Getting Started with Mockito @Mock, @Spy, @Captor and @InjectMocks

1. Overview

In this tutorial, we’ll cover the Mockito library’s annotations: @Mock, @Spy, @Captor, and @InjectMocks.

For more Mockito goodness, have a look at the series here.

2. Enable Mockito Annotations

Before we go further, let’s explore different ways to enable the use of annotations with Mockito tests.

2.1. MockitoJUnitRunner

The first option we have is to annotate the JUnit test with a MockitoJUnitRunner:

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
public class MockitoAnnotationUnitTest {
    ...
}

2.2. MockitoAnnotations.openMocks()

Alternatively, we can enable Mockito annotations programmatically by invoking MockitoAnnotations.openMocks():

@BeforeEach
public void init() {
    MockitoAnnotations.openMocks(this);
}

2.3. MockitoJUnit.rule()

Lastly, we can use a MockitoJUnit.rule():

public class MockitoAnnotationsInitWithMockitoJUnitRuleUnitTest {

    @Rule
    public MockitoRule initRule = MockitoJUnit.rule();

    ...
}

In this case, we must remember to make our rule public.

3. @Mock Annotation

The most widely used annotation in Mockito is @Mock. We can use @Mock to create and inject mocked instances without having to call Mockito.mock manually.

In the following example, we’ll create a mocked ArrayList manually without using the @Mock annotation:

@Test
public void whenNotUseMockAnnotation_thenCorrect() {
    List mockList = Mockito.mock(ArrayList.class);
    
    mockList.add("one");
    Mockito.verify(mockList).add("one");
    assertEquals(0, mockList.size());

    Mockito.when(mockList.size()).thenReturn(100);
    assertEquals(100, mockList.size());
}

Now we’ll do the same, but we’ll inject the mock using the @Mock annotation:

@Mock
List<String> mockedList;

@Test
public void whenUseMockAnnotation_thenMockIsInjected() {
    mockedList.add("one");
    Mockito.verify(mockedList).add("one");
    assertEquals(0, mockedList.size());

    Mockito.when(mockedList.size()).thenReturn(100);
    assertEquals(100, mockedList.size());
}

Note how, in both examples, we’re interacting with the mock and verifying some of these interactions just to make sure that the mock is behaving correctly.

4. @DoNotMock Annotation

The @DoNotMock annotation is used to indicate that a specific type should not be mocked during testing. It is typically applied at the class or interface level to guide testing frameworks and developers toward alternative testing solutions, such as using real instances or standard fakes.

Here’s an example of how the @DoNotMock annotation can be used:

import org.mockito.exceptions.misusing.DoNotMock;

@DoNotMock(reason = "Use a real instance instead")
public abstract class NotToMock {
    // Class implementation
}

For instance, in the context of the NotToMock class, the @DoNotMock annotation is applied with a specified reason attribute such as “Use a real instance instead”. This annotation explicitly communicates the intention that the NotToMock class should not be mocked during testing, instead recommending the use of an actual instance.

The @DoNotMock annotation with a reason attribute clearly directs testing frameworks and developers to consider alternative testing approaches rather than resorting to mocking.

5. @Spy Annotation

Now let’s see how to use the @Spy annotation to spy on an existing instance.

In the following example, we create a spy of a List without using the @Spy annotation:

@Test
public void whenNotUseSpyAnnotation_thenCorrect() {
    List<String> spyList = Mockito.spy(new ArrayList<String>());
    
    spyList.add("one");
    spyList.add("two");

    Mockito.verify(spyList).add("one");
    Mockito.verify(spyList).add("two");

    assertEquals(2, spyList.size());

    Mockito.doReturn(100).when(spyList).size();
    assertEquals(100, spyList.size());
}

Now we’ll do the same thing, spy on the list, but we’ll use the @Spy annotation:

@Spy
List<String> spiedList = new ArrayList<String>();

@Test
public void whenUseSpyAnnotation_thenSpyIsInjectedCorrectly() {
    spiedList.add("one");
    spiedList.add("two");

    Mockito.verify(spiedList).add("one");
    Mockito.verify(spiedList).add("two");

    assertEquals(2, spiedList.size());

    Mockito.doReturn(100).when(spiedList).size();
    assertEquals(100, spiedList.size());
}

Note how, as before, we’re interacting with the spy here to make sure that it behaves correctly. In this example we:

• Used the real method spiedList.add() to add elements to the spiedList.
• Stubbed the method spiedList.size() to return 100 instead of 2 using Mockito.doReturn().

