http

Use the http Chef InSpec audit resource to test an http endpoint.

Availability

Installation

This resource is distributed along with Chef InSpec itself. You can use it automatically.

Version

This resource first became available in v1.10.0 of InSpec.

Syntax

An http resource block declares the configuration settings to be tested:

describe http('url', auth: {user: 'user', pass: 'test'}, params: {params}, method: 'method', headers: {headers}, data: data, open_timeout: 60, read_timeout: 60, ssl_verify: true, max_redirects: 3) do
  its('status') { should eq number }
  its('body') { should eq 'body' }
  its('headers.name') { should eq 'header' }
end

where

• ('url') is the url to test
• auth: { user: 'user', pass: 'test' } may be specified for basic auth request
• {params} may be specified for http request parameters
• 'method' may be specified for http request method (default to ‘GET’)
• {headers} may be specified for http request headers
• data may be specified for http request body
• open_timeout may be specified for a timeout for opening connections (default to 60)
• read_timeout may be specified for a timeout for reading connections (default to 60)
• ssl_verify may be specified to enable or disable verification of SSL certificates (default to true)
• max_redirects may be specified to control how many HTTP Redirects to follow (defaults to 0)

Example

The following examples show how to use this Chef InSpec audit resource. An http resource block declares the configuration settings to be tested:

Simple http test

For example, a service is listening on default http port can be tested like this:

describe http('http://localhost') do
  its('status') { should cmp 200 }
end

Complex http test

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              auth: {user: 'user', pass: 'test'},
              params: {format: 'html'},
              method: 'POST',
              headers: {'Content-Type' => 'application/json'},
              data: '{"data":{"a":"1","b":"five"}}') do
  its('status') { should cmp 200 }
  its('body') { should cmp 'pong' }
  its('headers.Content-Type') { should cmp 'text/html' }
end

Local vs. Remote

Beginning with Chef InSpec 1.41, you can enable the ability to have the HTTP test execute on the remote target:

describe http('http://www.example.com', enable_remote_worker: true) do
  its('body') { should cmp 'awesome' }
end

In Chef InSpec 2.0, the HTTP test will automatically execute remotely whenever Chef InSpec is testing a remote node.

Parameters

• url, auth, params, method, headers, data, open_timeout, read_timeout, ssl_verify, max_redirects

Parameter Examples

url

('url') is the url to test.

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping') do
  ...
end

auth

auth: { user: 'user', pass: 'test' } may be specified for basic auth request.

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              auth: {user: 'user', pass: 'test'}) do
  ...
end

params

{params} may be specified for http request parameters.

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              params: {format: 'html'}) do
  ...
end

method

'method' may be specified for http request method (default to ‘GET’).

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              method: 'POST') do
  ...
end

headers

{headers} may be specified for http request headers.

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              headers: {'Content-Type' => 'application/json'}) do
  ...
end

data

data may be specified for http request body.

    describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              data: '{"data":{"a":"1","b":"five"}}') do
      ...
    end

open_timeout

open_timeout may be specified for a timeout for opening connections (default to 60).

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              open_timeout: '90') do
  ...
end

read_timeout

read_timeout may be specified for a timeout for reading connections (default to 60).

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              read_timeout: '90') do
  ...
end

ssl_verify

ssl_verify may be specified to enable or disable verification of SSL certificates (default to true).

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              ssl_verify: true) do
  ...
end

max_redirects

max_redirects may be specified to control how many HTTP Redirects to follow (default to 0).

describe http('http://localhost:8080/ping',
              max_redirects: 3) do
  ...
end

Properties

• body, headers, http_method, status,

Property Examples

body

The body matcher tests body content of http response:

its('body') { should eq 'hello\n' }

headers

The headers matcher returns an hash of all http headers:

its('headers') { should eq {} }

Individual headers can be tested via:

its('headers.Content-Type') { should cmp 'text/html' }

status

The status matcher tests status of the http response:

its('status') { should eq 200 }

Matchers

For a full list of available matchers, please visit our matchers page.