Test your Paging implementation (Views)

Concepts and Jetpack Compose implementation

Implementing the Paging library in your app should be paired with a robust testing strategy. You should test data loading components such as PagingSource and RemoteMediator to ensure that they work as expected. You should also write end-to-end tests to verify that all of the components in your Paging implementation work correctly together without unexpected side effects.

This guide explains how to test the Paging library in the data layer of your app as well as how to write end-to-end tests for your entire Paging implementation.

Data layer tests

Write unit tests for the components in your data layer to ensure that they load the data from your data sources appropriately. Provide fake versions of dependencies to verify that the components being tested function correctly in isolation. One of the components that you need to test in the repository layer is the RemoteMediator.

RemoteMediator tests

The goal of the RemoteMediator unit tests is to verify that the load() function returns the correct MediatorResult. Tests for side effects, such as data being inserted into the database, are better suited for integration tests.

The first step is to determine what dependencies your RemoteMediator implementation needs. The following example demonstrates a RemoteMediator implementation that requires a Room database, a Retrofit interface, and a search string:

Java (RxJava)

public class PageKeyedRemoteMediator
  extends RxRemoteMediator<Integer, RedditPost> {

  @NonNull
  private RedditDb db;
  @NonNull
  private RedditPostDao postDao;
  @NonNull
  private SubredditRemoteKeyDao remoteKeyDao;
  @NonNull
  private RedditApi redditApi;
  @NonNull
  private String subredditName;

  public PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    @NonNull RedditDb db,
    @NonNull RedditApi redditApi,
    @NonNull String subredditName
    ) {
      this.db = db;
      this.postDao = db.posts();
      this.remoteKeyDao = db.remoteKeys();
      this.redditApi = redditApi;
      this.subredditName = subredditName;
      ...
    }
  }

Java (Guava/LiveData)

public class PageKeyedRemoteMediator
  extends ListenableFutureRemoteMediator<Integer, RedditPost> {

  @NonNull
  private RedditDb db;
  @NonNull
  private RedditPostDao postDao;
  @NonNull
  private SubredditRemoteKeyDao remoteKeyDao;
  @NonNull
  private RedditApi redditApi;
  @NonNull
  private String subredditName;
  @NonNull
  private Executor bgExecutor;

  public PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    @NonNull RedditDb db,
    @NonNull RedditApi redditApi,
    @NonNull String subredditName,
    @NonNull Executor bgExecutor
  ) {
    this.db = db;
    this.postDao = db.posts();
    this.remoteKeyDao = db.remoteKeys();
    this.redditApi = redditApi;
    this.subredditName = subredditName;
    this.bgExecutor = bgExecutor;
    ...
  }
}

You can provide the Retrofit interface and the search string as demonstrated in the PagingSource tests section of Test your Paging implementation. Providing a mock version of the Room database is very involved, so it can be easier to provide an in-memory implementation of the database instead of a full mock version. Because creating a Room database requires a Context object, you must place this RemoteMediator test in the androidTest directory and execute it with the AndroidJUnit4 test runner so that it has access to a test application context. For more information about instrumented tests, see Build instrumented unit tests.

Define tear-down functions to ensure that state does not leak between test functions. This ensures consistent results between test runs.

Java (RxJava)

@RunWith(AndroidJUnit4.class)
public class PageKeyedRemoteMediatorTest {
  static PostFactory postFactory = new PostFactory();
  static List<RedditPost> mockPosts = new ArrayList<>();
  static MockRedditApi mockApi = new MockRedditApi();
  private RedditDb mockDb = RedditDb.Companion.create(
    ApplicationProvider.getApplicationContext(),
    true
  );

  static {
    for (int i=0; i<3; i++) {
      RedditPost post = postFactory.createRedditPost(DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT);
      mockPosts.add(post);
    }
  }

  @After
  public void tearDown() {
    mockDb.clearAllTables();
    // Clear the failure message after each test run.
    mockApi.setFailureMsg(null);
    // Clear out posts after each test run.
    mockApi.clearPosts();
  }
}

Java (Guava/LiveData)

@RunWith(AndroidJUnit4.class)
public class PageKeyedRemoteMediatorTest {
  static PostFactory postFactory = new PostFactory();
  static List<RedditPost> mockPosts = new ArrayList<>();
  static MockRedditApi mockApi = new MockRedditApi();

  private RedditDb mockDb = RedditDb.Companion.create(
    ApplicationProvider.getApplicationContext(),
    true
  );

  static {
    for (int i=0; i<3; i++) {
      RedditPost post = postFactory.createRedditPost(DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT);
      mockPosts.add(post);
    }
  }

