pest-testing
Tests applications using the Pest 4 PHP framework. Activates when writing tests, creating unit or feature tests, adding assertions, testing Livewire components, browser testing, debugging test failures, working with datasets or mocking; or when the user mentions test, spec, TDD, expects, assertion,
By spatie · 672 installs
npx skills add spatie/freek.dev --skill pest-testing
Source repository · Upstream listing
Pest Testing 4
When to Apply
Activate this skill when:
Creating new tests (unit, feature, or browser)
Modifying existing tests
Debugging test failures
Working with browser testing or smoke testing
Writing architecture tests or visual regression tests
Documentation
Use search docs for detailed Pest 4 patterns and documentation.
Basic Usage
Creating Tests
All tests must be written using Pest. Use php artisan make:test pest {name} .
Test Organization
Unit/Feature tests: tests/Feature and tests/Unit directories.
Browser tests: tests/Browser/ directory.
Do NOT remove tests without approval these are core application code.
Basic Test Structure
<code snippet name="Basic Pest Test Example" lang="php"
it('is true', function () {
expect(true) toBeTrue();
});
</code snippet
Running Tests
Run minimal tests with filter before finalizing: php artisan test compact filter=testName .
Run all tests: php artisan test compact .
Run file: php artisan test compact tests/Feature/ExampleTest.php .
Assertions
Use specific assertions ( assertSuccessful() , assertNotFound() ) instead of assertStatus() :
<code snippet name="Pest Response Assertion" lang="php"
it('returns all', function () {
$this postJson('/api/docs', []) assertSuccessful();
});
</code snippet
Use Instead of
assertSuccessful() assertStatus(200)
assertNotFound() assertStatus(404)
assertForbidden() assertStatus(403)
Mocking
Import mock function before use: use function Pest\Laravel\mock;
Datasets
Use datasets for repetitive tests (validation rules, etc.):
<code snippet name="Pest Dataset Example" lang="php"
it('has emails', function (string $email) {
expect($email) not toBeEmpty();
}) with([
'james' = 'james@laravel.com',
'taylor' = 'taylor@laravel.com',
]);
</code snippet
Pest 4 Features
Feature Purpose
Browser Testing Full integration tests in real browsers
Smoke Testing Validate multiple pages quickly
Visual Regression Compare screenshots for visual changes
Test Sharding Parallel CI runs
Architecture Testing Enforce code conventions
Browser Test Example
Browser tests run in real browsers for full integration testing:
Browser tests live in tests/Browser/ .
Use Laravel features like Event::fake() , assertAuthenticated() , and model factories.
Use RefreshDatabase for clean state per test.
Interact with page: click, type, scroll, select, submit, drag and drop, touch gestures.
Test on multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) if requested.
Test on different devices/viewports (iPhone 14 Pro, tablets) if requested.
Switch color schemes (light/dark mode) when appropriate.
Take screenshots or pause tests for debugging.
<code snippet name="Pest Browser Test Example" lang="php"
it('may reset the password', function () {
Notification::fake();
$this actingAs(User::factory() create());
$page = visit('/sign in');
$page assertSee('Sign In')
assertNoJavascriptErrors()
click('Forgot Password?')
fill('email', 'nuno@laravel.com')
click('Send Reset Link')
assertSee('We have emailed your password reset link!');
Notification::assertSent(ResetPassword::class);
});
</code snippet
Smoke Testing
Quickly validate multiple pages have no JavaScript errors:
<code snippet name="Pest Smoke Testing Example" lang="php"
$pages = visit(['/', '/about', '/contact']);
$pages assertNoJavascriptErrors() assertNoConsoleLogs();
</code snippet
Visual Regression Testing
Capture and compare screenshots to detect visual changes.
Test Sharding
Split tests across parallel processes for faster CI runs.
Architecture Testing
Pest 4 includes architecture testing (from Pest 3):
<code snippet name="Architecture Test Example" lang="php"
arch('controllers')
expect('App\Http\Controllers')
toExtendNothing()
toHaveSuffix('Controller');
</code snippet
Common Pitfalls
Not importing use function Pest\Laravel\mock; before using mock
Using assertStatus(200) instead of assertSuccessful()
Forgetting datasets for repetitive validation tests
Deleting tests without approval
Forgetting assertNoJavascriptErrors() in browser tests