java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: A ServletContext is required to configure default servlet handling - spring

Question

I have the following test class:
#ActiveProfiles({ "DataTC", "test" })
#RunWith(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.class)
#ContextConfiguration(classes = {BaseTestConfiguration.class, DataTestConfiguration.class, JpaConfiguration.class, PropertyPlaceholderConfiguration.class })
public class RegularDayToTimeSlotsTest {
...
The issue seems to come from the BaseTestConfiguration class:
#Configuration
#ComponentScan(basePackages = { "com.bignibou" }, excludeFilters = { #Filter(type = FilterType.CUSTOM, value = RooRegexFilter.class),
#Filter(type = FilterType.ANNOTATION, value = Controller.class), #Filter(type = FilterType.ANNOTATION, value = ControllerAdvice.class) })
public class BaseTestConfiguration {
}
I systematically get this exception:
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: A ServletContext is required to configure default servlet handling
at org.springframework.util.Assert.notNull(Assert.java:112)
at org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.DefaultServletHandlerConfigurer.<init>(DefaultServletHandlerConfigurer.java:54)
at org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.WebMvcConfigurationSupport.defaultServletHandlerMapping(WebMvcConfigurationSupport.java:329)
at org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration$$EnhancerByCGLIB$$bb4ceb44.CGLIB$defaultServletHandlerMapping$22(<generated>)
at org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration$$EnhancerByCGLIB$$bb4ceb44$$FastClassByCGLIB$$368bb5c1.invoke(<generated>)
at org.springframework.cglib.proxy.MethodProxy.invokeSuper(MethodProxy.java:228)
at org.springframework.context.annotation.ConfigurationClassEnhancer$BeanMethodInterceptor.intercept(ConfigurationClassEnhancer.java:326)
at org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration$$EnhancerByCGLIB$$bb4ceb44.defaultServletHandlerMapping(<generated>)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:606)
at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.SimpleInstantiationStrategy.instantiate(SimpleInstantiationStrategy.java:166)
... 43 more
I am not sure how to get around this issue. Somehow Spring is looking for a ServletContext when I run the test and I get the above exception...

Answer 1

One of your #Configuration classes is obviously annotated with #EnableWebMvc. That's how DelegatingWebMvcConfiguration ends up in your stack trace, since it is imported by #EnableWebMvc.
So although you think you don't need a WebApplicationContext (and hence a ServletContext), you in fact do need it simply because you are loading an application context with #EnableWebMvc.
You have two options:
Compose the configuration classes for your integration test so that you are not including the web-related configuration (i.e., the #Configuration class(es) annotated with #EnableWebMvc).
Annotate your test class with #WebAppConfiguration as suggested in other comments above.
Regards,
Sam (author of the Spring TestContext Framework)

Answer 2

It seems like you are missing
#WebAppConfiguration
from your test class.
The documentation states
The resource base path is used behind the scenes to create a
MockServletContext which serves as the ServletContext for the test’s
WebApplicationContext.
Typically a Servlet container would provide the ServletContext. Since you are in a testing environment, you need a fake. #WebAppConfiguration provides that.

Answer 3

For you to instantiate the Servlet context, you would have to use the annotation.
#WebAppConfiguration
A class-level annotation that is used to declare that the ApplicationContext loaded for an integration test should be a WebApplicationContext. The mere presence of #WebAppConfiguration on a test class ensures that a WebApplicationContext will be loaded for the test, using the default value of "file:src/main/webapp" for the path to the root of the web application (i.e., the resource base path). The resource base path is used behind the scenes to create a MockServletContext which serves as the ServletContext for the test’s WebApplicationContext.

Answer 4

I was getting a similar error but whilst running the application normally rather than trying to run tests.
It turns out if you're making use of a custom PermissionEvaluator then you need to declare it in a separate #Configuration class to the one with your main Spring security configuration in.
See: How do I add method based security to a Spring Boot project?
There is also an open Github issue: https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-boot/issues/4875