In a Spring test, which annotation can be used to mock a user?

Question

Options

• A@MockAuthentication
• B@WithMockUser
• C@Mock
• D@MockBean

• A
  5% (1)
• B
  89% (17)
• C
  5% (1)

Explanation

@WithMockUser (B) is the correct Spring Security Test annotation that simulates an authenticated user in your test context - it injects a mock Authentication object into the SecurityContextHolder, letting you test secured endpoints without a real user in the database. @Mock (C) is a Mockito annotation for creating mock objects of any class and has no awareness of Spring Security's authentication context. @MockBean (D) is a Spring Boot testing annotation that replaces a Spring bean in the application context with a Mockito mock, also unrelated to authentication. @MockAuthentication (A) does not exist in any standard Spring or Spring Security library - it's a plausible-sounding distractor.

Memory tip: Think "With Mock User" - the annotation literally reads like a sentence: "run this test with a mock user." If you can hear the phrase, you've got the annotation.

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