Before deploying a custom plugin to production, it is essential to validate its correctness, performance, and behavior under different conditions. TrustGate encourages writing unit tests and using mocks to simulate request/response contexts. Proper testing ensures that your plugin behaves as expected and doesn’t introduce regressions or performance issues.

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Why Testing Matters

  • ✅ Catch configuration or logic bugs early
  • ✅ Ensure plugin behavior across multiple request scenarios
  • ✅ Validate rejection, continuation, or halting logic
  • ✅ Prevent regressions during future changes
  • ✅ Gain confidence before shipping your plugin

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Project Structure for Plugin Tests

Place your tests alongside your plugin inside the pkg/plugins/<your_plugin>/ folder.

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What to Test

Here are key areas to focus on when testing your plugin:
  • ✅ Configuration Validation Ensure your plugin handles missing or invalid configuration properly using ValidateConfig().
  • ✅ Correct Behavior per Stage Test how the plugin behaves when executed at each stage (pre_request, post_request, etc.).
  • ✅ Edge Cases Simulate missing headers, empty bodies, or malformed inputs and ensure your plugin responds appropriately.
  • ✅ Error Handling Confirm that errors are returned clearly and that the plugin fails gracefully.
  • ✅ Custom Settings Use a variety of settings inputs to test conditional logic or behavior toggles in your plugin.

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Example: Using the Plugin in Gateway Configuration

Once your custom plugin is tested and registered, you can activate it in the gateway configuration with a curl command like the following: 
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/gateways/{gateway-id} \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My Gateway",
    "required_plugins": [
      {
        "name": "my_custom_plugin",
        "enabled": true,
        "stage": "pre_request",
        "priority": 1,
        "settings": {
          "example_setting": "value"
        }
      }
    ]
  }'