ServiceStack validators not firing - validation

Question

I am trying to use fluent validation in ServiceStack. I've added the validation plugin and registered my validator.
Plugins.Add(new ValidationFeature());
container.RegisterValidators(typeof(CreateLeaveValidator).Assembly);
I have implemented a validator class for my service model:
public class CreateLeaveValidator : AbstractValidator<CreateLeave>
{
public CreateLeaveValidator()
{
RuleFor(cl => cl.StudentId).NotEmpty();
RuleFor(cl => cl.LeaveDepart).NotEmpty().GreaterThan(DateTime.Now).WithMessage("Leave must begin AFTER current time and date.");
RuleFor(cl => cl.LeaveReturn).NotEmpty().GreaterThan(cl => cl.LeaveDepart).WithMessage("Leave must end AFTER it begins.");
RuleFor(cl => cl.ApprovalStatus).Must( status => ( ("P".Equals(status)) || ("C".Equals(status)) || ("A".Equals(status)) || ("D".Equals(status)) ) );
}
}
Service Model:
[Route("/leaves", "POST")]
public class CreateLeave : IReturn<LeaveResponse>, IUpdateApprovalStatus
{
public int StudentId { get; set; }
public DateTime RequestDate { get; set; }
public DateTime LeaveDepart { get; set; }
public DateTime LeaveReturn { get; set; }
public string Destination { get; set; }
public string HostRelationship { get; set; }
public string Address { get; set; }
public string City { get; set; }
public string State { get; set; }
public string Postal { get; set; }
public string Hostphone { get; set; }
public string Cellphone { get; set; }
public string Transport { get; set; }
public string Driver { get; set; }
public string Companions { get; set; }
public string Reason { get; set; }
public string ApprovalStatus { get; set; }
public DateTime ApprovalDate { get; set; }
public string ApprovalComment { get; set; }
public string ApprovalReason { get; set; }
public int ApprovalUser { get; set; }
}
But when I create a request with no StudentId or an invalid ApprovalStatus, the validator does not appear to fire and catch the invalid request.
How can I go about troubleshooting the cause of this?
UPDATE: Correction it appears validators are working with my actual service but not in my unit tests. I'm guessing I must not be configuring my apphost correctly in the unit test setup. Here's my test constructor:
public LeaveTests()
{
Licensing.RegisterLicense(#"[license key]");
appHost = new BasicAppHost(typeof(ApiServices).Assembly).Init();
ServiceStack.Text.JsConfig.DateHandler = ServiceStack.Text.DateHandler.ISO8601;
appHost.Plugins.Add(new ValidationFeature());
appHost.Container.RegisterValidators(typeof(CreateLeaveValidator).Assembly);
}

Answer 1

ServiceStack Validation filters are executed in a Global Request Filter which require a full integration test to run, e.g:
public class MyIntegrationTests
{
ServiceStackHost appHost;
public MyIntegrationTests()
{
appHost = new AppHost()
.Init()
.Start("http://localhost:8000/");
}
[OneTimeTearDown] void OneTimeTearDown() => appHost.Dispose();
[Test]
public void Execute_validation_filters()
{
var client = new JsonServiceClient("http://localhost:8000/");
try
{
var response = client.Post(new CreateLeave { ... });
}
catch(WebServiceException ex)
{
//...
}
}
}