  @After
  public void tearDown() {
    mockDb.clearAllTables();
    // Clear the failure message after each test run.
    mockApi.setFailureMsg(null);
    // Clear out posts after each test run.
    mockApi.clearPosts();
  }
}

The next step is to test the load() function. In this example, there are three cases to test:

  • The first case is when mockApi returns valid data. The load() function should return MediatorResult.Success, and the endOfPaginationReached property should be false.
  • The second case is when mockApi returns a successful response, but the returned data is empty. The load function should return MediatorResult.Success, and the endOfPaginationReached property should be true.
  • The third case is when mockApi throws an exception when fetching the data. The load() function should return MediatorResult.Error.

Follow these steps to test the first case:

  1. Set up the mockApi with the post data to return.
  2. Initialize the RemoteMediator object.
  3. Test the load function.

Java (RxJava)

@Test
public void refreshLoadReturnsSuccessResultWhenMoreDataIsPresent()
  throws InterruptedException {

  // Add mock results for the API to return.
  for (RedditPost post: mockPosts) {
    mockApi.addPost(post);
  }

  PageKeyedRemoteMediator remoteMediator = new PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    mockDb,
    mockApi,
    SubRedditViewModel.DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT
  );
  PagingState<Integer, RedditPost> pagingState = new PagingState<>(
    new ArrayList(),
    null,
    new PagingConfig(10),
    10
  );
  remoteMediator.loadSingle(LoadType.REFRESH, pagingState)
    .test()
    .await()
    .assertValueCount(1)
    .assertValue(value -> value instanceof RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success &&
      ((RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success) value).endOfPaginationReached() == false);
}

Java (Guava/LiveData)

@Test
public void refreshLoadReturnsSuccessResultWhenMoreDataIsPresent()
  throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException {

  // Add mock results for the API to return.
  for (RedditPost post: mockPosts) {
    mockApi.addPost(post);
  }

  PageKeyedRemoteMediator remoteMediator = new PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    mockDb,
    mockApi,
    SubRedditViewModel.DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT,
    new CurrentThreadExecutor()
  );
  PagingState<Integer, RedditPost> pagingState = new PagingState<>(
    new ArrayList(),
    null,
    new PagingConfig(10),
    10
  );

  RemoteMediator.MediatorResult result =
    remoteMediator.loadFuture(LoadType.REFRESH, pagingState).get();

  assertThat(result, instanceOf(RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success.class));
  assertFalse(((RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success) result).endOfPaginationReached());
}

The second test requires the mockApi to return an empty result. Because you clear the data from the mockApi after each test run, it will return an empty result by default.

Java (RxJava)

@Test
public void refreshLoadSuccessAndEndOfPaginationWhenNoMoreData()
  throws InterruptedException() {

  // To test endOfPaginationReached, don't set up the mockApi to return post
  // data here.
  PageKeyedRemoteMediator remoteMediator = new PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    mockDb,
    mockApi,
    SubRedditViewModel.DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT
  );
  PagingState<Integer, RedditPost> pagingState = new PagingState<>(
    new ArrayList(),
    null,
    new PagingConfig(10),
    10
  );
  remoteMediator.loadSingle(LoadType.REFRESH, pagingState)
    .test()
    .await()
    .assertValueCount(1)
    .assertValue(value -> value instanceof RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success &&
      ((RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success) value).endOfPaginationReached() == true);
}

Java (Guava/LiveData)

@Test
public void refreshLoadSuccessAndEndOfPaginationWhenNoMoreData()
  throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException {

  // To test endOfPaginationReached, don't set up the mockApi to return post
  // data here.
  PageKeyedRemoteMediator remoteMediator = new PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    mockDb,
    mockApi,
    SubRedditViewModel.DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT,
    new CurrentThreadExecutor()
  );
  PagingState<Integer, RedditPost> pagingState = new PagingState<>(
    new ArrayList(),
    null,
    new PagingConfig(10),
    10
  );

  RemoteMediator.MediatorResult result =
    remoteMediator.loadFuture(LoadType.REFRESH, pagingState).get();

  assertThat(result, instanceOf(RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success.class));
  assertTrue(((RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Success) result).endOfPaginationReached());
}

The final test requires the mockApi to throw an exception so that the test can verify that the load() function correctly returns MediatorResult.Error.

