Rspec tests keep failing with expected ... got nil - ruby-on-rails

Question

I'm trying to get into TDD and i'm currently struggling with this error message:
UsersController GET 'show' should find the right user
Failure/Error: expect(user).to eq(#user)
expected: #<User id: 1, email: "example#example.com", encrypted_password: "$2a$04$AVGGS0XU1Kjmbdc/iZ86iOq2f4k992boP7xfqcg2nl6...", reset_password_token: nil, reset_password_sent_at: nil, remember_created_at: nil, sign_in_count: 0, current_sign_in_at: nil, last_sign_in_at: nil, current_sign_in_ip: nil, last_sign_in_ip: nil, created_at: "2014-06-08 19:43:41", updated_at: "2014-06-08 19:43:41", name: "Test User", confirmation_token: nil, confirmed_at: "2014-06-08 19:43:41", confirmation_sent_at: nil, unconfirmed_email: nil, account_id: 1, notify: nil>
got: nil
(compared using ==)
# ./spec/controllers/users_controller_spec.rb:28:in `block (3 levels) in <top (required)>'
Here's the particular test:
require 'rails_helper'
include Devise::TestHelpers
describe UsersController do
before (:each) do
#user = FactoryGirl.create(:user)
sign_in #user
end
describe "GET 'show'" do
it "should find the right user" do
get :show, :id => #user.id
puts "user = #{#user.inspect}"
user = assigns(:user)
#assigns(:user).should == #user
puts "assigns user = #{assigns(:user)}"
expect(user).to eq(#user)
end
end
end
Here's the controller:
class UsersController < ApplicationController
...
def show
authorize! :show, #user, :message => 'Not authorized as an administrator.'
#user = current_account.users.find(params[:id])
end
...
end
application_controller.rb:
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
# Prevent CSRF attacks by raising an exception.
# For APIs, you may want to use :null_session instead.
protect_from_forgery with: :exception
check_authorization :unless => :devise_controller?
before_filter :authenticate_user!, :validate_subdomain
helper_method :subdomain, :current_account
layout :set_layout
# This will redirect the user to your 404 page if the account can not be found
# based on the subdomain. You can change this to whatever best fits your
# application.
def validate_subdomain
current_account
end
def current_account
#current_account ||= Account.where(:subdomain => subdomain).first
#puts #current_account
if #current_account.nil?
redirect_to('/accounts/invalid_site')
return
end
#current_account
end
def subdomain
request.subdomain
end
...
end
user factory:
FactoryGirl.define do
factory :user do
name 'Test User'
account_id 1
email 'example#example.com'
password 'changeme'
password_confirmation 'changeme'
# required if the Devise Confirmable module is used
confirmed_at Time.now
end
end
How can I get around this error message? I have a feeling it has something to do with before_filters, but that's just a guess.

Answer 1

Do you have before_filter on your users controller where you need authentication to use the show method? Your before block is making two calls, creating a user and then "sign_in", some kind of authentication. But your test is just to see if the user was created and the show method returns the correct user record with the passed id.
So I would break down your before block. Start by testing that your Factory is being created successfully:
it 'has a valid factory' do
FactoryGirl.create(:user).should eq(true) # or should be_valid..
end
If that passes, I'd comment out any constraint on your users controller (temporarily) for the sign_in method, and test if show receives the id and returns the correct user.
If that passes, then add the constraint back in for validation on your users controller, and figure out how to test your sign_in method. :)

Answer 2

Ok so i figured it out from debugging through the current_account not getting set. I found this answer Rails rspec set subdomain.
I guess i left out a major piece of the puzzle in my original question so i apologize about that as I had no idea that would affect my rspecs.
The trick was to
before(:each) do
#account = FactoryGirl.create(:account)
#request.host = "#{#account.subdomain}.example.com"
end