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' => '[email protected]', 'taylor' => '[email protected]', ]);

</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', '[email protected]')
    ->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