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mockclock-jvm

Wraps Java's java.time.Clock + InstantSource dependency-injection pattern for testing time-sensitive code. Covers Clock.fixed(instant, zone), Clock.offset(baseClock, duration), Clock.systemDefaultZone() for production, the InstantSource interface (Java 17+), and the recommended dependency-injection pattern (constructor-inject Clock instead of calling Instant.now() directly). Use when you need to wire the clock-injection pattern (Clock.fixed, Clock.offset, MutableClock, InstantSource, Spring @Bean) into JVM (Java / Kotlin / Scala) production or test code. For pure DST transition reference (skipped or repeated hours, IANA DB, cron-double-fire bug classes) without a clock-injection need, use dst-transition-reference instead.

Install with skills.sh (any agent)

npx skills add testland/qa --skill mockclock-jvm
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mockclock-jvm

Overview

The JVM doesn't have a single "freeze clock" library because java.time (since Java 8) was designed with dependency-injected Clock as the intended testing pattern. Per docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/21/docs/api/java.base/java/time/Clock.html (opens in new window): "This abstract class models a clock. Most application code should inject a Clock into any method that needs the current instant and date/time."

The pattern: production code injects Clock.systemDefaultZone(); tests inject Clock.fixed(...). No global state monkey-patching.

When to use

  • Java / Kotlin / Scala tests for time-sensitive code.
  • Designing testable code from the start (constructor-inject Clock).
  • Migrating away from System.currentTimeMillis() and Instant.now().

Authoring

The injection pattern

// Production code
public class TaskScheduler {
    private final Clock clock;

    public TaskScheduler(Clock clock) {
        this.clock = clock;
    }

    public Task scheduleNext(Duration after) {
        return new Task(Instant.now(clock).plus(after));
    }
}

// Wire-up
TaskScheduler prodScheduler = new TaskScheduler(Clock.systemDefaultZone());

The injection lets tests pass any Clock implementation.

Clock.fixed (frozen)

@Test
void scheduleNext() {
    Clock fixed = Clock.fixed(
        Instant.parse("2026-05-20T14:30:00Z"),
        ZoneId.of("America/New_York")
    );
    TaskScheduler scheduler = new TaskScheduler(fixed);

    Task task = scheduler.scheduleNext(Duration.ofMinutes(5));

    assertEquals(
        Instant.parse("2026-05-20T14:35:00Z"),
        task.getScheduledAt()
    );
}

Clock.fixed doesn't advance. Successive Instant.now(fixed) returns the same value.

Clock.offset (relative)

Clock realPlus10 = Clock.offset(Clock.systemDefaultZone(), Duration.ofMinutes(10));
// Code reading this clock sees real-time + 10 minutes

Useful when you want real-time progression but with a known offset.

A mutable test clock (Java 17+)

// Custom: a Clock that can be advanced manually
public class MutableClock extends Clock {
    private Instant instant;
    private final ZoneId zone;

    public MutableClock(Instant instant, ZoneId zone) {
        this.instant = instant;
        this.zone = zone;
    }

    public void setInstant(Instant i) { this.instant = i; }
    public void advance(Duration d) { instant = instant.plus(d); }

    @Override public Clock withZone(ZoneId z) { return new MutableClock(instant, z); }
    @Override public ZoneId getZone() { return zone; }
    @Override public Instant instant() { return instant; }
}

Tests can setInstant / advance to simulate time progression.

InstantSource (Java 17+)

Per docs.oracle.com (opens in new window), InstantSource is a narrower interface than Clock (just instant() - no zone). Useful when code only needs the instant:

public class Logger {
    private final InstantSource source;
    public Logger(InstantSource source) { this.source = source; }
    public void log(String msg) {
        System.out.println(source.instant() + " " + msg);
    }
}

// Test
InstantSource fake = () -> Instant.parse("2026-05-20T14:30:00Z");
new Logger(fake).log("hi");

Spring DI integration

@Configuration
public class ClockConfig {
    @Bean
    public Clock clock() {
        return Clock.systemDefaultZone();
    }
}

// Test
@TestConfiguration
public class TestClockConfig {
    @Bean public Clock clock() {
        return Clock.fixed(Instant.parse("2026-05-20T14:30:00Z"), ZoneOffset.UTC);
    }
}

DST tests

@Test
void springForwardLocalTime() {
    Clock fixed = Clock.fixed(
        Instant.parse("2026-03-08T07:30:00Z"),  // 02:30 EDT - invalid local
        ZoneId.of("America/New_York")
    );

    // ZonedDateTime resolution depends on resolver
    ZonedDateTime zdt = ZonedDateTime.ofInstant(fixed.instant(), fixed.getZone());
    // Per dst-transition-reference: assert the behaviour matches docs
}

Running

mvn test
gradle test

CI integration

jobs:
  jvm-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with: { java-version: '21', distribution: 'temurin' }
      - run: mvn test

Anti-patterns

Anti-patternWhy it failsFix
Instant.now() directly in codeNot injectable; not testableInject Clock; Instant.now(clock)
System.currentTimeMillis()Same problemInject Clock
Static-mock the Clock with PowerMockBrittle; bytecode-rewrite hacksUse DI
Forget zone in Clock.fixedDefault UTC; local-time tests degenerateExplicit zone
Test only frozen, not advancingMisses duration arithmeticCustom MutableClock
Skip InstantSource for narrow needsOver-specified Clock dependencyUse InstantSource (Java 17+)
Live-clock in unit testsFlaky around minute / hour boundariesAlways inject test Clock
Multiple Clocks per serviceCoordination bugsOne Clock per service

Limitations

  • Requires source control. Libraries that call Instant.now() directly aren't testable via Clock injection.
  • System.currentTimeMillis() not covered. Use Clock everywhere.
  • Thread.sleep is real-time. Mockclock pattern doesn't fake sleep; use a ScheduledExecutorService with a controllable executor for that.
  • No leap-second simulation per leap-second-reference.

