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Unit Testing Configuration Properties and Profiles

Overview

This skill provides patterns for unit testing @ConfigurationProperties bindings, environment-specific configurations, and property validation using JUnit 5. It covers testing property name mapping, type conversions, validation constraints, nested structures, and profile-specific configurations without full Spring context startup.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Testing @ConfigurationProperties property binding
• Testing property name mapping and type conversions
• Verifying configuration validation
• Testing environment-specific configurations
• Testing nested property structures
• Want fast configuration tests without Spring context

Instructions

1. Use ApplicationContextRunner : Test property bindings without starting full Spring context
2. Test all property paths : Verify each property including nested structures and collections
3. Test validation constraints : Ensure @Validated properties fail with invalid values
4. Test type conversions : Verify Duration, DataSize, and other special types convert correctly
5. Test default values : Verify properties have correct defaults when not specified
6. Test profile-specific configs : Use @Profile to test environment-specific configurations
7. Verify property prefixes : Ensure the prefix in @ConfigurationProperties matches test properties
8. Test edge cases : Include empty strings, null values, and type mismatches

Examples

Setup: Configuration Testing

Maven

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-configuration-processor</artifactId>
  <scope>provided</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId>
  <artifactId>junit-jupiter</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.assertj</groupId>
  <artifactId>assertj-core</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>

Gradle

dependencies {
  annotationProcessor("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-configuration-processor")
  testImplementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test")
  testImplementation("org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter")
  testImplementation("org.assertj:assertj-core")
}

Basic Pattern: Testing ConfigurationProperties

Simple Property Binding

// Configuration properties class
@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "app.security")
@Data
public class SecurityProperties {
  private String jwtSecret;
  private long jwtExpirationMs;
  private int maxLoginAttempts;
  private boolean enableTwoFactor;
}

// Unit test
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.EnableConfigurationProperties;
import org.springframework.boot.test.context.runner.ApplicationContextRunner;
import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.*;

class SecurityPropertiesTest {

  @Test
  void shouldBindPropertiesFromEnvironment() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.security.jwtSecret=my-secret-key",
        "app.security.jwtExpirationMs=3600000",
        "app.security.maxLoginAttempts=5",
        "app.security.enableTwoFactor=true"
      )
      .withBean(SecurityProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        SecurityProperties props = context.getBean(SecurityProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getJwtSecret()).isEqualTo("my-secret-key");
        assertThat(props.getJwtExpirationMs()).isEqualTo(3600000L);
        assertThat(props.getMaxLoginAttempts()).isEqualTo(5);
        assertThat(props.isEnableTwoFactor()).isTrue();
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldUseDefaultValuesWhenPropertiesNotProvided() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues("app.security.jwtSecret=key")
      .withBean(SecurityProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        SecurityProperties props = context.getBean(SecurityProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getJwtSecret()).isEqualTo("key");
        assertThat(props.getMaxLoginAttempts()).isZero();
      });
  }
}

Testing Nested Configuration Properties

Complex Property Structure

@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "app.database")
@Data
public class DatabaseProperties {
  private String url;
  private String username;
  private Pool pool = new Pool();
  private List<Replica> replicas = new ArrayList<>();

  @Data
  public static class Pool {
    private int maxSize = 10;
    private int minIdle = 5;
    private long connectionTimeout = 30000;
  }

  @Data
  public static class Replica {
    private String name;
    private String url;
    private int priority;
  }
}

class NestedPropertiesTest {

  @Test
  void shouldBindNestedProperties() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.database.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost/db",
        "app.database.username=admin",
        "app.database.pool.maxSize=20",
        "app.database.pool.minIdle=10",
        "app.database.pool.connectionTimeout=60000"
      )
      .withBean(DatabaseProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        DatabaseProperties props = context.getBean(DatabaseProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getUrl()).isEqualTo("jdbc:mysql://localhost/db");
        assertThat(props.getPool().getMaxSize()).isEqualTo(20);
        assertThat(props.getPool().getConnectionTimeout()).isEqualTo(60000L);
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldBindListOfReplicas() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.database.replicas[0].name=replica-1",
        "app.database.replicas[0].url=jdbc:mysql://replica1/db",
        "app.database.replicas[0].priority=1",
        "app.database.replicas[1].name=replica-2",
        "app.database.replicas[1].url=jdbc:mysql://replica2/db",
        "app.database.replicas[1].priority=2"
      )
      .withBean(DatabaseProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        DatabaseProperties props = context.getBean(DatabaseProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getReplicas()).hasSize(2);
        assertThat(props.getReplicas().get(0).getName()).isEqualTo("replica-1");
        assertThat(props.getReplicas().get(1).getPriority()).isEqualTo(2);
      });
  }
}

Testing Property Validation

Validate Configuration with Constraints

@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "app.server")
@Data
@Validated
public class ServerProperties {
  @NotBlank
  private String host;

  @Min(1)
  @Max(65535)
  private int port = 8080;

  @Positive
  private int threadPoolSize;

  @Email
  private String adminEmail;
}

class ConfigurationValidationTest {

  @Test
  void shouldFailValidationWhenHostIsBlank() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.server.host=",
        "app.server.port=8080",
        "app.server.threadPoolSize=10"
      )
      .withBean(ServerProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        assertThat(context).hasFailed()
          .getFailure()
          .hasMessageContaining("host");
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldFailValidationWhenPortOutOfRange() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.server.host=localhost",
        "app.server.port=99999",
        "app.server.threadPoolSize=10"
      )
      .withBean(ServerProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        assertThat(context).hasFailed();
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldPassValidationWithValidConfiguration() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.server.host=localhost",
        "app.server.port=8080",
        "app.server.threadPoolSize=10",
        "app.server.adminEmail=admin@example.com"
      )
      .withBean(ServerProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        assertThat(context).hasNotFailed();
        ServerProperties props = context.getBean(ServerProperties.class);
        assertThat(props.getHost()).isEqualTo("localhost");
      });
  }
}