Java (RxJava)

@Test
public void refreshLoadReturnsErrorResultWhenErrorOccurs()
  throws InterruptedException {

  // Set up failure message to throw exception from the mock API.
  mockApi.setFailureMsg("Throw test failure");
  PageKeyedRemoteMediator remoteMediator = new PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    mockDb,
    mockApi,
    SubRedditViewModel.DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT
  );
  PagingState<Integer, RedditPost> pagingState = new PagingState<>(
    new ArrayList(),
    null,
    new PagingConfig(10),
    10
  );
  remoteMediator.loadSingle(LoadType.REFRESH, pagingState)
    .test()
    .await()
    .assertValueCount(1)
    .assertValue(value -> value instanceof RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Error);
}

Java (Guava/LiveData)

@Test
public void refreshLoadReturnsErrorResultWhenErrorOccurs()
  throws InterruptedException, ExecutionException {

  // Set up failure message to throw exception from the mock API.
  mockApi.setFailureMsg("Throw test failure");
  PageKeyedRemoteMediator remoteMediator = new PageKeyedRemoteMediator(
    mockDb,
    mockApi,
    SubRedditViewModel.DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT,
    new CurrentThreadExecutor()
  );
  PagingState<Integer, RedditPost> pagingState = new PagingState<>(
    new ArrayList(),
    null,
    new PagingConfig(10),
    10
  );
  RemoteMediator.MediatorResult result =
    remoteMediator.loadFuture(LoadType.REFRESH, pagingState).get();

  assertThat(result, instanceOf(RemoteMediator.MediatorResult.Error.class));
}

End-to-end tests

Unit tests provide assurance that individual Paging components work in isolation, but end-to-end tests provide more confidence that the application works as a whole. These tests will still need some mock dependencies, but generally they will cover most of your app code.

The example in this section uses a mock API dependency to avoid using the network in tests. The mock API is configured to return a consistent set of test data, resulting in repeatable tests. Decide which dependencies to swap out for mock implementations based on what each dependency does, how consistent its output is, and how much fidelity you need from your tests.

Write your code in a way that lets you easily swap in mock versions of your dependencies. The following example uses a basic service locator implementation to provide and change dependencies as needed. In larger apps, using a dependency injection library like Hilt can help manage more-complex dependency graphs.

Kotlin

class RedditActivityTest {

  companion object {
    private const val TEST_SUBREDDIT = "test"
  }

  private val postFactory = PostFactory()
  private val mockApi = MockRedditApi().apply {
    addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT))
    addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(TEST_SUBREDDIT))
    addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(TEST_SUBREDDIT))
  }

  @Before
  fun init() {
    val app = ApplicationProvider.getApplicationContext<Application>()
    // Use a controlled service locator with a mock API.
    ServiceLocator.swap(
      object : DefaultServiceLocator(app = app, useInMemoryDb = true) {
        override fun getRedditApi(): RedditApi = mockApi
      }
    )
  }
}

Java (RxJava)

public class RedditActivityTest {

  public static final String TEST_SUBREDDIT = "test";

  private static PostFactory postFactory = new PostFactory();
  private static MockRedditApi mockApi = new MockRedditApi();

  static {
    mockApi.addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT));
    mockApi.addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(TEST_SUBREDDIT));
    mockApi.addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(TEST_SUBREDDIT));
  }

  @Before
  public void setup() {
    Application app = ApplicationProvider.getApplicationContext();
    // Use a controlled service locator with a mock API.
    ServiceLocator.Companion.swap(
      new DefaultServiceLocator(app, true) {
        @NotNull
        @Override
        public RedditApi getRedditApi() {
          return mockApi;
        }
      }
    );
  }
}

Java (Guava/LiveData)

public class RedditActivityTest {

  public static final String TEST_SUBREDDIT = "test";

  private static PostFactory postFactory = new PostFactory();
  private static MockRedditApi mockApi = new MockRedditApi();

  static {
    mockApi.addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(DEFAULT_SUBREDDIT));
    mockApi.addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(TEST_SUBREDDIT));
    mockApi.addPost(postFactory.createRedditPost(TEST_SUBREDDIT));
  }

  @Before
  public void setup() {
    Application app = ApplicationProvider.getApplicationContext();
    // Use a controlled service locator with a mock API.
    ServiceLocator.Companion.swap(
      new DefaultServiceLocator(app, true) {
        @NotNull
        @Override
        public RedditApi getRedditApi() {
          return mockApi;
        }
      }
    );
  }
}

After you set up the test structure, the next step is to verify that the data returned by the Pager implementation is correct. One test should ensure that the Pager object loads the default data when the page first loads, and another test should verify that the Pager object correctly loads additional data based on user input.

