Laravel TDD (Pest/PHPUnit)

Write the test first. Watch it fail. Write minimal code to pass. Keep tests fast and realistic.

Test Runner

Sail

sail artisan test --parallel

Non-Sail

php artisan test --parallel

Prefer Pest (default in new Laravel apps). PHPUnit is fine if your project uses it.

RED – Write a failing test

• Use model factories; avoid heavy mocking

• Feature tests for HTTP/controllers; unit tests for pure services

• Name tests by behavior

Example (feature):

it('rejects empty email on signup', function () { $response = $this->post('/register', [ 'name' => 'Alice', 'email' => '', 'password' => 'secret', 'password_confirmation' => 'secret', ]);

$response->assertSessionHasErrors('email');

});

Run and confirm it fails for the right reason.

GREEN – Minimal implementation

Write the simplest code to pass your failing test. No extras. No refactors.

REFACTOR – Clean up

Remove duplication, clarify names, extract small services. Keep tests green.

Guidelines

• Every production change starts with a failing test

• Watch failures; never skip the failing phase

• Use factories/seeders for realistic data

• Use DB transactions or refreshes in tests as needed

• Keep tests deterministic; avoid sleeps in async flows

When stuck

• If a test is hard to write, design is too coupled; extract a service or port

• Prefer dependency injection; avoid static/global state