json

Use the json Chef InSpec audit resource to test data in a JSON file.

Availability

Installation

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

Version

This resource first became available in v1.0.0 of InSpec.

Syntax

A json resource block declares the data to be tested. Assume the following JSON file:

{
  "name" : "hello",
  "meta" : {
    "creator" : "John Doe"
  },
  "array": [
    "zero",
    "one"
  ]
}

This file can be queried using:

describe json('/path/to/name.json') do
  its('name') { should eq 'hello' }
  its(['meta','creator']) { should eq 'John Doe' }
  its(['array', 1]) { should eq 'one' }
end

where

• name is a configuration setting in a JSON file
• should eq 'foo' tests a value of name as read from a JSON file versus the value declared in the test

The json resource can also be used with JSON formatted output from a command. Using the same JSON as the previous example, it can be queried using:

describe json({ command: 'retrieve_data.py --json'}) do
  its('name') { should eq 'hello' }
  its(['meta','creator']) { should eq 'John Doe' }
  its(['array', 1]) { should eq 'one' }
end

Finally, content can be passed directly to the resource:

describe json({ content: '{\"item1\": { \"status\": \"available\" } }' }) do
  its(['item1', 'status']) { should cmp 'available' }
end

Examples

The following examples show how to use this Chef InSpec audit resource.

name

The name matcher tests the value of the filename as read from a JSON file versus the value declared in the test:

its('name') { should eq '/tmp/example.json' }

Test a cookbook version in a policyfile.lock.json file

describe json('policyfile.lock.json') do
  its(['cookbook_locks', 'omnibus', 'version']) { should eq('2.2.0') }
end

Test JSON output from an HTTP API

Our example API has a /health endpoint, which looks like this:

{
  "service": {
    "port": 3000,
    "status": "ok"
  }
}

Example test:

describe json(content: http('http://localhost:3000/health').body) do
  its(['service', 'port']) { should eq 3000 }
  its(['service', 'status']) { should eq 'ok' }
end

Matchers

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