In the following example, the test verifies that the Pager object updates the RecyclerView.Adapter with the correct number of items returned from the API when the user enters a different subreddit to search.

Kotlin

@Test
fun loadsTheDefaultResults() {
    ActivityScenario.launch(RedditActivity::class.java)

    onView(withId(R.id.list)).check { view, noViewFoundException ->
        if (noViewFoundException != null) {
            throw noViewFoundException
        }

        val recyclerView = view as RecyclerView
        assertEquals(1, recyclerView.adapter?.itemCount)
    }
}

@Test
// Verify that the default data is swapped out when the user searches for a
// different subreddit.
fun loadsTheTestResultsWhenSearchingForSubreddit() {
  ActivityScenario.launch(RedditActivity::class.java )

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check { view, noViewFoundException ->
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException
    }

    val recyclerView = view as RecyclerView
    // Verify that it loads the default data first.
    assertEquals(1, recyclerView.adapter?.itemCount)
  }

  // Search for test subreddit instead of default to trigger new data load.
  onView(withId(R.id.input)).perform(
    replaceText(TEST_SUBREDDIT),
    pressKey(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_ENTER)
  )

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check { view, noViewFoundException ->
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException
    }

    val recyclerView = view as RecyclerView
    assertEquals(2, recyclerView.adapter?.itemCount)
  }
}

Java (RxJava)

@Test
public void loadsTheDefaultResults() {
  ActivityScenario.launch(RedditActivity.class);

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check((view, noViewFoundException) -> {
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException;
    }

    RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) view;
    assertEquals(1, recyclerView.getAdapter().getItemCount());
  });
}

@Test
// Verify that the default data is swapped out when the user searches for a
// different subreddit.
public void loadsTheTestResultsWhenSearchingForSubreddit() {
  ActivityScenario.launch(RedditActivity.class);

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check((view, noViewFoundException) -> {
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException;
    }

    RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) view;
    // Verify that it loads the default data first.
    assertEquals(1, recyclerView.getAdapter().getItemCount());
  });

  // Search for test subreddit instead of default to trigger new data load.
  onView(withId(R.id.input)).perform(
    replaceText(TEST_SUBREDDIT),
    pressKey(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_ENTER)
  );

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check((view, noViewFoundException) -> {
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException;
    }

    RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) view;
    assertEquals(2, recyclerView.getAdapter().getItemCount());
  });
}

Java (Guava/LiveData)

@Test
public void loadsTheDefaultResults() {
  ActivityScenario.launch(RedditActivity.class);

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check((view, noViewFoundException) -> {
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException;
    }

    RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) view;
    assertEquals(1, recyclerView.getAdapter().getItemCount());
  });
}

@Test
// Verify that the default data is swapped out when the user searches for a
// different subreddit.
public void loadsTheTestResultsWhenSearchingForSubreddit() {
  ActivityScenario.launch(RedditActivity.class);

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check((view, noViewFoundException) -> {
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException;
    }

    RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) view;
    // Verify that it loads the default data first.
    assertEquals(1, recyclerView.getAdapter().getItemCount());
  });

  // Search for test subreddit instead of default to trigger new data load.
  onView(withId(R.id.input)).perform(
    replaceText(TEST_SUBREDDIT),
    pressKey(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_ENTER)
  );

  onView(withId(R.id.list)).check((view, noViewFoundException) -> {
    if (noViewFoundException != null) {
      throw noViewFoundException;
    }

    RecyclerView recyclerView = (RecyclerView) view;
    assertEquals(2, recyclerView.getAdapter().getItemCount());
  });
}

Instrumented tests should verify that the data displays correctly in the UI. Do this either by verifying that the correct number of items exists in the RecyclerView.Adapter, or by iterating through the individual row views and verifying that the data is formatted correctly.