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

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

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():

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

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.):

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

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.

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);

});

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

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