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Test Suites

Testing your ActivityPub implementation is crucial for ensuring interoperability with the broader Fediverse. These test suites help validate protocol compliance and catch issues before they affect federation.

Why Test Your Implementation?​

  • Protocol Compliance: Ensure your implementation follows the ActivityPub specification
  • Interoperability: Verify your server can communicate with other Fediverse software
  • Regression Prevention: Catch breaking changes before deployment
  • Edge Cases: Discover handling issues for uncommon but valid ActivityPub scenarios

Available Test Suites​

ActivityPub Test Suite​

A robust suite offering comprehensive testing tools for validating ActivityPub implementations against protocol specifications.

Features:

  • Tests for inbox/outbox handling
  • Signature verification tests
  • Activity delivery validation
  • Collection pagination tests

Fediverse Test Framework​

A project aimed at providing a comprehensive framework for testing Fediverse technologies.

Features:

  • Multi-platform testing support
  • Federation flow validation
  • Interoperability checks between implementations

FEP Testing​

Feature files written in Gherkin syntax for testing Fediverse Enhancement Proposals and core functionality.

Features:

  • Human-readable test scenarios
  • FEP compliance validation
  • Easy to extend with new test cases
Feature: Follow Activity
  Scenario: User follows another user
    Given actor "alice@server-a.com" exists
    And actor "bob@server-b.com" exists
    When alice sends a Follow activity to bob
    Then bob's server should receive the Follow
    And bob's server should respond with Accept

rocks-testsuite​

An ActivityPub test suite designed to validate and assess compliance with the protocol, originally from activitypub.rocks.

Features:

  • Server-to-server tests
  • Client-to-server tests
  • Detailed compliance reports

go-fed Testsuite​

A test suite repository specifically for federated software using the go-fed library.

Pubstrate​

A Scheme-scripted test suite providing structured tests for ActivityPub implementations with meticulous protocol adherence checks.

Features:

  • Detailed protocol compliance checks
  • Scriptable test scenarios
  • Comprehensive coverage of ActivityPub spec

Running Tests Against Your Server​

Basic Test Setup​

Most test suites require:

  1. A running server with a test actor
  2. HTTP access to your server's endpoints
  3. Test configuration pointing to your server
# Example: Running activitypub-testsuite
git clone https://github.com/steve-bate/activitypub-testsuite
cd activitypub-testsuite
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Configure your server URL
export AP_TEST_SERVER=https://your-server.com
export AP_TEST_ACTOR=https://your-server.com/users/testuser

# Run tests
pytest

Testing in Development​

For local development, use a tool like ngrok to expose your local server:

# Start your local server
npm run dev  # or your server's start command

# In another terminal, expose it
ngrok http 3000

# Use the ngrok URL for testing
# https://abc123.ngrok.io

What to Test​

Core Functionality​

Test AreaWhat to Verify
Actor endpointsProfile returns valid JSON-LD
WebFingerDiscovery returns correct links
Inbox POSTActivities are accepted and processed
Outbox GETReturns valid OrderedCollection
HTTP SignaturesSignatures verify correctly

Activity Handling​

ActivityTest Cases
CreateObject is created and stored
FollowFollower is added, Accept/Reject sent
LikeLike is recorded
AnnounceBoost is recorded and forwarded
DeleteObject is removed or tombstoned
UndoPrevious activity is reversed

Federation Flows​

Test: Complete Follow Flow
1. Actor A sends Follow to Actor B
2. Actor B's server receives and verifies signature
3. Actor B's server sends Accept
4. Actor A receives Accept
5. Actor A is now in Actor B's followers
6. Actor B's posts are delivered to Actor A

Creating Your Own Tests​

Simple HTTP Test​

const assert = require('assert');

async function testActorEndpoint(actorUrl) {
  const response = await fetch(actorUrl, {
    headers: { 'Accept': 'application/activity+json' }
  });

  assert.strictEqual(response.status, 200);

  const actor = await response.json();

  // Required properties
  assert.ok(actor['@context'], 'Missing @context');
  assert.ok(actor.type, 'Missing type');
  assert.ok(actor.id, 'Missing id');
  assert.ok(actor.inbox, 'Missing inbox');
  assert.ok(actor.outbox, 'Missing outbox');

  console.log('✓ Actor endpoint valid');
}

Testing Signature Verification​

async function testSignatureVerification(inboxUrl, activity, privateKey, keyId) {
  const body = JSON.stringify(activity);
  const signature = createHttpSignature(privateKey, keyId, 'POST', inboxUrl, body);

  const response = await fetch(inboxUrl, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/activity+json',
      'Date': signature.date,
      'Digest': signature.digest,
      'Signature': signature.signature
    },
    body
  });

  // Should accept with valid signature
  assert.ok(response.status >= 200 && response.status < 300,
    `Expected 2xx, got ${response.status}`);

  console.log('✓ Signature accepted');
}

Continuous Integration​

GitHub Actions Example​

name: ActivityPub Compliance Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Start server
        run: |
          npm install
          npm start &
          sleep 5

      - name: Run ActivityPub tests
        run: |
          git clone https://github.com/steve-bate/activitypub-testsuite
          cd activitypub-testsuite
          pip install -r requirements.txt
          pytest --server=http://localhost:3000

Common Test Failures​

Signature Issues​

Problem: 401 Unauthorized on inbox POST

Common causes:

  • Clock skew between servers
  • Wrong algorithm in signature
  • Key not found at keyId URL
  • Digest mismatch

Content Negotiation​

Problem: HTML returned instead of JSON

Solution: Ensure Accept header handling:

if (req.accepts('application/activity+json') ||
    req.accepts('application/ld+json')) {
  return res.json(actor);
}
return res.html(profilePage);

Missing Required Fields​

Problem: Test expects fields your implementation doesn't provide

Solution: Check the spec for required vs optional fields. Minimum actor:

{
  "@context": "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
  "type": "Person",
  "id": "https://example.com/users/alice",
  "inbox": "https://example.com/users/alice/inbox",
  "outbox": "https://example.com/users/alice/outbox"
}

Resources​

Next Steps​