Testing Models
Every OpenFGA model should be tested before deployment to ensure your authorization model is correctly designed.
The .fga.yaml contains tests for OpenFGA authorization models. If you are using Visual Studio Code as your IDE, install the OpenFGA extension to enable syntax coloring and validation.
Define the model and tuples
.fga.yaml files have the following top level items:
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
name (optional) | A descriptive name for the test file |
model or model_file | An OpenFGA model or a reference to an external model file in fga or json format |
tuples or tuple_file (optional) | A set of tuples or a reference to an external tuple file in json, yaml or csv format. These are considered for all tests. |
tests | A set of tests that verify the return values of OpenFGA API calls |
The example below defines a model and tuples:
name: Model Tests # optional
# model_file: ./model.fga # you can specify an external .fga file, or include it inline
model: |
model
schema 1.1
type user
type organization
relations
define member : [user]
define admin : [user with non_expired_grant]
condition non_expired_grant(current_time: timestamp, grant_time: timestamp, grant_duration: duration) {
current_time < grant_time + grant_duration
}
# tuple_file: ./tuples.yaml # you can specify an external file, or include it inline
tuples:
# Anne is a member of the Acme organization
- user: user:anne
relation: member
object: organization:acme
# Peter has the admin role from February 2nd 2024 0AM to 1AM
- user: user:peter
relation: admin
object: organization:acme
condition:
name: non_expired_grant
context:
grant_time : "2024-02-01T00:00:00Z"
grant_duration : 1h
Write tests
Always write tests to verify that the calls your application will make return the results you expect. A good test covers scenarios that verify every relation.
Tests have the following structure:
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
name (optional) | A descriptive name for the test, like “Organization Membership” |
tuples | A set of tuples that are only considered for the test |
check | A set of tests for Check calls, each with a user/object and a set of assertions |
list_objects | A set of tests for ListObjects calls, each one with a user/type and a set of assertions for any number of relations |
list_users | A set of tests for ListUsers calls, each one with an object and user filter and a set of assertions for the users for any number of relations |
Write Check tests
Check tests verify the results of the check API calls to validate access requirements for a user. Each check verification has the following structure:
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
user | The user type and user id you are checking for access |
object | The object type and object id related to the user |
context | A set of tests for contextual parameters used to evaluate conditions |
assertions | A list of relation:expected-result pairs |
<relation>: <true or false> | The name of the relation you want to verify and the expected result |
The following example adds multiple check verifications in every test:
tests:
- name: Test
check:
- user: user:anne
object: organization:acme
assertions:
member: true
admin: false
- user: user:peter
object: organization:acme
context:
current_time : "2024-02-01T00:10:00Z"
assertions:
member: false
admin: true
Write List Objects tests
A good test covers scenarios that specify every relation for every object type that your application will need to call the list-objects API for.
The following verifies the expected results using the list_objects option in OpenFGA tests:
list_objects:
- user: user:anne
type: organization
assertions:
member:
- organization:acme
admin: []
- user: user:peter
type: organization
context:
current_time : "2024-02-01T00:10:00Z"
assertions:
member: []
admin:
- organization:acme
The example above checks that user:anne has access to the organization:acme as a member and is not an admin of any organization. It also checks that user:peter, given the current time is February 1st 2024, 0:10 AM, is not related to any organization as a member, but is related to organization:acme as an admin.
Write List Users tests
List users tests verify the results of the list-users API to validate the users who or do not have access to an object
Each list users verification has the following structure:
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
object | The object to list users for |
user_filter | Specifies the type or userset to filter with, this must only contain one entry |
user_filter.type | The specific type of results to return with response |
user_filter.relation | The specific relation of results to return with response. Specify to return usersets (optional) |
context | A set of tests for contextual parameters used to evaluate conditions |
assertions | A list of assertions to make |
<relation> | The name of the relation you want to verify |
<relation>.users | The users who should have the stated relation to the object |
In order to simplify test writing, the following syntax is supported for the various object types included in users from the API response:
<type>:<id>to represent a userset that is a user<type>:<id>#<relation>to represent a userset that is a relation on a type<type>:*to represent a userset that is a type bound public access for a type
The following is an example of using the list_users option in OpenFGA tests:
list_users:
- object: organization:acme
user_filter:
- type: user
context:
current_time : "2024-02-02T00:10:00Z"
assertions:
member:
users:
- user:anne
admin:
users: []
The example above checks that the organization:acme, given the current time is February 2nd 2024, it has 'user:anne' as a member, nobody as an admin. If we tried with current time being February 1st 2024, then user:peter would be listed as an admin
Running tests
Tests are run using the model test CLI command. For instructions on installing the OpenFGA CLI, visit the OpenFGA CLI Github repository.
fga model test --tests <filename>.fga.yaml
When all tests pass, a summary with the number of tests passed is displayed. When a test fails, a line for every test is displayed.
$ fga model test --tests docs.fga.yaml
# Test Summary #
Tests 2/2 passing
Checks 4/4 passing
ListObjects 4/4 passing
$ fga model test --tests docs.fga.yaml
(FAILING) : ListUsers(1/2 passing)
ⅹ ListUsers(object={Type:organization Id:acme},relation=member,user_filter={Type:user Relation:<nil>}, context:&map[current_time:2024-02-02T00:10:00Z]): expected={Users:[user:ann]}, got={Users:[user:anne]}
---
# Test Summary #
Tests 1/2 passing
Checks 4/4 passing
ListObjects 4/4 passing
Running tests using GitHub Actions
Use the OpenFGA Model Testing Action to run tests from CI/CD flows in GitHub.
Set the path to the .fga.yaml file as the store-file-path parameter when configuring the action:
name: Test Action
on:
workflow_dispatch:
pull_request:
branches:
- main
jobs:
test:
name: Run test
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout Project
uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Run Test
uses: openfga/action-openfga-[email protected]
with:
store-file-path: ./example/model.fga.yaml