Reconfigure dependencies when Integration testing ASP.NET Core Web API and EF Core

Question

I'm following this tutorial
Integration Testing with Entity Framework Core and SQL Server

My code looks like this

Integration Test Class

public class ControllerRequestsShould : IDisposable
{
    private readonly TestServer _server;
    private readonly HttpClient _client;
    private readonly YourContext _context;

    public ControllerRequestsShould()
    {
        // Arrange
        var serviceProvider = new ServiceCollection()
            .AddEntityFrameworkSqlServer()
            .BuildServiceProvider();

        var builder = new DbContextOptionsBuilder<YourContext>();

        builder.UseSqlServer($"Server=(localdb)\\mssqllocaldb;Database=your_db_{Guid.NewGuid()};Trusted_Connection=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=true")
            .UseInternalServiceProvider(serviceProvider);

        _context = new YourContext(builder.Options);
        _context.Database.Migrate();

        _server = new TestServer(new WebHostBuilder()
            .UseStartup<Startup>()
            .UseEnvironment(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT")));
        _client = _server.CreateClient();
    }

    [Fact]
    public async Task ReturnListOfObjectDtos()
    {
        // Arrange database data
        _context.ObjectDbSet.Add(new ObjectEntity{ Id = 1, Code = "PTF0001", Name = "Portfolio One" });
        _context.ObjectDbSet.Add(new ObjectEntity{ Id = 2, Code = "PTF0002", Name = "Portfolio Two" });

        // Act
        var response = await _client.GetAsync("/api/route");
        response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();


        // Assert
        var result = Assert.IsType<OkResult>(response);            
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        _context.Dispose();
    }

As I understand it, the .UseStartUp method ensures the TestServer uses my startup class

The issue I'm having is that when my Act statement is hit

var response = await _client.GetAsync("/api/route");

I get an error in my startup class that the connection string is null. I think My understanding of the problem is that when my controller is hit from the client it injects my data repository, which in turn injects the db context.

I think I need to configure the service as part of the new WebHostBuilder section so that it used the context created in the test. But I'm not sure how to do this.

ConfigureServices method in Startup.cs

        public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        // Add framework services
        services.AddMvc(setupAction =>
        {
            setupAction.ReturnHttpNotAcceptable = true;
            setupAction.OutputFormatters.Add(new XmlDataContractSerializerOutputFormatter());
            setupAction.InputFormatters.Add(new XmlDataContractSerializerInputFormatter());
        });

        // Db context configuration
        var connectionString = Configuration["ConnectionStrings:YourConnectionString"];
        services.AddDbContext<YourContext>(options => options.UseSqlServer(connectionString));

        // Register services for dependency injection
        services.AddScoped<IYourRepository, YourRepository>();
    }

Answer 1

Here are two options:

1. Use WebHostBuilder.ConfigureServices

Use WebHostBuilder.ConfigureServices together with WebHostBuilder.UseStartup<T> to override and mock a web application`s DI registrations:

_server = new TestServer(new WebHostBuilder()
    .ConfigureServices(services =>
    {
        services.AddScoped<IFooService, MockService>();
    })
    .UseStartup<Startup>()
);

public class Startup
{
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        //use TryAdd to support mocking IFooService
        services.TryAddTransient<IFooService, FooService>();
    }
}

The key point here is to use TryAdd methods inside the original Startup class. Custom WebHostBuilder.ConfigureServices is called before the original Startup, so the mocks are registered before the original services. TryAdd doesn't do anything if the same interface has already been registered, thus the real services will not be even touched.

More info: Running Integration Tests For ASP.NET Core Apps.

2. Inheritance / new Startup class

Create TestStartup class to re-configure ASP.NET Core DI. You can inherit it from Startup and override only needed methods:

public class TestStartup : Startup
{
    public TestStartup(IHostingEnvironment env) : base(env) { }

    public override void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        //mock DbContext and any other dependencies here
    }
}

Alternatively TestStartup can be created from scratch to keep testing cleaner.

And specify it in UseStartup to run the test server:

_server = new TestServer(new WebHostBuilder().UseStartup<TestStartup>());

This is a complete large example: Integration testing your asp .net core app with an in memory database.