Debugging Mockito: Solving the "Wanted but not invoked" error in Gradle plugin tests

Introduction

While developing the Gradle pluginBakeryfor my JBake blog, I encountered a seemingly simple problem: a unit test that failed with the error`Wanted but not invoked`. What seemed like a trivial bug turned out to be a perfect textbook case for understanding the subtleties of mocking with Mockito and Kotlin.

In this article, I will take you through a methodical debugging journey, where each solution reveals a new problem, until the final resolution.

The Context: Bakery Gradle Plugin

The Bakery plugin is a wrapper around JBake that facilitates the publication of static sites. Here is its simplified structure:

class BakeryPlugin : Plugin<Project> {
    override fun apply(project: Project) {
        val extension = project.extensions.create(
            "bakery",
            BakeryExtension::class.java
        )

        project.afterEvaluate {
            if (!project.layout.projectDirectory.asFile
                    .resolve(extension.configPath.get()).exists()) {
                println("config file does not exists")
            } else {
                // C'EST ICI QUE ÇA SE PASSE
                project.plugins.apply(JBakePlugin::class.java)

                val site = FileSystemManager.from(project, extension.configPath.get())
                // Configuration de JBake...
            }
        }
    }
}

The test that was failing was simple:

@Test
fun `plugin applies jbake gradle plugin`() {
    val project = createMockProject()
    val plugin = BakeryPlugin()

    plugin.apply(project)

    verify(project.plugins).apply(JBakePlugin::class.java)
}

The error:

Wanted but not invoked:
pluginContainer.apply(class org.jbake.gradle.JBakePlugin);
Actually, there were zero interactions with this mock.

Problem #1: Verifying the wrong mock

The diagnosis

The problem: Mockito cannot track interactions on`project.plugins`because it is just a getter that returns the real mock`mockPluginContainer`. The verification must be done directly on the mock instance.

The solution

Modify`createMockProject()`to return both objects:

private fun createMockProject(): Pair<Project, PluginContainer> {
    val mockPluginContainer = mock<PluginContainer>()
    val mockProject = mock<Project> {
        on { plugins } doReturn mockPluginContainer
    }
    return Pair(mockProject, mockPluginContainer)
}

And adapt the test:

@Test
fun `plugin applies jbake gradle plugin`() {
    val (project, mockPluginContainer) = createMockProject()
    val plugin = BakeryPlugin()

    plugin.apply(project)

    // ✅ Vérification directe sur le bon mock
    verify(mockPluginContainer).apply(JBakePlugin::class.java)
}

Problem #2: Cascading UnfinishedStubbingException

The diagnosis

Once the first fix was applied, a new error appeared:

UnfinishedStubbingException:
Unfinished stubbing detected here
Hints:
 3. you are stubbing the behaviour of another mock inside
    before 'thenReturn' instruction is completed

The problematic code used the Mockito-Kotlin DSL syntax:

val mockProject = mock<Project> {
    on { extensions } doReturn mockExtensionContainer
    on { plugins } doReturn mockPluginContainer
    on { logger } doReturn mock()  // ❌ PROBLÈME ICI !
}

The solution

Createallmocks outside of any stubbing block, then configure them with`whenever()`:

private fun createMockProject(): Pair<Project, PluginContainer> {
    // 1️⃣ Créer TOUS les mocks d'abord
    val mockPluginContainer = mock<PluginContainer>()
    val mockExtensionContainer = mock<ExtensionContainer>()
    val mockLogger = mock<org.gradle.api.logging.Logger>()
    val mockProject = mock<Project>()

    // 2️⃣ Configurer les mocks séparément avec whenever()
    whenever(mockProject.plugins).thenReturn(mockPluginContainer)
    whenever(mockProject.extensions).thenReturn(mockExtensionContainer)
    whenever(mockProject.logger).thenReturn(mockLogger)

    return Pair(mockProject, mockPluginContainer)
}

Golden Rule: Never call`mock()`inside a mock configuration block. Always create the mocks first, then configure them.