References

Related skills

dotnet-faketime

Wraps .NET's TimeProvider abstraction (System.TimeProvider, introduced .NET 8) and FakeTimeProvider from Microsoft.Extensions.TimeProvider.Testing: SetUtcNow, Advance, AutoAdvanceAmount, CreateTimer, Delay, and the pre-.NET-8 ISystemClock migration path. Use when testing C# or F# code that reads the current time, uses timers, or awaits Task.Delay.

dst-transition-reference

Pure-reference catalog of Daylight Saving Time (DST) transition patterns and their canonical bug classes. Covers the spring-forward (skipped hour: 02:00 → 03:00 local) and fall-back (repeated hour: 02:00 → 01:00 local) transitions, the historical irregularity of DST (different jurisdictions, transitions on different dates, some regions abolish DST or never adopted it), the IANA timezone database (tz / Olson DB) as the canonical source, and the testable behaviors DST creates (duplicate / missing local timestamps, cron jobs that fire 0 or 2 times, billing periods that miss / double-count, recurring meetings on transition days). Per-jurisdiction DST-rule tables and refreshable per-region test-data fixtures live in references/. Use when designing or auditing time-handling code or test cases.

freezegun-python

Wraps freezegun (github.com/spulec/freezegun), the Python time-mocking library: @freeze_time decorator / context manager, freeze_time(...).start() + stop(), tick / move_to / tz_offset, and integration with datetime.now / time.time / time.localtime. Use when testing Python code that calls datetime / time.

iso-8601-vs-rfc-3339-reference

Pure-reference catalog of the ISO 8601 vs RFC 3339 distinction. Covers the relationship (RFC 3339 is a strict subset of ISO 8601 designed for internet protocols), the syntactic differences (RFC 3339 disallows ISO 8601's '+02' offset short-form requires '+02:00'; RFC 3339 mandates a date-time separator T or space; ISO 8601 allows much more), the canonical date-time string format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS[.fff]±HH:MM or Z), per-language parser behaviour (Python isoformat, Java Instant.parse, JS Date.parse non-spec), and serialisation rules for APIs. Use when choosing a wire format, parsing third-party datetimes, or auditing time-string handling.

jest-fake-timers

Wraps Jest's built-in modern fake-timers (built on @sinonjs/fake-timers since Jest 27): jest.useFakeTimers(), jest.setSystemTime(), jest.advanceTimersByTime(), jest.runAllTimers(), and jest.useRealTimers() for selective restoration. Use when testing JS/TS code in Jest where setTimeout / setInterval / Date / Date.now need deterministic control.

leap-second-reference

Pure-reference catalog of leap-second mechanics and the bugs they cause: the 23:59:60 UTC insertion (announced ~6 months ahead by IERS Bulletin C; 27 inserted 1972-2016; abolished by 2035 per CGPM 2022), the Google/AWS leap-smear alternative, and the four bug classes a real insertion exposes - time_t non-monotonicity, negative durations, NTP cascading, and cross-node clock skew - each with a monotonic-clock fix and a freezegun simulation. Use when auditing time-sensitive code (financial timestamping, distributed logs, NTP-driven schedulers) for second-by-second progress assumptions; for the far more common daylight-saving-time transition hazards, use dst-transition-reference instead.

libfaketime-c

Wraps libfaketime (github.com/wolfcw/libfaketime), the LD_PRELOAD library that fakes the clock for any binary by intercepting time() / gettimeofday() / clock_gettime(). Covers absolute-date mode (FAKETIME='2026-12-31 23:59:00'), relative offset (FAKETIME='-1d'), advance-rate (FAKETIME='@2026-12-31 23:59:00 x5' for 5x speed), per-process scope via LD_PRELOAD, and FAKETIME_NO_CACHE for high-resolution mocking. Use when you need to fake time, mock the clock, or freeze time for C/C++ or any native binary that needs deterministic wall-clock time.

sinon-fake-timers-js

Wraps Sinon's standalone @sinonjs/fake-timers library for JS/TS testing: install(), tick() / tickAsync(), setSystemTime(), restore(); covers timers (setTimeout / setInterval / requestAnimationFrame), Date / performance.now() / hrtime, and the toFake option for selective override. Runner-agnostic - drives the clock directly in Mocha, AVA, Jasmine, node:test, or the browser. Use when JS/TS code needs deterministic timer or clock control and the test runner does not already expose this library behind its own built-in fake-timer API.

timecop-ruby

Wraps timecop (github.com/travisjeffery/timecop), the Ruby time-mocking gem: Timecop.freeze, Timecop.travel, Timecop.scale (time-speedup), Timecop.return (cleanup), and RSpec-friendly helpers. Use when testing Ruby/Rails code that calls Time / Date / DateTime.

timezone-test-matrix-builder

Builds a timezone, daylight saving time (DST), and leap year / leap second test matrix from wherever a codebase reads or formats dates and times. Finds time-handling code (grep for datetime / Date / Instant / time.time / timezone), sorts each spot into storage, business-logic, display, cron, or billing, picks the edge cases that matter (DST spring-forward / fall-back, ambiguous local time, leap day Feb 29, ISO 8601 / RFC 3339 round-trip, zone-database updates), and emits per-spot test stubs wired to the language's fake-clock (mock-time) library. Use when a codebase needs timezone, DST, and leap-year test coverage derived from its own date/time usage.