6. @Captor Annotation

Next, let’s see how to use the @Captor annotation to create an ArgumentCaptor instance.

In the following example, we’ll create an ArgumentCaptor without using the @Captor annotation:

@Test
public void whenNotUseCaptorAnnotation_thenCorrect() {
    List mockList = Mockito.mock(List.class);
    ArgumentCaptor<String> arg = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(String.class);

    mockList.add("one");
    Mockito.verify(mockList).add(arg.capture());

    assertEquals("one", arg.getValue());
}

Now let’s make use of @Captor for the same purpose, to create an ArgumentCaptor instance:

@Mock
List mockedList;

@Captor 
ArgumentCaptor argCaptor;

@Test
public void whenUseCaptorAnnotation_thenTheSame() {
    mockedList.add("one");
    Mockito.verify(mockedList).add(argCaptor.capture());

    assertEquals("one", argCaptor.getValue());
}

Notice how the test becomes simpler and more readable when we remove the configuration logic.

7. @InjectMocks Annotation

Now let’s discuss how to use the @InjectMocks annotation to inject mock fields into the tested object automatically.

In the following example, we’ll use @InjectMocks to inject the mock wordMap into the MyDictionary dic:

@Mock
Map<String, String> wordMap;

@InjectMocks
MyDictionary dic = new MyDictionary();

@Test
public void whenUseInjectMocksAnnotation_thenCorrect() {
    Mockito.when(wordMap.get("aWord")).thenReturn("aMeaning");

    assertEquals("aMeaning", dic.getMeaning("aWord"));
}

Here is the class MyDictionary:

public class MyDictionary {
    Map<String, String> wordMap;

    public MyDictionary() {
        wordMap = new HashMap<String, String>();
    }
    public void add(final String word, final String meaning) {
        wordMap.put(word, meaning);
    }
    public String getMeaning(final String word) {
        return wordMap.get(word);
    }
}

8. Injecting a Mock Into a Spy

Similar to the above test, we might want to inject a mock into a spy:

@Mock
Map<String, String> wordMap;

@Spy
MyDictionary spyDic = new MyDictionary();

However, Mockito doesn’t support injecting mocks into spies, and the following test results in an exception:

@Test 
public void whenUseInjectMocksAnnotation_thenCorrect() { 
    Mockito.when(wordMap.get("aWord")).thenReturn("aMeaning"); 

    assertEquals("aMeaning", spyDic.getMeaning("aWord")); 
}

If we want to use a mock with a spy, we can manually inject the mock through a constructor:

MyDictionary(Map<String, String> wordMap) {
    this.wordMap = wordMap;
}

Instead of using the annotation, we can now create the spy manually:

@Mock
Map<String, String> wordMap; 

MyDictionary spyDic;

@@BeforeEach
public void init() {
    MockitoAnnotations.openMocks(this);
    spyDic = Mockito.spy(new MyDictionary(wordMap));
}

The test will now pass.

9. Running Into NPE While Using Annotation

Often we may run into NullPointerException when we try to actually use the instance annotated with @Mock or @Spy:

public class MockitoAnnotationsUninitializedUnitTest {

    @Mock
    List<String> mockedList;

    @Test(expected = NullPointerException.class)
    public void whenMockitoAnnotationsUninitialized_thenNPEThrown() {
        Mockito.when(mockedList.size()).thenReturn(1);
    }
}

Most of the time, this happens simply because we forget to properly enable Mockito annotations.

So we have to keep in mind that each time we want to use Mockito annotations, we must take the extra step and initialize them as we already explained earlier.

10. Notes

Finally, here are some notes about Mockito annotations:

• Mockito’s annotations minimize repetitive mock creation code.
• They make tests more readable.
• @InjectMocks is necessary for injecting both @Spy and @Mock instances.

11. Conclusion

In this brief article, we explained the basics of annotations in the Mockito library.

Of course, for more Mockito goodness, have a look at the series here.