ruby-rspec-testing

name	ruby-rspec-testing
description	RSpec 3 patterns: expectations, contexts, shared examples, factories, and request specs. Use when writing or fixing RSpec tests in Ruby or Rails projects.

RSpec Testing

Structure fast, deterministic RSpec suites for Ruby libraries and Rails apps.

When to Use This Skill

• Adding or fixing spec/ examples
• Choosing between unit, request, and system specs
• Factory Bot vs fixtures

Defaults (This Plugin)

• Toolchain: mise — not rbenv, rvm, or asdf directly
• Ruby: 4.0.0+ unless the project pins otherwise
• Rails: 8+ conventions and generators when applicable
• Execution: Prefer mise exec --, bin/rails, bin/rspec, and bundle exec

Core Guidance

1. Layout: spec/models, spec/requests, spec/system — keep system specs few and high-value.

2. Factories: Prefer build_stubbed when persistence is unnecessary; use traits for variants.

3. Request specs over controller specs for Rails HTTP behavior.

4. Matchers: Use composable matchers; avoid testing implementation details (private methods).

5. Time: Use travel_to / ActiveSupport time helpers in Rails; Timecop only if already in project.

6. Run:

mise exec -- bundle exec rspec
mise exec -- bundle exec rspec spec/models/user_spec.rb:42

Quick Commands

mise exec -- bundle exec rspec
mise exec -- bundle exec rspec --format documentation
mise exec -- bundle exec rspec --only-failures

Anti-Patterns

• before(:all) with DB mutations (leaks state)
• Testing Rails callbacks instead of observable behavior
• Giant shared contexts that hide setup

See Also

• rails-testing — Rails-specific test types
• ruby-minitest-testing — Minitest alternative