fix: CLI --server parameter should take priority over OpenAPI servers

[ericfitz]

Summary

Fixes a bug where the CLI --server parameter is ignored when the OpenAPI specification contains a concrete server URL.

Problem

When a user provides both:

• CLI parameter: --server=http://localhost:8080
• OpenAPI spec with: https://api.example.com

Current behavior (bug): Uses https://api.example.com (CLI ignored)
Expected behavior: Uses http://localhost:8080 (CLI takes priority)

The existing behavior works correctly for:

• Placeholder servers: {apiRoot}/v2 - CLI replaces placeholder ✅
• Relative paths: /api/v1 - CLI gets prepended ✅
• Concrete URLs: https://api.example.com - CLI ignored ❌ BUG

Solution

Refactored ApiArguments.validateValidServer() to handle three scenarios:

1. No CLI server provided: Use OpenAPI server (existing behavior)
2. CLI server + OpenAPI server with placeholders/relative paths: Use OpenAPI server for variable replacement (existing behavior)
3. CLI server + concrete OpenAPI URL: Use CLI server (NEW - fixes the bug)

File: src/main/java/com/endava/cats/args/ApiArguments.java

Changes:

• Split logic into two branches based on whether CLI --server is provided
• When CLI server exists, check if OpenAPI server has placeholders ({) or relative paths (doesn't start with http)
• Concrete OpenAPI URLs no longer override CLI server parameter
• Improved debug logging

 if (openAPI != null) {
     List<String> servers = OpenApiServerExtractor.getServerUrls(openAPI);
-    log.debug("--server not provided. Loaded from OpenAPI: {}", servers);
-    servers.stream().findFirst().ifPresent(theServer -> this.server = theServer);
+    log.debug("Servers from OpenAPI: {}", servers);
+
+    if (serverFromInput == null) {
+        // No CLI server provided, use OpenAPI server
+        servers.stream().findFirst().ifPresent(theServer -> this.server = theServer);
+    } else {
+        // CLI server provided, check if OpenAPI server has placeholders or relative paths
+        servers.stream().findFirst().ifPresent(openApiServer -> {
+            if (openApiServer.contains("{") || !openApiServer.startsWith("http")) {
+                // OpenAPI server has placeholders or is relative, use it for replacement
+                this.server = openApiServer;
+            }
+            // Otherwise keep CLI server (concrete OpenAPI URLs don't override CLI)
+        });
+    }
 }

Testing

Added regression test shouldPreferCliServerOverOpenApiConcreteServer() in ApiArgumentsTest.java to verify CLI server takes priority over concrete OpenAPI URLs.

Behavior Matrix After Fix

CLI Server	OpenAPI Server	Result	Status
http://localhost:8080	https://api.example.com	http://localhost:8080	✅ FIXED
http://api.com	{apiRoot}/v2	http://api.com/v2 (via replacement)	Behavior unchanged
http://api.com	/v1	/v1 (relative path used)	Behavior unchanged
null	https://api.example.com	https://api.example.com	Behavior unchanged
null	null	Error	Behavior unchanged

Files Changed

• src/main/java/com/endava/cats/args/ApiArguments.java - 17 lines added, 2 removed
• src/test/java/com/endava/cats/args/ApiArgumentsTest.java - 18 lines added (new test)

Checklist

• Added tests for the bug fix
• Preserves all existing behavior for placeholders and relative paths
• Follows IntelliJ IDEA coding style
• Test suite passes

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Co-Authored-By: Claude noreply@anthropic.com