
```
Optional keyword arguments on `connect_websocket`:
- `headers` — merged after the default WebSocket upgrade headers (e.g. `Authorization`, extra cookies).
- `sec_key` — fixed `Sec-WebSocket-Key` for deterministic `Sec-WebSocket-Accept` checks.
- `origin` — sets `Origin` when your handler rejects unknown origins.
```crystal
connect_websocket "/chat", origin: "https://myapp.test" do |client|
# ...
end
```
For the same handshake object **inside** the block (not only via `response` after), use `inner_connect_websocket` (advanced; see `src/spec-kemal/websocket.cr`).
When you `require "spec-kemal/session"`, cookies from `with_session` apply to both `get(..., websocket: true)` and `connect_websocket`, the same as for normal HTTP helpers.
### Response Object
After making a request, access the response using the `response` method:
```crystal
get "/users"
# Status
response.status_code # => 200
response.status # => HTTP::Status::OK
response.success? # => true
# Body
response.body # => "{\"users\": []}"
# Headers
response.headers # => HTTP::Headers
response.headers["Content-Type"] # => "application/json"
response.content_type # => "application/json"
# Cookies
response.cookies # => HTTP::Cookies
response.cookies["session"] # => HTTP::Cookie
```
### Headers
Pass custom headers to your requests:
```crystal
headers = HTTP::Headers{
"Content-Type" => "application/json",
"Authorization" => "Bearer token123",
"Accept" => "application/json"
}
get "/protected", headers: headers
```
### Request Body
Send data in the request body:
```crystal
# JSON body
post "/api/users",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/json"},
body: {name: "John", email: "john@example.com"}.to_json
# Form-encoded body
post "/login",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"},
body: "username=john&password=secret"
```
## Testing Patterns
### JSON APIs
```crystal
describe "Users API" do
it "returns users as JSON" do
get "/api/users",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Accept" => "application/json"}
response.status_code.should eq 200
response.content_type.should eq "application/json"
users = JSON.parse(response.body)
users.as_a.size.should eq 3
end
it "creates a user" do
payload = {
name: "Alice",
email: "alice@example.com"
}
post "/api/users",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/json"},
body: payload.to_json
response.status_code.should eq 201
user = JSON.parse(response.body)
user["name"].should eq "Alice"
end
it "handles validation errors" do
post "/api/users",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/json"},
body: {name: ""}.to_json
response.status_code.should eq 422
end
end
```
### Form Data
```crystal
describe "Login" do
it "authenticates with valid credentials" do
post "/login",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"},
body: "email=user@example.com&password=secret123"
response.status_code.should eq 302
response.headers["Location"].should eq "/dashboard"
end
end
```
### Authentication
```crystal
describe "Protected Routes" do
it "requires authentication" do
get "/admin/dashboard"
response.status_code.should eq 401
end
it "allows access with valid token" do
headers = HTTP::Headers{
"Authorization" => "Bearer valid-jwt-token"
}
get "/admin/dashboard", headers: headers
response.status_code.should eq 200
end
end
```
### Sessions
For testing session-based features, require the session module:
```crystal
require "spec-kemal/session"
```
**Important:** Configure your session secret before tests:
```crystal
Spec.before_each do
Kemal::Session.config.secret = "your-test-secret"
end
```
Use `with_session` to create an authenticated session:
```crystal
describe "Dashboard" do
it "shows user data from session" do
with_session do |session|
session.int("user_id", 42)
session.string("username", "alice")
get "/dashboard"
response.body.should contain "Welcome, alice"
end
end
it "handles session expiry" do
with_session do |session|
session.int("user_id", 42)
# Session is automatically destroyed after the block
end
get "/dashboard"
response.status_code.should eq 401
end
end
```
**Available session methods:**
```crystal
session.string("key", "value") # String
session.int("key", 42) # Int32
session.bigint("key", 12345_i64) # Int64
session.float("key", 3.14) # Float64
session.bool("key", true) # Bool
session.object("key", my_object) # Any serializable object
```
## Configuration
### Disable Logging
Logging is disabled by default in spec-kemal. To enable it:
```crystal
Kemal.config.logging = true
```
### Error Handling
By default, Kemal rescues errors and renders an error page. For testing, you may want exceptions to propagate:
```crystal
Spec.before_each do
Kemal.config.always_rescue = false
end
```
This is useful when testing error handling:
```crystal
it "raises on invalid input" do
expect_raises(JSON::ParseException) do
post "/api/data",
headers: HTTP::Headers{"Content-Type" => "application/json"},
body: "invalid json"
end
end
```
### Test Environment
Always run tests with `KEMAL_ENV=test`:
```bash
KEMAL_ENV=test crystal spec
```
Or set it in your spec helper:
```crystal
ENV["KEMAL_ENV"] = "test"
```
## Troubleshooting
### "response is nil" Error
Make sure you've made a request before accessing `response`:
```crystal
# Wrong
response.body # Error: response is nil
# Correct
get "/"
response.body # Works!
```
### Tests Interfering with Each Other
Clear Kemal's configuration between tests:
```crystal
Spec.after_each do
Kemal.config.clear
end
```
### Session Not Working
1. Ensure you've required the session module:
```crystal
require "spec-kemal/session"
```
2. Set the session secret:
```crystal
Kemal::Session.config.secret = "test-secret"
```
## Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.
1. Fork it (<https://github.com/kemalcr/spec-kemal/fork>)
2. Create your feature branch (`git checkout -b my-new-feature`)
3. Write tests for your changes
4. Ensure all tests pass (`crystal spec`)
5. Ensure code is formatted (`crystal tool format`)
6. Commit your changes (`git commit -am 'Add some feature'`)
7. Push to the branch (`git push origin my-new-feature`)
8. Create a new Pull Request
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
## Contributors
- [sdogruyol](https://github.com/sdogruyol) - Creator and maintainer
Documentation
Built from the current release. The first visit to a release nobody has asked for starts its build.
Links
This release
- Version
1.3.0- Tagged
- May 4, 2026
- Commit
6357db38ed88- Crystal
>= 1.12.0- Indexed
- yes
Dependents
Repository
github.com/kemalcr/spec-kemal
Metadata
- Created
- Aug 12, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 12, 2026
- Synced
- Aug 12, 2026
- Versions
- 11