How to mock CanCan's "authorize!" method in a controller spec?

Question

The simplest way to write specs checking that a controller is authorizing the signed-in current_user to use the said action is to explicitly write two specs checking that a user with permission can run that action, and another cannot. For example:

 # The controller action:

 def some_action
   authorize! :do_this_action, @some_object
 end

 # The spec:

 it "should work when authorized" do
   sign_in @user
   get :some_action
   response.should be_success
 end

 it "should not work when not authorized" do
   sign_in @other_user
   get :some_action
   response.should_not be_success
 end

But this is not great, as it requires a great amount of code (two or more specs) and doesn't actually test directly that the authorization is being checked (do_this_action in the example).

I would like to be able to write a simpler spec, e.g. (an example using 'rr' for mocking)

 it "should check the user can do_this_action" do
   mock(controller).authorize!(:do_this_action, some_object)
   get :some_action
 end

I think this would be shorter and directly test that the authorization check I want to be used is being run. But, I can't figure out how to write the mock. mock(controller) isn't correct, nor does mocking ApplicationController or Ability seem to work.

How do I write this kind of mock?

Answer 1

It turns out the way I was writing above works.. must have had a typo earlier.

So, to check that an authorize! check is invoked in the controller, you just need to write:

 it "should check the user can do_this_action" do
   mock(controller).authorize!(:some_action, some_object)
   get :some_action
 end

Answer 2

I believe it would be better to test authorization in another spec like ability_spec.rb in order for you to separate their responsibilities. By doing so you won't have to test the same authorization method that you use on different controllers.

heres some other details