Expectations

An Expect list defines the assertions for an HTTP or AMQP test case. PayloadStash evaluates every assertion after the operation, and any failed assertion makes the completed test-suite run exit with code 1.

Expect:
  - status: 200
  - body.id: { exists: true }
  - body.name: { type: string }
  - headers.content-type: { matches: "application/json" }
  - duration_ms: { lte: 2000 }

A primitive value is shorthand for equals. Paths use the same simple and JSONPath forms as Capture.

Matchers

Matcher	Meaning
equals, notEquals	Deep equality or inequality
exists	Presence/non-null check when true; missing/null check when false
type	string, number, integer, boolean, object, array, or null
matches, notMatches	Regular-expression test on the string value
contains, notContains	Substring or array membership
in, notIn	Membership in a supplied list
lengthEquals, lengthGte, lengthLte	String or array length
gt, gte, lt, lte	Numeric comparison

JSONPath and captures

Expect:
  - '$.items[?(@.role=="admin")].id': { exists: true }
  - '$.items[*].score::sum': { gte: 50 }
  - body.id: { equals: { $pattern: "${captured:expectedId}" } }

For AMQP, assert publish statuses such as ack, published, unroutable, reply, or matched, and inspect synthesized headers.x-amqp-* metadata.

Tip

A transport error alone does not necessarily determine the final process status. Treat expectations as the test contract: assert every status, response field, header, timing limit, or AMQP outcome that must make the suite fail.