Laravel 13 Testing — Pest PHP 4 & PHPUnit 12

Supports both Pest PHP 4 and PHPUnit 12. See Framework Detection below.

PHPUnit version note: Laravel 13 ships with phpunit/phpunit: ^12.5.12 in its default composer.json. All patterns in this skill are compatible with PHPUnit 11, 12, and 13.

Comprehensive testing guide for Laravel 13 applications. Contains 24 rules across 6 categories for writing fast, readable, and reliable tests. Supports both Pest PHP 4 and PHPUnit 12 (Laravel 13 default).

Framework Detection

Before writing or reviewing any test code, detect which testing framework the project uses:

Step 1 — Check composer.json

# Look for these in require-dev:
# "pestphp/pest" → Pest
# "phpunit/phpunit" (without pest) → PHPUnit

• If pestphp/pest is present → use Pest syntax
• If only phpunit/phpunit is present → use PHPUnit syntax
• If both are present → Pest takes priority (Pest runs on top of PHPUnit)

Step 2 — Check for tests/Pest.php

• If tests/Pest.php exists → Pest is configured, use Pest syntax

Step 3 — If still unclear, ask the user

"I couldn't detect the testing framework. Does this project use Pest PHP or PHPUnit?"

Syntax Reference

Test Declaration

| | Pest | PHPUnit | |--|------|---------| | Test function | test('...', fn() => ...) | public function test...(): void | | Readable name | it('...', fn() => ...) | #[Test] public function it...() | | Grouping | describe('...', fn() => ...) | Test class name / nested classes | | Trait application | uses(RefreshDatabase::class) | use RefreshDatabase; inside class | | Before each | beforeEach(fn() => ...) | protected function setUp(): void | | After each | afterEach(fn() => ...) | protected function tearDown(): void | | Parameterised | ->with([...]) | #[DataProvider] attribute | | Global setup | uses(...)->in('Feature') in Pest.php | Base TestCase class |

Core assertions (identical in both frameworks)

assertStatus, assertJson, assertJsonPath, assertDatabaseHas, assertModelExists, actingAs, Mail::fake(), Queue::fake(), Event::fake(), Notification::fake(), Storage::fake() — all work the same in Pest and PHPUnit.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Writing feature or unit tests for Laravel
• Testing HTTP endpoints and API responses
• Creating factories and test data
• Asserting database state after operations
• Faking Mail, Queue, Notification, or Event facades
• Testing authenticated routes and API tokens
• Organising tests with describe blocks, datasets, or test classes

Rule Categories by Priority

Quick Reference

1. HTTP & Feature Tests (CRITICAL)

• http-test-structure - Arrange/Act/Assert with factories — Pest + PHPUnit examples
• http-assert-response - assertStatus, assertJson, assertRedirect, assertJsonMissing
• http-assert-json-fluent - Fluent assertJson with AssertableJson closure
• http-refresh-database - RefreshDatabase vs DatabaseTransactions — when to use each

2. Model Factories (CRITICAL)

• factory-define - Define factories with typed fake data and PHP 8.3 syntax
• factory-states - Factory states for distinct test scenarios
• factory-sequences - sequence() for varied data across multiple records
• factory-relationships - has(), for(), recycle(), afterCreating()

3. Database Assertions (HIGH)

• db-assert-has - assertDatabaseHas, assertModelExists for presence checks
• db-assert-missing - assertDatabaseMissing, assertModelMissing for deletion
• db-assert-soft-deletes - assertSoftDeleted, trashed() factory state

4. Faking Services (HIGH)

• fake-mail - Mail::fake(), assertSent vs assertQueued, assertNothingSent
• fake-queue - Queue::fake(), assertPushed, assertPushedOn
• fake-notification - Notification::fake(), assertSentTo, assertCount
• fake-event - Event::fake(), assertDispatched, assertNotDispatched
• fake-storage - Storage::fake(), UploadedFile::fake(), assertExists
• fake-ai-agent - Agent::fake(), assertPrompted, preventStrayPrompts (Laravel 13+)
• fake-ai-media - Image::fake(), Audio::fake(), Transcription::fake() (Laravel 13+)
• fake-ai-data - Embeddings::fake(), Reranking::fake(), Files::fake(), Stores::fake() (Laravel 13+)

5. Authentication Testing (HIGH)

• auth-acting-as - actingAs() for session/web authenticated tests
• auth-sanctum - Sanctum::actingAs() for API token authentication

6. Test Organisation Patterns (MEDIUM)

• pest-describe-it - describe()/it() (Pest) or test class organisation (PHPUnit)
• pest-datasets - with() datasets (Pest) or #[DataProvider] (PHPUnit)
• pest-hooks - beforeEach/afterEach (Pest) or setUp/tearDown (PHPUnit)

Essential Patterns

Pest

<?php

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;

uses(RefreshDatabase::class);

test('authenticated user can create a post', function () {
    $user = User::factory()->create();

    $this->actingAs($user)
        ->postJson('/api/posts', ['title' => 'Hello World', 'body' => 'Content.'])
        ->assertStatus(201)
        ->assertJsonPath('data.title', 'Hello World');

    $this->assertDatabaseHas('posts', ['title' => 'Hello World', 'user_id' => $user->id]);
});

PHPUnit

<?php

namespace Tests\Feature;

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use Tests\TestCase;

class PostControllerTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

    public function test_authenticated_user_can_create_a_post(): void
    {
        $user = User::factory()->create();

        $this->actingAs($user)
            ->postJson('/api/posts', ['title' => 'Hello World', 'body' => 'Content.'])
            ->assertStatus(201)
            ->assertJsonPath('data.title', 'Hello World');

        $this->assertDatabaseHas('posts', ['title' => 'Hello World', 'user_id' => $user->id]);
    }
}

How to Use

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples.

Each rule file contains:

• YAML frontmatter with metadata (title, impact, tags)
• Brief explanation of why it matters
• Bad Example with explanation
• Good Example with both Pest and PHPUnit where syntax differs
• Laravel 13 specific context and references

Full Compiled Document

For the complete guide with all rules expanded: AGENTS.md