This version is still in development and is not considered stable yet. For the latest stable version, please use Spring Framework 6.2.12!

Context Configuration with Context Customizers

A ContextCustomizer is responsible for customizing the supplied ConfigurableApplicationContext after bean definitions have been loaded into the context but before the context has been refreshed.

A ContextCustomizerFactory is responsible for creating a ContextCustomizer, based on some custom logic which determines if the ContextCustomizer is necessary for a given test class — for example, based on the presence of a certain annotation. Factories are invoked after ContextLoaders have processed context configuration attributes for a test class but before the MergedContextConfiguration is created.

For example, Spring Framework provides the following ContextCustomizerFactory implementation which is registered by default:

MockServerContainerContextCustomizerFactory

Creates a MockServerContainerContextCustomizer if WebSocket support is present in the classpath and the test class or one of its enclosing classes is annotated or meta-annotated with @WebAppConfiguration. MockServerContainerContextCustomizer instantiates a new MockServerContainer and stores it in the ServletContext under the attribute named jakarta.websocket.server.ServerContainer.

Registering ContextCustomizerFactory Implementations

You can register ContextCustomizerFactory implementations explicitly for a test class, its subclasses, and its nested classes by using the @ContextCustomizerFactories annotation. See annotation support and the javadoc for @ContextCustomizerFactories for details and examples.

Automatic Discovery of Default ContextCustomizerFactory Implementations

Registering ContextCustomizerFactory implementations by using @ContextCustomizerFactories is suitable for custom factories that are used in limited testing scenarios. However, it can become cumbersome if a custom factory needs to be used across an entire test suite. This issue is addressed through support for automatic discovery of default ContextCustomizerFactory implementations through the SpringFactoriesLoader mechanism.

For example, the modules that make up the testing support in Spring Framework and Spring Boot declare all core default ContextCustomizerFactory implementations under the org.springframework.test.context.ContextCustomizerFactory key in their META-INF/spring.factories properties files. The spring.factories file for the spring-test module can be viewed here. Third-party frameworks and developers can contribute their own ContextCustomizerFactory implementations to the list of default factories in the same manner through their own spring.factories files.

Merging ContextCustomizerFactory Implementations

If a custom ContextCustomizerFactory is registered via @ContextCustomizerFactories, it will be merged with the default factories that have been registered using the aforementioned automatic discovery mechanism.

The merging algorithm ensures that duplicates are removed from the list and that locally declared factories are appended to the list of default factories when merged.

To replace the default factories for a test class, its subclasses, and its nested classes, you can set the mergeMode attribute of @ContextCustomizerFactories to MergeMode.REPLACE_DEFAULTS.