Problem #3: The configuration file does not exist

The diagnosis

Even with the correct mocks, the test still failed because the plugin could not find the configuration file:

// Dans BakeryPlugin.kt
if (!project.layout.projectDirectory.asFile
        .resolve(extension.configPath.get()).exists()) {
    println("config file does not exists")
    return@afterEvaluate  // ❌ Sort avant d'appliquer JBake !
}

The solution

Configure the mocks so that the path resolution works:

private fun createMockProject(): Pair<Project, PluginContainer> {
    // ... autres mocks ...

    val configFile = File("../../site.yml").canonicalFile
    val projectDir = configFile.parentFile

    // Configuration cohérente des chemins
    whenever(mockConfigPathProperty.get()).thenReturn("site.yml")
    whenever(mockProjectDirectory.asFile).thenReturn(projectDir)

    // Maintenant : projectDir.resolve("site.yml") existe ! ✅
}

Problem #4: afterEvaluate and NullPointerException

The diagnosis

The plugin applies JBake in an`afterEvaluate`block, and accesses`buildDirectory.dir()`:

project.afterEvaluate {
    // ...
    project.tasks.withType(JBakeTask::class.java)
        .getByName("bake").apply {
            output = project.layout.buildDirectory
                .dir(site.bake.destDirPath)  // ❌ NPE ici !
                .get()
                .asFile
        }
}

The mock of`buildDirectory.dir()returned`null.

The solution

Mock`afterEvaluate`so that it executes immediately, and fully configure`buildDirectory`:

private fun createMockProject(): Pair<Project, PluginContainer> {
    // ... autres mocks ...

    val mockBuildDirectory = mock<DirectoryProperty>()
    val buildDir = File(projectDir, "build")

    // Mocker dir() pour retourner un Provider valide
    whenever(mockBuildDirectory.dir(any<String>())).doAnswer { invocation ->
        val path = invocation.arguments[0] as String
        val mockDirProvider = mock<Provider<Directory>>()
        val mockDir = mock<Directory>()

        whenever(mockDir.asFile).thenReturn(File(buildDir, path))
        whenever(mockDirProvider.get()).thenReturn(mockDir)

        mockDirProvider
    }

    // Mocker afterEvaluate pour exécution immédiate
    whenever(mockProject.afterEvaluate(any<Action<Project>>())).doAnswer { invocation ->
        val action = invocation.arguments[0] as Action<Project>
        action.execute(mockProject)  // ✅ Exécution synchrone
        null
    }

    return Pair(mockProject, mockPluginContainer)
}

The complete solution

Here is the final`createMockProject()`function, which resolves all the problems:

private fun createMockProject(): Pair<Project, PluginContainer> {
    // 1️⃣ CRÉER tous les mocks (pas de nested mocks !)
    val mockPluginContainer = mock<PluginContainer>()
    val mockExtensionContainer = mock<ExtensionContainer>()
    val mockLogger = mock<org.gradle.api.logging.Logger>()
    val mockTaskContainer = mock<TaskContainer>()
    val mockConfigPathProperty = mock<Property<String>>()
    val mockBakeryExtension = mock<BakeryExtension>()
    val mockProjectDirectory = mock<Directory>()
    val mockBuildDirectory = mock<DirectoryProperty>()
    val mockProjectLayout = mock<ProjectLayout>()
    val mockProject = mock<Project>()

    // 2️⃣ CONFIGURER la résolution des chemins
    val configFile = File("../../site.yml").canonicalFile
    val projectDir = configFile.parentFile
    val buildDir = File(projectDir, "build")

    whenever(mockConfigPathProperty.get()).thenReturn("site.yml")
    whenever(mockConfigPathProperty.isPresent).thenReturn(true)
    whenever(mockBakeryExtension.configPath).thenReturn(mockConfigPathProperty)
    whenever(mockProjectDirectory.asFile).thenReturn(projectDir)

    // 3️⃣ CONFIGURER buildDirectory avec dir()
    whenever(mockBuildDirectory.dir(any<String>())).doAnswer { invocation ->
        val path = invocation.arguments[0] as String
        val mockDirProvider = mock<Provider<Directory>>()
        val mockDir = mock<Directory>()
        whenever(mockDir.asFile).thenReturn(File(buildDir, path))
        whenever(mockDirProvider.get()).thenReturn(mockDir)
        mockDirProvider
    }

