Annotation Type ExpectedException

@Retention(RUNTIME) @Target(METHOD) public @interface ExpectedException
Annotation for specifying expected exceptions in JUnit 5 tests using JMockit.

This annotation allows you to declare that a test method is expected to throw a specific exception type, optionally with a specific message or message fragment. It is designed to help migrate JMockit-based tests from JUnit 4 to JUnit 5 and flexible message matching.

Usage examples: 

// Expect a MissingInvocation exception (type only)
@Test
@ExpectedException(MissingInvocation.class)
public void testMissingInvocation() { ... }

// Expect a MissingInvocation exception with a message containing "missing call"
@Test
@ExpectedException(value = MissingInvocation.class, expectedMessages = {"missing call"})
public void testMissingInvocationWithMessage() { ... }

// Expect either of two message fragments
@Test
@ExpectedException(value = MissingInvocation.class, expectedMessages = {"missing call", "not called"})
public void testMultipleMessages() { ... }

// Use exact message matching
@Test
@ExpectedException(value = MissingInvocation.class, expectedMessages = {"Exact error message"}, messageContains = false)
public void testExactMessage() { ... }

For standard exception assertions unrelated to JMockit, use JUnit 5's assertThrows.

  • Required Element Summary

    Required Elements
    Modifier and Type
    Required Element
    Description
    Class<? extends Throwable>
    value
    Specifies the type of exception expected to be thrown by the test method.

  • Optional Element Summary

    Optional Elements
    Modifier and Type
    Optional Element
    Description
    String[]
    expectedMessages
    Specifies one or more expected message fragments or exact messages for the exception.
    boolean
    messageContains
    If true, matches exception messages using String.contains; if false, uses String.equals.

  • Element Details

    • value

      Class<? extends Throwable> value
      Specifies the type of exception expected to be thrown by the test method.

      Example: 

      &#64;ExpectedException(MissingInvocation.class)
      Returns:
      the expected exception class

    • expectedMessages

      String[] expectedMessages
      Specifies one or more expected message fragments or exact messages for the exception.

      If multiple values are provided, the test passes if any fragment matches the exception message.

      Returns:
      array of expected message fragments or exact messages
      Default:
      {}

    • messageContains

      boolean messageContains
      If true, matches exception messages using String.contains; if false, uses String.equals.

      Default is true for compatibility with JUnit 4's contains-style matching.

      Returns:
      true for contains matching; false for exact matching
      Default:
      true