Package org.springframework.test.context

Annotation Interface TestPropertySource

@Target(TYPE) @Retention(RUNTIME) @Documented @Inherited @Repeatable(TestPropertySources.class) public @interface TestPropertySource
@TestPropertySource is an annotation that can be applied to a test class to configure the locations() of properties files and inlined properties() to be added to the Environment's set of PropertySources for an ApplicationContext for integration tests.

Precedence

Test property sources have higher precedence than those loaded from the operating system's environment or Java system properties as well as property sources added by the application declaratively via @PropertySource or programmatically (for example, via an ApplicationContextInitializer or some other means). Thus, test property sources can be used to selectively override properties defined in system and application property sources. Furthermore, inlined properties() have higher precedence than properties loaded from resource locations(). Note, however, that properties registered via @DynamicPropertySource have higher precedence than those loaded via @TestPropertySource.

Default Properties File Detection

If @TestPropertySource is declared as an empty annotation (i.e., without explicit values for locations() or properties()), an attempt will be made to detect a default properties file relative to the class that declared the annotation. For example, if the annotated test class is com.example.MyTest, the corresponding default properties file is "classpath:com/example/MyTest.properties". If the default cannot be detected, an IllegalStateException will be thrown.

Enabling @TestPropertySource

@TestPropertySource is enabled if the configured context loader honors it. Every SmartContextLoader that is a subclass of either AbstractGenericContextLoader or AbstractGenericWebContextLoader provides automatic support for @TestPropertySource, and this includes every SmartContextLoader provided by the Spring TestContext Framework.

Miscellaneous

  • Typically, @TestPropertySource will be used in conjunction with @ContextConfiguration.
  • @TestPropertySource can be used as a repeatable annotation.
  • This annotation may be used as a meta-annotation to create custom composed annotations, but caution should be taken if this annotation and @ContextConfiguration are combined on a composed annotation since the locations and inheritLocations attributes of both annotations can lead to ambiguity during the attribute resolution process. Note, however, that ambiguity can be avoided via explicit annotation attribute overrides using @AliasFor.
  • As of Spring Framework 5.3, this annotation will be inherited from an enclosing test class by default. See @NestedTestConfiguration for details.
Since:
4.1
Author:
Sam Brannen
See Also:

  • Element Details

    • value

      @AliasFor("locations") String[] value
      Alias for locations().

      This attribute may not be used in conjunction with locations(), but it may be used instead of locations().

      See Also:
      Default:
      {}

    • locations

      @AliasFor("value") String[] locations
      The resource locations of properties files to be loaded into the Environment's set of PropertySources.

      Each location will be added to the enclosing Environment as its own property source, in the order declared (or in the order in which resource locations are resolved when location wildcards are used).

      Supported File Formats

      By default, both traditional and XML-based properties file formats are supported — for example, "classpath:/com/example/test.properties" or "file:/path/to/file.xml". To support a different file format, configure an appropriate PropertySourceFactory.

      Path Resource Semantics

      Each path will be interpreted as a Spring Resource. A plain path — for example, "test.properties" — will be treated as a classpath resource that is relative to the package in which the test class is defined. A path starting with a slash will be treated as an absolute classpath resource, for example: "/org/example/test.xml". A path which references a URL (for example, a path prefixed with classpath:, file:, http:, etc.) will be loaded using the specified resource protocol.

      Property placeholders in paths (i.e., ${...}) will be resolved against the Environment.

      As of Spring Framework 6.1, resource location patterns are also supported — for example, "classpath*:/config/*.properties".

      WARNING: a pattern such as "classpath*:/config/*.properties" may be effectively equivalent to an explicit enumeration of resource locations such as {"classpath:/config/mail.properties", classpath:/config/order.properties"}; however, the two declarations will result in different keys for the context cache since the pattern cannot be eagerly resolved to concrete locations. Consequently, to benefit from the context cache you must ensure that you consistently use either patterns or explicit enumerations of resource locations within your test suite.

      Default Properties File Detection

      See the class-level Javadoc for a discussion on detection of defaults.

      Precedence

      Properties loaded from resource locations have lower precedence than inlined properties().

      This attribute may not be used in conjunction with value(), but it may be used instead of value().

      See Also:
      Default:
      {}

    • inheritLocations

      boolean inheritLocations
      Whether test property source locations() from superclasses and enclosing classes should be inherited.

      The default value is true, which means that a test class will inherit property source locations defined by a superclass or enclosing class. Specifically, the property source locations for a test class will be appended to the list of property source locations defined by a superclass or enclosing class. Thus, subclasses and nested classes have the option of extending the list of test property source locations.

      If inheritLocations is set to false, the property source locations for the test class will shadow and effectively replace any property source locations defined by a superclass or enclosing class.

