Lint & Test Policy¶

Preface¶

This guide will explain how to lint and test an OPA policy. Linting will be performed using Regal whilst testing will utilize opa test.

Tip

Linting¶

Running Lints¶

The Regal linter is used to evaluate a large suite of rules which are designed to detect likely bugs and prevent non-idiomatic or non-performant code. Regal linting can be run using regal lint. The policy bundle we are linting should be passed in as the first agument.

Example

regal lint policy/

Testing¶

Running Tests¶

OPA tests can be evaluated using the opa test. The policy bundle we are testing should be passed in as the first argument. As with all commands, the --v1-compatible flag is recommended.

Example

opa test --v1-compatible policy/

Packages and Imports¶

OPA test packages should be named equivilently to their policy counterpart with the addition of a _test suffix. Similarly, the file name should match the file name of the package with a _test suffix.

Example

system.rego

package system

import rego.v1

# METADATA
# entrypoint: true
main := {"allow": allow}

default allow := false

system_test.rego

package system_test

import data.system
import rego.v1

Note

The input and data namespaces are imported by default and provide access to request inputs and pre-loaded data respectively.

Writing Tests¶

Test cases should begin with test_ with a name which describes the expected behaviour and the conditions under which it should occur. Typically test cases follow an AND pattern, ensuring the fail if any one of the expressions within fails. Where an expression is expected to fail, you should prefix it with not.

Note

Whilst it is useful to test that rules pass where expected, it is more important to check that they fail safely and correctly deny access in all instances where it should not be granted.

Example

system.rego

package system

import rego.v1

# METADATA
# entrypoint: true
main := {"allow": allow}

default allow := false

allow if {
    input.action == "get_foo"
    "read_foo" in data.subjects[input.subject].permissions
}

system_test.rego

package system_test

import data.system
import rego.v1

test_member_allowed if {
    system.main.allow with input as {"action": "get_foo", "subject": "bob"}
        with data.subjects as {"bob": {"permissions": ["read_foo]}}
}

test_unknown_action_denied if {
    not system.main.allow with input.action as "write_bar"
}

test_non_member_denied if {
    not system.main.allow with input as {"action": "get_foo", "subject": "bob"}
        with data.subjects as {"bob": {"permissions": []}}
}

Continious Integration¶

It is strongly recommeneded you implement automated linting and testing as part of your Continious Integration (CI) pipeline, an example for doing this in GitHub Actions is shown below.

GitHub Actions lint workflow

name: Policy Lint

on:
  workflow_call:

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout source
        uses: actions/checkout@v4.2.2

      - name: Setup Regal
        uses: StyraInc/setup-regal@v1.0.0
        with:
          version: latest

      - name: Lint
        run: >
          regal
          lint
          --format github
          --config-file regal.yaml
          ./policy

GitHub Actions test workflow

name: Policy Test

on:
  workflow_call:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout source
        uses: actions/checkout@v4.2.2

      - name: Setup OPA
        uses: open-policy-agent/setup-opa@v2.2.0
        with:
          version: latest

      - name: Test
        run: opa test ./policy -v