Question

Some functionality in my app works differently depending on the client’s IP address. Is there a way to test that in Rails functional tests? I’m using Test::Unit and Shoulda.

Answer 1

You can do this easily without stubbing, by changing the REMOTE_ADDR environment variable before your controller call. Here’s a fictional controller that redirects the user to the home path if their ip address is 1.2.3.4:

def index
  if request.remote_ip == '1.2.3.4'
    redirect_to root_path
    return
  end

  @articles = Article.all
end

Here’s how you can test that it works:

def test_should_reject_ip_1_2_3_4
  @request.env['REMOTE_ADDR'] = '1.2.3.4'
  get :index
  assert_redirected_to root_path
end

You’re setting the remote ip in advance of the controller call, so you’re able to fake that data without any special plugins or gems. And here’s the shoulda version, for ItemsController:

context "with ip 1.2.3.4" do
  setup do
    @request.env['REMOTE_ADDR'] = '1.2.3.4'
    get :index
  end

  should_not_assign_to :items
  should_redirect_to("home"){home_path}
  should_not_set_the_flash
end