Controller specs live in `spec/controllers` or any example group with `:type => :controller`. A controller spec is an RSpec wrapper for a Rails functional test ([ActionController::TestCase::Behavior](https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/master/actionpack/lib/action_controller/test_case.rb)). It allows you to simulate a single http request in each example, and then specify expected outcomes such as: * rendered templates * redirects * instance variables assigned in the controller to be shared with the view * cookies sent back with the response To specify outcomes, you can use: * standard rspec matchers (`response.code.should eq(200)`) * standard test/unit assertions (`assert_equal 200, response.code`) * rails assertions (`assert_response 200`) * rails-specific matchers: * `response.should render_template (wraps assert_template)` * `response.should redirect_to (wraps assert_redirected_to)` * `assigns(:widget).should be_a_new(Widget)` ## Conventions: ### Controller * pass the controller being specified to the outermost `describe` method. describe AccountController do # ... ### Views * by default, views are not rendered. See [views are stubbed by default](controller-specs/views-are-stubbed-by-default) and [render_views](controller-specs/render-views) for details.