Feature: customized message RSpec tries to provide useful failure messages, but for cases in which you want more specific information, you can define your own message right in the example. This works for any matcher _other than the operator matchers_. Scenario: customize failure message Given a file named "example_spec.rb" with: """ describe Array do context "when created with `new`" do it "is empty" do array = Array.new array << 1 # trigger a failure to demonstrate the message array.should be_empty, "expected empty array, got #{array.inspect}" end end end """ When I run "rspec example_spec.rb --format documentation" Then the output should contain "expected empty array, got [1]"