name: mockly description: > Helps write tests using Mockly — a fluent HTTP mocking library for .NET that intercepts HttpClient calls. Use this skill when writing unit or integration tests that need to mock HTTP requests, configure responses (status codes, JSON, OData, raw content), match headers, capture and inspect requests, limit mock invocations, or assert HTTP interactions with FluentAssertions.

Mockly

Fluent HTTP mocking library for .NET. Intercepts HttpClient calls via a custom HttpMessageHandler. Unmatched requests throw UnexpectedRequestException by default (FailOnUnexpectedCalls = true). Default base address: https://localhost/.

Setup

var mock = new HttpMock();
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/users").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
HttpClient client = mock.GetClient(); // or mock.GetClientFactory()

HTTP Verbs

// Convenience methods per verb (each also has a "(urlPattern)" overload)
mock.ForGet();
mock.ForPost();
mock.ForPut();
mock.ForPatch();
mock.ForDelete();
mock.ForHead();
mock.ForOptions();

// Generic entry point for any (including non-standard) verb
mock.For(HttpMethod.Get).WithPath("/api/data").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.For(new HttpMethod("PROPFIND"), "https://localhost/dav/*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);

URL Matching

// Exact path (leading slash optional); * is wildcard
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/users/*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);

// Query: omitting WithQuery() rejects requests that include a query string
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/search").WithQuery("?q=*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/search").WithAnyQuery().RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/search").WithoutQuery().RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);

// Scheme / host
mock.ForGet().ForHttps().ForHost("api.example.com").WithPath("/data").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForGet().ForHttp().ForAnyHost().WithPath("/data").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);

// Full-URL shorthand (scheme + host + path + query, all support *)
mock.ForGet("https://api.example.com/users/*?q=*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForPatch("http://*.example.com/*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);

Request Body Matching

mock.ForPost().WithPath("/api/data").WithBody("*keyword*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent);
mock.ForPost().WithPath("/api/data").WithBody(new { name = "John" }).RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent); // JSON object
mock.ForPost().WithPath("/api/data").WithBodyMatchingJson("{\"name\":\"John\"}").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent);
mock.ForPost().WithPath("/api/data").WithBodyMatchingRegex(".*keyword.*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent);

// Custom predicate (sync or async) — use .With() for custom body or URI checks
mock.ForPost().WithPath("/api/data").With(req => req.Body!.Contains("keyword")).RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent);

Header Matching

mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/secure").WithHeader("X-API-Key").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/secure").WithHeader("X-Trace-Id", "abc-*").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/auth").WithBearerToken().RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
mock.ForPost().WithPath("/api/json").WithContentType("application/json").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);

Responses

mock.ForDelete().WithPath("/api/items/1").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent);
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/user").RespondsWithJsonContent(new { Id = 1, Name = "Alice" });
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/user").RespondsWithJsonContent(HttpStatusCode.Created, new { Id = 1 });
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/text").RespondsWithContent("Hello"); // 200 OK, application/json
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/text").RespondsWithContent(HttpStatusCode.OK, "<xml/>", "text/xml");
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/empty").RespondsWithEmptyContent(); // 204 No Content
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/binary").RespondsWith(new ByteArrayContent(bytes));
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/custom").RespondsWith(_ => new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK));

// OData v4: wraps in { "value": [...] }
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/odata/items").RespondsWithODataResult(new { Id = 1 });
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/odata/items").RespondsWithODataResult(HttpStatusCode.OK, items, "https://localhost/$metadata#Items");

HttpContent instances are reused across calls — use the lambda overload for mocks called multiple times.

Request Capture

// Global log
mock.Requests.HasUnexpectedRequests // bool
mock.Requests.First().WasExpected   // bool; .Uri, .Method, .Body, .Timestamp, .Response also available

// Scoped collection
var captured = new RequestCollection();
mock.ForPatch().WithPath("/api/items/1").CollectingRequestsIn(captured).RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.NoContent);
captured.Count.Should().Be(1);

Invocation Limits

mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/once").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK).Once();
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/twice").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK).Twice();
mock.ForGet().WithPath("/api/data").RespondsWithStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK).Times(3);

mock.AllMocksInvoked.Should().BeTrue();   // true when all mocks hit required count
mock.GetUninvokedMocks();                  // IEnumerable<RequestMock>

Reset / Clear

mock.Reset(); // clears scheme/host inheritance from previous builder; start fresh
mock.Clear(); // removes all configured mocks

FluentAssertions.Mockly (FluentAssertions.Mockly.v8 / .v7)

mock.Should().HaveAllRequestsCalled();
mock.Requests.Should().NotContainUnexpectedCalls();
mock.Requests.Should().NotBeEmpty();
mock.Requests.First().Should().BeExpected();
mock.Requests.First().Should().BeUnexpected();