RestTestClient

Modern REST client testing with Spring Boot 4+ (replaces TestRestTemplate).

Overview

RestTestClient is the modern alternative to TestRestTemplate in Spring Boot 4.0+. It provides a fluent, reactive API for testing REST endpoints.

Setup

Dependency (Spring Boot 4+)

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-restclient-test</artifactId>
  <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>

Basic Configuration

@SpringBootTest(webEnvironment = WebEnvironment.RANDOM_PORT)
@AutoConfigureRestTestClient
class OrderIntegrationTest {
  
  @Autowired
  private RestTestClient restClient;
}

HTTP Methods

GET Request

@Test
void shouldGetOrder() {
  restClient
    .get()
    .uri("/orders/1")
    .exchange()
    .expectStatus()
    .isOk()
    .expectBody(Order.class)
    .value(order -> {
      assertThat(order.getId()).isEqualTo(1L);
      assertThat(order.getStatus()).isEqualTo("PENDING");
    });
}

POST Request

@Test
void shouldCreateOrder() {
  OrderRequest request = new OrderRequest("Laptop", 2);
  
  restClient
    .post()
    .uri("/orders")
    .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
    .body(request)
    .exchange()
    .expectStatus()
    .isCreated()
    .expectHeader()
    .location("/orders/1")
    .expectBody(Long.class)
    .isEqualTo(1L);
}

PUT Request

@Test
void shouldUpdateOrder() {
  restClient
    .put()
    .uri("/orders/1")
    .body(new OrderUpdate("COMPLETED"))
    .exchange()
    .expectStatus()
    .isOk();
}

DELETE Request

@Test
void shouldDeleteOrder() {
  restClient
    .delete()
    .uri("/orders/1")
    .exchange()
    .expectStatus()
    .isNoContent();
}

Response Assertions

Status Codes

restClient
  .get()
  .uri("/orders/1")
  .exchange()
  .expectStatus()
  .isOk()           // 200
  .isCreated()      // 201
  .isNoContent()    // 204
  .isBadRequest()   // 400
  .isNotFound()     // 404
  .is5xxServerError() // 5xx
  .isEqualTo(200);  // Specific code

Headers

restClient
  .post()
  .uri("/orders")
  .exchange()
  .expectHeader()
  .location("/orders/1")
  .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
  .exists("X-Request-Id")
  .valueEquals("X-Api-Version", "v1");

Body Assertions

restClient
  .get()
  .uri("/orders/1")
  .exchange()
  .expectBody(Order.class)
  .value(order -> assertThat(order.getId()).isEqualTo(1L))
  .returnResult();

JSON Path

restClient
  .get()
  .uri("/orders")
  .exchange()
  .expectBody()
  .jsonPath("$.content[0].id").isEqualTo(1)
  .jsonPath("$.content[0].status").isEqualTo("PENDING")
  .jsonPath("$.totalElements").isNumber();

Request Configuration

Headers

restClient
  .get()
  .uri("/orders/1")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer token")
  .header("X-Api-Key", "secret")
  .exchange();

Query Parameters

restClient
  .get()
  .uri(uriBuilder -> uriBuilder
    .path("/orders")
    .queryParam("status", "PENDING")
    .queryParam("page", 0)
    .queryParam("size", 10)
    .build())
  .exchange();

Path Variables

restClient
  .get()
  .uri("/orders/{id}", 1L)
  .exchange();

With MockMvc

RestTestClient can also work with MockMvc (no server startup):

@SpringBootTest
@AutoConfigureMockMvc
@AutoConfigureRestTestClient
class OrderMockMvcTest {
  
  @Autowired
  private RestTestClient restClient;
  
  @Test
  void shouldWorkWithMockMvc() {
    // Uses MockMvc under the hood - no server startup
    restClient
      .get()
      .uri("/orders/1")
      .exchange()
      .expectStatus()
      .isOk();
  }
}

Comparison: RestTestClient vs TestRestTemplate

Migration from TestRestTemplate

Before (Deprecated)

@Autowired
private TestRestTemplate restTemplate;

@Test
void shouldGetOrder() {
  ResponseEntity<Order> response = restTemplate
    .getForEntity("/orders/1", Order.class);
  
  assertThat(response.getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(HttpStatus.OK);
  assertThat(response.getBody().getId()).isEqualTo(1L);
}

After (RestTestClient)

@Autowired
private RestTestClient restClient;

@Test
void shouldGetOrder() {
  restClient
    .get()
    .uri("/orders/1")
    .exchange()
    .expectStatus()
    .isOk()
    .expectBody(Order.class)
    .value(order -> assertThat(order.getId()).isEqualTo(1L));
}

Best Practices

1. Use with @SpringBootTest(WebEnvironment.RANDOM_PORT) for real HTTP
2. Use with @AutoConfigureMockMvc for faster tests without server
3. Leverage fluent assertions for readability
4. Test both success and error scenarios
5. Verify headers for security/API versioning