Get instance of directive controller with Angular/Jasmine

Question

When unit testing angular directives, how can I grab an instance of the directive controller and assert certain data bindings on the controller?

function myDirective() { return { restrict: 'E', replace: true, templateUrl: 'tpl.html', scope: { }, controller: function($scope) { $scope.text = 'Some text'; } }; } angular .module('example') .directive('myDirective', [ myDirective ]); 

unit test

 describe('<my-directive>', function() { var element; var $compile; var $scope; beforeEach(module('example')); beforeEach(function() { inject(function(_$compile_, _$rootScope_) { $compile = _$compile_; $scope = _$rootScope_.$new(); }); }); describe('basic functionality', function() { beforeEach(function() { element = $compile('<my-directive></my-directive')($scope); $scope.$digest(); }); it('should bind the correct text', function() { //? }); }); }); 

Answer 1

element = $compile('<my-directive></my-directive')($scope); $scope.$digest(); ctrl = element.controller('myDirective'); 

Answer 2

Call element.controller with $scope like element.controller($scope). Some proof of concept bellow.

angular .module('example', []) .directive('myDirective', [ function myDirective() { return { restrict: 'E', replace: true, //template: ['<div>{{ text }}</div>'].join(''), scope: {}, controller: function($scope) { $scope.text = 'Some text'; } }; } ]); describe('<my-directive>', function() { var element; var $compile; var $scope; beforeEach(module('example')); beforeEach(function() { inject(function(_$compile_, _$rootScope_) { $compile = _$compile_; $scope = _$rootScope_.$new(); }); }); describe('basic functionality', function() { beforeEach(function() { element = $compile('<my-directive></my-directive')($scope); $scope.$digest(); }); it('should bind the correct text', function() { expect(element.controller($scope).scope().$$childTail.text).toEqual('Some text') }); }); });

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