processRequest()

Signature

processRequest() — returns any

Available in: controller, model, test, migrator, migration, tabledefinition Category: Miscellaneous Functions

Description

Creates a controller and calls an action on it. Which controller and action that’s called is determined by the params passed in. Returns the result of the request either as a string or in a struct with body, emails, files, flash, redirect, status, and type. Primarily used for testing purposes.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
params	struct	yes	—	The params struct to use in the request (make sure that at least controller and action are set).
method	string	no	get	The HTTP method to use in the request (get, post etc).
returnAs	string	no	—	Pass in struct to return all information about the request instead of just the final output (body).
rollback	string	no	false	Pass in true to roll back all database transactions made during the request.
includeFilters	string	no	true	Set to before to only execute “before” filters, after to only execute “after” filters or false to skip all filters.

Examples

1. Simple request, returns rendered output as string
result = processRequest(params={controller="users", action="show", id=5});
// Returns: rendered HTML for the users/show action

2. Simulate a POST request
result = processRequest(
    params={controller="users", action="create", name="Alice"},
    method="post"
);
// Returns: rendered output of the create action

3. Get a detailed struct response instead of just body
result = processRequest(
    params={controller="sessions", action="create", email="test@example.com"},
    method="post",
    returnAs="struct"
);
// Returns struct with keys: body, emails, files, flash, redirect, status, type

4. Automatically roll back database changes
result = processRequest(
    params={controller="orders", action="create", product_id=42},
    method="post",
    rollback=true
);
// Data is inserted during the request but rolled back afterward

5. Skip all filters
result = processRequest(
    params={controller="users", action="delete", id=10},
    includeFilters=false
);
// Runs delete action without before/after filters

6. Run only "before" filters (useful for testing filter logic)
result = processRequest(
    params={controller="users", action="edit", id=10},
    includeFilters="before"
);