    // 4️⃣ ASSEMBLER le projet
    whenever(mockProjectLayout.projectDirectory).thenReturn(mockProjectDirectory)
    whenever(mockProjectLayout.buildDirectory).thenReturn(mockBuildDirectory)

    whenever(mockExtensionContainer.create("bakery", BakeryExtension::class.java))
        .thenReturn(mockBakeryExtension)
    whenever(mockExtensionContainer.getByType(BakeryExtension::class.java))
        .thenReturn(mockBakeryExtension)

    whenever(mockProject.extensions).thenReturn(mockExtensionContainer)
    whenever(mockProject.plugins).thenReturn(mockPluginContainer)
    whenever(mockProject.tasks).thenReturn(mockTaskContainer)
    whenever(mockProject.layout).thenReturn(mockProjectLayout)
    whenever(mockProject.logger).thenReturn(mockLogger)
    whenever(mockProject.projectDir).thenReturn(projectDir)

    // 5️⃣ CONFIGURER afterEvaluate pour exécution immédiate
    whenever(mockProject.afterEvaluate(any<Action<Project>>())).doAnswer { invocation ->
        val action = invocation.arguments[0] as Action<Project>
        action.execute(mockProject)
        null
    }

    return Pair(mockProject, mockPluginContainer)
}

And the final test that passes:

@Test
fun `plugin applies jbake gradle plugin`() {
    val (project, mockPluginContainer) = createMockProject()
    val plugin = BakeryPlugin()

    plugin.apply(project)

    verify(mockPluginContainer).apply(JBakePlugin::class.java) // ✅ SUCCÈS !
}

Lessons learned

1. Verify the correct mock

// ❌ FAUX
verify(project.plugins).apply(JBakePlugin::class.java)

// ✅ CORRECT
val (project, mockPluginContainer) = createMockProject()
verify(mockPluginContainer).apply(JBakePlugin::class.java)

2. Avoid nested mocks

// ❌ FAUX - UnfinishedStubbingException
val mockProject = mock<Project> {
    on { logger } doReturn mock()  // Nested mock creation !
}

// ✅ CORRECT - Créer séparément
val mockLogger = mock<org.gradle.api.logging.Logger>()
val mockProject = mock<Project>()
whenever(mockProject.logger).thenReturn(mockLogger)

3. Mock evaluation callbacks

// ✅ afterEvaluate doit s'exécuter pour les tests
whenever(mockProject.afterEvaluate(any())).doAnswer { invocation ->
    val action = invocation.arguments[0] as Action<Project>
    action.execute(mockProject)
    null
}

4. Test path resolution

// Toujours vérifier que les chemins se résolvent correctement
val extension = project.extensions.getByType(BakeryExtension::class.java)
val configPath = extension.configPath.get()
val projectDir = project.layout.projectDirectory.asFile
val resolvedConfig = projectDir.resolve(configPath)

println("Resolved config: ${resolvedConfig.absolutePath}")
println("Exists: ${resolvedConfig.exists()}")

Final test architecture

Conclusion

What seemed to be a simple test problem turned out to be an excellent case study on:

The subtleties of Mockito with Kotlin
The importance of mocking the right objects
Managing asynchronous callbacks in tests
Path resolution in Gradle plugins

Methodical debugging, by understanding each layer of the problem, led to a robust and maintainable solution.

Tip for your tests: If you encounter "Wanted but not invoked" with Mockito, always ask yourself: 1. Am I verifying the right mock? 2. Are all my mocks created outside of configuration blocks? 3. Are my callbacks actually executing? 4. Are my paths resolving correctly?

Resources

Have you encountered similar problems in your tests? Share your experience in the comments!

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Introduction

The Context: Bakery Gradle Plugin

Problem #1: Verifying the wrong mock

The diagnosis

The solution

Problem #2: Cascading UnfinishedStubbingException

The diagnosis

The solution

Problem #3: The configuration file does not exist

The diagnosis

The solution

Problem #4: afterEvaluate and NullPointerException

The diagnosis

The solution

The complete solution

Lessons learned

1. Verify the correct mock

2. Avoid nested mocks

3. Mock evaluation callbacks

4. Test path resolution

Final test architecture

Conclusion

Resources

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