Send variable to view in request spec - ruby-on-rails

Question

I'm working on my first complex test, and I need some help.
I need to create a user, sign him in, and fill a form as him. The page raises an error: undefined method first_name for nil:nilClass
Both functions are pretty easy, here is the test:
it "simulates creator onboard" do
#user = FactoryGirl.create(:user)
puts #user.onboard_token.size
visit onboard_path(:token => #user.onboard_token)
puts #user.nil?
expect(#user.active).to eq(false)
click_on('step-forward')
find('input[name="user[password"]').set "12345678"
find('input[name="user[password_confirmation"]').set "12346578"
find('input[name="commit"]').click
expect(response).to redirect_to(root_path)
expect(#user.active).to eq(true)
end
And here is the controller function:
def onboard
authorize(:user, :onboard?)
if params[:token].present?
if params[:token] != nil && params[:token].size == 40 && !User.where(onboard_token: params[:token]).empty?
#user = User.find_by_onboard_token(params[:token])
end
if !#user.nil?
sign_in(:user, #user)
#brand = #user.profile
sign_out(:user)
end
else
sign_out(:user)
redirect_to root_path
end
end
For some reason, it appears that the #user variable is not passed to the view. I made sure it is not nil, made sure to use the correct capybara functions, but still, #user is nil in view.
Did I miss something ?

Answer 1

Since you're using Selenium with Capybara this test has a number of issues
Objects created in the test thread aren't visible in the app thread if you're using transactional testing - https://github.com/jnicklas/capybara#transactions-and-database-setup
Actions in Capybara are asynchronous so trying to test values on an object immediately after triggering the action (without some kind of expecation on displayed content to make sure the action has completed) is going to be flaky
You can't use visit and 'response' at the same time
An object that is present? can't be nil
If there is a token but no user matches it your code with still attempt to render the view but with no #user and no #brand
To solve these you need to set up something like DatabaseCleaner and make sure you're using truncation or deletion strategy for tests using the selenium driver. That will allow objects created in the test thread to be visible in the app (in your case the user). Then your test should be something more like
it "simulates creator onboard" do
#user = FactoryGirl.create(:user)
visit onboard_path(:token => #user.onboard_token)
#You need to expect for something that should be on the screen before checking user.active - since this can occur before the visit has actually done anything
#expect(#user.reload.active).to eq(false)
click_on('step-forward')
find('input[name="user[password"]').set "12345678"
find('input[name="user[password_confirmation"]').set "12346578"
find('input[name="commit"]').click
expect(page).to have_current_path(root_path)
expect(#user.reload.active).to eq(true)
end
with a controller more like
def onboard
authorize(:user, :onboard?)
if params[:token].present? && params[:token].size == 40
#user = User.find_by_onboard_token(params[:token])
if !#user.nil?
sign_in(:user, #user)
#brand = #user.profile
sign_out(:user)
else
# do something here because it means the token was invalid
end
else
sign_out(:user)
redirect_to root_path
end