Testing Profile-Specific Configurations

Environment-Specific Properties

@Configuration
@Profile("prod")
class ProductionConfiguration {
  @Bean
  public SecurityProperties securityProperties() {
    SecurityProperties props = new SecurityProperties();
    props.setEnableTwoFactor(true);
    props.setMaxLoginAttempts(3);
    return props;
  }
}

@Configuration
@Profile("dev")
class DevelopmentConfiguration {
  @Bean
  public SecurityProperties securityProperties() {
    SecurityProperties props = new SecurityProperties();
    props.setEnableTwoFactor(false);
    props.setMaxLoginAttempts(999);
    return props;
  }
}

class ProfileBasedConfigurationTest {

  @Test
  void shouldLoadProductionConfiguration() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues("spring.profiles.active=prod")
      .withUserConfiguration(ProductionConfiguration.class)
      .run(context -> {
        SecurityProperties props = context.getBean(SecurityProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.isEnableTwoFactor()).isTrue();
        assertThat(props.getMaxLoginAttempts()).isEqualTo(3);
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldLoadDevelopmentConfiguration() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues("spring.profiles.active=dev")
      .withUserConfiguration(DevelopmentConfiguration.class)
      .run(context -> {
        SecurityProperties props = context.getBean(SecurityProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.isEnableTwoFactor()).isFalse();
        assertThat(props.getMaxLoginAttempts()).isEqualTo(999);
      });
  }
}

Testing Type Conversion

Property Type Binding

@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "app.features")
@Data
public class FeatureProperties {
  private Duration cacheExpiry = Duration.ofMinutes(10);
  private DataSize maxUploadSize = DataSize.ofMegabytes(100);
  private List<String> enabledFeatures;
  private Map<String, String> featureFlags;
  private Charset fileEncoding = StandardCharsets.UTF_8;
}

class TypeConversionTest {

  @Test
  void shouldConvertStringToDuration() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues("app.features.cacheExpiry=30s")
      .withBean(FeatureProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        FeatureProperties props = context.getBean(FeatureProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getCacheExpiry()).isEqualTo(Duration.ofSeconds(30));
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldConvertStringToDataSize() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues("app.features.maxUploadSize=50MB")
      .withBean(FeatureProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        FeatureProperties props = context.getBean(FeatureProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getMaxUploadSize()).isEqualTo(DataSize.ofMegabytes(50));
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldConvertCommaDelimitedListToList() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues("app.features.enabledFeatures=feature1,feature2,feature3")
      .withBean(FeatureProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        FeatureProperties props = context.getBean(FeatureProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getEnabledFeatures())
          .containsExactly("feature1", "feature2", "feature3");
      });
  }
}

Testing Property Binding with Default Values

Verify Default Configuration

@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "app.cache")
@Data
public class CacheProperties {
  private long ttlSeconds = 300;
  private int maxSize = 1000;
  private boolean enabled = true;
  private String cacheType = "IN_MEMORY";
}

class DefaultValuesTest {

  @Test
  void shouldUseDefaultValuesWhenNotSpecified() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withBean(CacheProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        CacheProperties props = context.getBean(CacheProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getTtlSeconds()).isEqualTo(300L);
        assertThat(props.getMaxSize()).isEqualTo(1000);
        assertThat(props.isEnabled()).isTrue();
        assertThat(props.getCacheType()).isEqualTo("IN_MEMORY");
      });
  }

  @Test
  void shouldOverrideDefaultValuesWithProvidedProperties() {
    new ApplicationContextRunner()
      .withPropertyValues(
        "app.cache.ttlSeconds=600",
        "app.cache.cacheType=REDIS"
      )
      .withBean(CacheProperties.class)
      .run(context -> {
        CacheProperties props = context.getBean(CacheProperties.class);

        assertThat(props.getTtlSeconds()).isEqualTo(600L);
        assertThat(props.getCacheType()).isEqualTo("REDIS");
        assertThat(props.getMaxSize()).isEqualTo(1000); // Default unchanged
      });
  }
}

Best Practices

• Test all property bindings including nested structures
• Test validation constraints thoroughly
• Test both default and custom values
• Use ApplicationContextRunner for context-free testing
• Test profile-specific configurations separately
• Verify type conversions work correctly
• Test edge cases (empty strings, null values, type mismatches)

Common Pitfalls

• Not testing validation constraints
• Forgetting to test default values
• Not testing nested property structures
• Testing with wrong property prefix
• Not handling type conversion properly

Constraints and Warnings

• Property name matching : Kebab-case in properties (app.my-prop) maps to camelCase in Java (myProp)
• Loose binding by default : Spring Boot supports loose binding; enable strict binding if needed
• Validation requires@Validated: Add @Validated to enable validation on configuration properties
• @ConstructorBinding limitations: When using @ConstructorBinding, all parameters must be bindable
• List indexing : List properties use [0], [1] notation; ensure sequential indexing
• Duration format : Duration properties accept standard ISO-8601 format or simple syntax (10s, 1m)
• ApplicationContextRunner isolation : Each ApplicationContextRunner creates a new context; there's no shared state

Troubleshooting

Properties not binding : Verify prefix and property names match exactly (including kebab-case to camelCase conversion).

Validation not triggered : Ensure @Validated is present and validation dependencies are on classpath.

ApplicationContextRunner not found : Verify spring-boot-starter-test is in test dependencies.

References

• Spring Boot ConfigurationProperties
• ApplicationContextRunner Testing
• Spring Profiles

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333

Repository

giuseppe-trisci…oper-kit

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First Seen

Feb 3, 2026

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