SKILL.md

name	cbmockdata
description	Use this skill when generating realistic fake seed/test data in ColdBox/BoxLang using the cbmockdata module. Covers installation, the mock() API, built-in data types, entity population, testing integration, and bulk generation patterns for prototyping and test suites.
applyTo	**/*.{bx,cfc,cfm,bxm}

CBMockdata Skill

When to Use This Skill

Load this skill when:

• Generating realistic seed data for development databases
• Creating large datasets for load/performance testing
• Populating test fixtures in TestBox specs
• Prototyping UI with varied, realistic content
• Generating fake API payloads for contract testing

Installation

box install cbmockdata

Language Mode Reference

Feature	BoxLang	CFML
Struct syntax	{}	{} or structNew()
Array syntax	[]	[] or arrayNew(1)
Arrow functions	( x ) => x.name	Not supported

Core API

Injection

property name="mockDataService" inject="MockDataService@cbmockdata";

Basic Generation

// Generate an array of 10 user structs
var users = mockDataService.mock(
    $num  = 10,
    id    = "uuid",
    name  = "name",
    email = "email",
    age   = "num:18:65",
    bio   = "sentence:2:4"
)

Built-in Data Types

Type	Example Value
uuid	3f2504e0-4f89-...
name	John Doe
fname	Jane
lname	Smith
email	john@example.com
url	https://example.com
phone	555-123-4567
num:min:max	42 (integer in range)
string:n	Random string, n chars
sentence:min:max	2-4 sentence lorem ipsum
lorem:n	n words of lorem
date	2024-03-15
datetime	2024-03-15 10:45:00
boolean	true/false
imageUrl:w:h	Placeholder image URL
oneof:a:b:c	One of the listed values
country	United States
state	California
zipcode	90210
website	https://acme.com
color	#FF5733

Fixed Values

var posts = mockDataService.mock(
    $num    = 5,
    title   = "sentence:1:2",
    status  = "oneof:draft:published:archived",
    userId  = "num:1:100",
    created = "datetime"
)

Nested Objects

var orders = mockDataService.mock(
    $num      = 20,
    id        = "uuid",
    customer  = {
        name  = "name",
        email = "email"
    },
    total     = "num:10:500",
    items     = mockDataService.mock(
        $num    = 3,
        product = "sentence:1:2",
        qty     = "num:1:10",
        price   = "num:5:100"
    )
)

Production Patterns

TestBox Seed Helper

// tests/resources/SeedHelper.bx
class {

    property name="mockDataService" inject="MockDataService@cbmockdata";

    function seedUsers( count = 10 ) {
        return mockDataService.mock(
            $num      = count,
            id        = "uuid",
            firstName = "fname",
            lastName  = "lname",
            email     = "email",
            createdAt = "datetime",
            isActive  = "boolean"
        )
    }

    function seedProducts( count = 50 ) {
        return mockDataService.mock(
            $num        = count,
            id          = "uuid",
            name        = "sentence:1:3",
            description = "sentence:2:5",
            price       = "num:1:999",
            sku         = "string:8"
        )
    }
}

Database Seeder

function run( event, rc, prc ) {
    var users = mockDataService.mock(
        $num     = 500,
        id       = "uuid",
        name     = "name",
        email    = "email",
        password = "string:40"     // placeholder — hash in afterEach
    )

    for ( var user in users ) {
        queryExecute(
            "INSERT INTO users (id, name, email, password) VALUES (:id, :name, :email, :password)",
            {
                id       : { value: user.id,       cfsqltype: "cf_sql_varchar" },
                name     : { value: user.name,     cfsqltype: "cf_sql_varchar" },
                email    : { value: user.email,    cfsqltype: "cf_sql_varchar" },
                password : { value: bcrypt.hashPassword( user.password ),
                             cfsqltype: "cf_sql_varchar" }
            }
        )
    }

    return "Seeded 500 users."
}

API Prototype Handler

function index( event, rc, prc ) {
    prc.data = mockDataService.mock(
        $num      = rc.limit ?: 20,
        id        = "uuid",
        title     = "sentence:2:5",
        body      = "sentence:4:8",
        author    = "name",
        published = "datetime",
        tags      = [
            "oneof:tech:news:health:sports",
            "oneof:tech:news:health:sports"
        ]
    )

    event.renderData( type = "json", data = prc.data )
}

Best Practices

• Use oneof: for status/type columns — realistic constraint-safe values
• Use uuid for primary keys in prototyping — avoids sequence/auto-increment conflicts
• Nest with real mock() calls for related data arrays — do not hand-craft nested loops
• Hash passwords generated with string: — mock passwords should never be stored plain
• Seed only in dev/test environments — gate seeders with an environment check
• Keep seed counts small in unit tests — use large counts only in dedicated perf tests

Documentation

• cbmockdata: https://github.com/coldbox-modules/cbmockdata