Pest Testing 4

Documentation

Use search-docs for detailed Pest 4 patterns and documentation.

Basic Usage

Creating Tests

All tests must be written using Pest. Use vendor/bin/sail 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

Pest supports both test() and it() functions. Before writing new tests, check existing test files in the same directory to match the project's convention. Use test() if existing tests use test(), or it() if they use it().

it('is true', function () {
    expect(true)->toBeTrue();
});

Running Tests

• Run minimal tests with filter before finalizing: vendor/bin/sail artisan test --compact --filter=testName.
• Run all tests: vendor/bin/sail artisan test --compact.
• Run file: vendor/bin/sail artisan test --compact tests/Feature/ExampleTest.php.

Assertions

Use specific assertions (assertSuccessful(), assertNotFound()) instead of assertStatus():

it('returns all', function () {
    $this->postJson('/api/docs', [])->assertSuccessful();
});

Mocking

Import mock function before use: use function Pest\Laravel\mock;

Datasets

Use datasets for repetitive tests (validation rules, etc.):

it('has emails', function (string $email) {
    expect($email)->not->toBeEmpty();
})->with([
    'james' => '[email protected]',
    'taylor' => '[email protected]',
]);

Pest 4 Features

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.

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);
});

Smoke Testing

Quickly validate multiple pages have no JavaScript errors:

$pages = visit(['/', '/about', '/contact']);

$pages->assertNoJavaScriptErrors()->assertNoConsoleLogs();

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):

arch('controllers')
    ->expect('App\Http\Controllers')
    ->toExtendNothing()
    ->toHaveSuffix('Controller');

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