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unit-test-caching

tessl i github:giuseppe-trisciuoglio/developer-kit --skill unit-test-caching

Unit tests for caching behavior using Spring Cache annotations (@Cacheable, @CachePut, @CacheEvict). Use when validating cache configuration and cache hit/miss scenarios.

74%

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Validation — 75%

Implementation — 50%

Activation — 100%

SKILL.md

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Unit Testing Spring Caching

Test Spring caching annotations (@Cacheable, @CacheEvict, @CachePut) without full Spring context. Verify cache behavior, hits/misses, and invalidation strategies.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

Testing @Cacheable method caching
Testing @CacheEvict cache invalidation
Testing @CachePut cache updates
Verifying cache key generation
Testing conditional caching
Want fast caching tests without Redis or cache infrastructure

Setup: Caching Testing

Maven

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-cache</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
  <artifactId>mockito-core</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.assertj</groupId>
  <artifactId>assertj-core</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>

Gradle

dependencies {
  implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-cache")
  testImplementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test")
  testImplementation("org.mockito:mockito-core")
  testImplementation("org.assertj:assertj-core")
}

Basic Pattern: Testing @Cacheable

Cache Hit and Miss Behavior

// Service with caching
@Service
public class UserService {

  private final UserRepository userRepository;

  public UserService(UserRepository userRepository) {
    this.userRepository = userRepository;
  }

  @Cacheable("users")
  public User getUserById(Long id) {
    return userRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
  }
}

// Test caching behavior
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
import org.springframework.cache.CacheManager;
import org.springframework.cache.annotation.EnableCaching;
import org.springframework.cache.concurrent.ConcurrentMapCacheManager;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.*;
import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.*;

@Configuration
@EnableCaching
class CacheTestConfig {
  @Bean
  public CacheManager cacheManager() {
    return new ConcurrentMapCacheManager("users");
  }
}

class UserServiceCachingTest {

  private UserRepository userRepository;
  private UserService userService;
  private CacheManager cacheManager;

  @BeforeEach
  void setUp() {
    userRepository = mock(UserRepository.class);
    cacheManager = new ConcurrentMapCacheManager("users");
    userService = new UserService(userRepository);
  }

  @Test
  void shouldCacheUserAfterFirstCall() {
    User user = new User(1L, "Alice");
    when(userRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(user));

    User firstCall = userService.getUserById(1L);
    User secondCall = userService.getUserById(1L);

    assertThat(firstCall).isEqualTo(secondCall);
    verify(userRepository, times(1)).findById(1L); // Called only once due to cache
  }

  @Test
  void shouldReturnCachedValueOnSecondCall() {
    User user = new User(1L, "Alice");
    when(userRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(user));

    userService.getUserById(1L); // First call - hits database
    User cachedResult = userService.getUserById(1L); // Second call - hits cache

    assertThat(cachedResult).isEqualTo(user);
    verify(userRepository, times(1)).findById(1L);
  }
}

Testing @CacheEvict

Cache Invalidation

@Service
public class ProductService {

  private final ProductRepository productRepository;

  public ProductService(ProductRepository productRepository) {
    this.productRepository = productRepository;
  }

  @Cacheable("products")
  public Product getProductById(Long id) {
    return productRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
  }

  @CacheEvict("products")
  public void deleteProduct(Long id) {
    productRepository.deleteById(id);
  }

  @CacheEvict(value = "products", allEntries = true)
  public void clearAllProducts() {
    // Clear entire cache
  }
}

class ProductCacheEvictTest {

  private ProductRepository productRepository;
  private ProductService productService;
  private CacheManager cacheManager;

  @BeforeEach
  void setUp() {
    productRepository = mock(ProductRepository.class);
    cacheManager = new ConcurrentMapCacheManager("products");
    productService = new ProductService(productRepository);
  }

  @Test
  void shouldEvictProductFromCacheWhenDeleted() {
    Product product = new Product(1L, "Laptop", 999.99);
    when(productRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(product));

    productService.getProductById(1L); // Cache the product

    productService.deleteProduct(1L); // Evict from cache

    User cachedAfterEvict = userService.getUserById(1L);
    
    // After eviction, repository should be called again
    verify(productRepository, times(2)).findById(1L);
  }

  @Test
  void shouldClearAllEntriesFromCache() {
    Product product1 = new Product(1L, "Laptop", 999.99);
    Product product2 = new Product(2L, "Mouse", 29.99);
    when(productRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(product1));
    when(productRepository.findById(2L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(product2));

    productService.getProductById(1L);
    productService.getProductById(2L);

    productService.clearAllProducts(); // Clear all cache entries

    productService.getProductById(1L);
    productService.getProductById(2L);

    // Repository called twice for each product
    verify(productRepository, times(2)).findById(1L);
    verify(productRepository, times(2)).findById(2L);
  }
}