      In the following example, the ApplicationContext for BaseTest will be loaded using only the "base.properties" file as a test property source. In contrast, the ApplicationContext for ExtendedTest will be loaded using the "base.properties" and "extended.properties" files as test property source locations. 

       @TestPropertySource("base.properties")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class BaseTest {
   // ...
 }

 @TestPropertySource("extended.properties")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class ExtendedTest extends BaseTest {
   // ...
 }

      If @TestPropertySource is used as a repeatable annotation, the following special rules apply.

      1. All @TestPropertySource annotations at a given level in the test class hierarchy (i.e., directly present or meta-present on a test class) are considered to be local annotations, in contrast to @TestPropertySource annotations that are inherited from a superclass.
      2. All local @TestPropertySource annotations must declare the same value for the inheritLocations flag.
      3. The inheritLocations flag is not taken into account between local @TestPropertySource annotations. Specifically, the property source locations for one local annotation will be appended to the list of property source locations defined by previous local annotations. This allows a local annotation to extend the list of test property source locations, potentially overriding individual properties.
      See Also:
      Default:
      true

    • properties

      String[] properties
      Inlined properties in the form of key-value pairs that should be added to the Spring Environment before the ApplicationContext is loaded for the test. All key-value pairs will be added to the enclosing Environment as a single test PropertySource with the highest precedence. As of Spring Framework 6.1, multiple key-value pairs may be specified via a single text block.

      Supported Syntax

      The supported syntax for key-value pairs is the same as the syntax defined for entries in a Java properties file:

      • "key=value"
      • "key:value"
      • "key value"

      WARNING: although properties can be defined using any of the above syntax variants and any number of spaces between the key and the value, it is recommended that you use one syntax variant and consistent spacing within your test suite — for example, consider always using "key = value" instead of "key= value", "key=value", etc. Similarly, if you define inlined properties using text blocks you should consistently use text blocks for inlined properties throughout your test suite. The reason is that the exact strings you provide will be used to determine the key for the context cache. Consequently, to benefit from the context cache you must ensure that you define inlined properties consistently.

      Examples

       // Using an array of strings
 @TestPropertySource(properties = {
     "key1 = value1",
     "key2 = value2"
 })
 @ContextConfiguration
 class MyTests {
   // ...
 }
       // Using a single text block
 @TestPropertySource(properties = """
     key1 = value1
     key2 = value2
     """
 )
 @ContextConfiguration
 class MyTests {
   // ...
 }

      Precedence

      Properties declared via this attribute have higher precedence than properties loaded from resource locations().

      This attribute may be used in conjunction with value() or locations().

      See Also:
      Default:
      {}

    • inheritProperties

      boolean inheritProperties
      Whether inlined test properties() from superclasses and enclosing classes should be inherited.

      The default value is true, which means that a test class will inherit inlined properties defined by a superclass or enclosing class. Specifically, the inlined properties for a test class will be appended to the list of inlined properties defined by a superclass or enclosing class. Thus, subclasses and nested classes have the option of extending the list of inlined test properties.

      If inheritProperties is set to false, the inlined properties for the test class will shadow and effectively replace any inlined properties defined by a superclass or enclosing class.

      In the following example, the ApplicationContext for BaseTest will be loaded using only the inlined key1 property. In contrast, the ApplicationContext for ExtendedTest will be loaded using the inlined key1 and key2 properties. 

       @TestPropertySource(properties = "key1 = value1")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class BaseTest {
   // ...
 }
 @TestPropertySource(properties = "key2 = value2")
 @ContextConfiguration
 public class ExtendedTest extends BaseTest {
   // ...
 }

      If @TestPropertySource is used as a repeatable annotation, the following special rules apply.

      1. All @TestPropertySource annotations at a given level in the test class hierarchy (i.e., directly present or meta-present on a test class) are considered to be local annotations, in contrast to @TestPropertySource annotations that are inherited from a superclass or enclosing class.
      2. All local @TestPropertySource annotations must declare the same value for the inheritProperties flag.
      3. The inheritProperties flag is not taken into account between local @TestPropertySource annotations. Specifically, inlined properties for one local annotation will be appended to the list of inlined properties defined by previous local annotations. This allows a local annotation to extend the list of inlined properties, potentially overriding individual properties.
      See Also:
      Default:
      true

    • encoding

      String encoding
      Specify the character encoding for the given resources — for example, "UTF-8".

      If not specified, the default character encoding of the JVM will be used.

      Since:
      6.1
      Default:
      ""

    • factory

      Class<? extends PropertySourceFactory> factory
      Specify a custom PropertySourceFactory, if any.

      By default, a factory for standard resource files will be used which supports *.properties and *.xml file formats for Properties.

      Since:
      6.1
      See Also:
      Default:
      org.springframework.core.io.support.PropertySourceFactory.class