Testing @CachePut

Cache Update

@Service
public class OrderService {

  private final OrderRepository orderRepository;

  public OrderService(OrderRepository orderRepository) {
    this.orderRepository = orderRepository;
  }

  @Cacheable("orders")
  public Order getOrder(Long id) {
    return orderRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
  }

  @CachePut(value = "orders", key = "#order.id")
  public Order updateOrder(Order order) {
    return orderRepository.save(order);
  }
}

class OrderCachePutTest {

  private OrderRepository orderRepository;
  private OrderService orderService;

  @BeforeEach
  void setUp() {
    orderRepository = mock(OrderRepository.class);
    orderService = new OrderService(orderRepository);
  }

  @Test
  void shouldUpdateCacheWhenOrderIsUpdated() {
    Order originalOrder = new Order(1L, "Pending", 100.0);
    Order updatedOrder = new Order(1L, "Shipped", 100.0);

    when(orderRepository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(originalOrder));
    when(orderRepository.save(updatedOrder)).thenReturn(updatedOrder);

    orderService.getOrder(1L);
    Order result = orderService.updateOrder(updatedOrder);

    assertThat(result.getStatus()).isEqualTo("Shipped");
    
    // Next call should return updated version from cache
    Order cachedOrder = orderService.getOrder(1L);
    assertThat(cachedOrder.getStatus()).isEqualTo("Shipped");
  }
}

Testing Conditional Caching

Cache with Conditions

@Service
public class DataService {

  private final DataRepository dataRepository;

  public DataService(DataRepository dataRepository) {
    this.dataRepository = dataRepository;
  }

  @Cacheable(value = "data", unless = "#result == null")
  public Data getData(Long id) {
    return dataRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
  }

  @Cacheable(value = "users", condition = "#id > 0")
  public User getUser(Long id) {
    return userRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
  }
}

class ConditionalCachingTest {

  @Test
  void shouldNotCacheNullResults() {
    DataRepository dataRepository = mock(DataRepository.class);
    when(dataRepository.findById(999L)).thenReturn(Optional.empty());

    DataService service = new DataService(dataRepository);

    service.getData(999L);
    service.getData(999L);

    // Should call repository twice because null results are not cached
    verify(dataRepository, times(2)).findById(999L);
  }

  @Test
  void shouldNotCacheWhenConditionIsFalse() {
    UserRepository userRepository = mock(UserRepository.class);
    User user = new User(1L, "Alice");
    when(userRepository.findById(-1L)).thenReturn(Optional.of(user));

    DataService service = new DataService(null);

    service.getUser(-1L);
    service.getUser(-1L);

    // Should call repository twice because id <= 0 doesn't match condition
    verify(userRepository, times(2)).findById(-1L);
  }
}

Testing Cache Keys

Verify Cache Key Generation

@Service
public class InventoryService {

  private final InventoryRepository inventoryRepository;

  public InventoryService(InventoryRepository inventoryRepository) {
    this.inventoryRepository = inventoryRepository;
  }

  @Cacheable(value = "inventory", key = "#productId + '-' + #warehouseId")
  public InventoryItem getInventory(Long productId, Long warehouseId) {
    return inventoryRepository.findByProductAndWarehouse(productId, warehouseId);
  }
}

class CacheKeyTest {

  @Test
  void shouldGenerateCorrectCacheKey() {
    InventoryRepository repository = mock(InventoryRepository.class);
    InventoryItem item = new InventoryItem(1L, 1L, 100);
    when(repository.findByProductAndWarehouse(1L, 1L)).thenReturn(item);

    InventoryService service = new InventoryService(repository);

    service.getInventory(1L, 1L); // Cache: "1-1"
    service.getInventory(1L, 1L); // Hit cache: "1-1"
    service.getInventory(2L, 1L); // Miss cache: "2-1"

    verify(repository, times(2)).findByProductAndWarehouse(any(), any());
  }
}

Best Practices

Use in-memory CacheManager for unit tests
Verify repository calls to confirm cache hits/misses
Test both positive and negative cache scenarios
Test cache invalidation thoroughly
Test conditional caching with various conditions
Keep cache configuration simple in tests
Mock dependencies that services use

Common Pitfalls

Testing actual cache infrastructure instead of caching logic
Not verifying repository call counts
Forgetting to test cache eviction
Not testing conditional caching
Not resetting cache between tests

Troubleshooting

Cache not working in tests: Ensure @EnableCaching is in test configuration.

Wrong cache key generated: Use SpEL syntax correctly in @Cacheable(key = "...").

Cache not evicting: Verify @CacheEvict key matches stored key exactly.

References

Repository: github.com/giuseppe-trisciuoglio/developer-kit
Last updated: 14 days ago
Created: 14 days ago

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