laravel-tdd

name	laravel-tdd
description	Test-driven development for Laravel with PHPUnit and Pest, factories, database testing, fakes, and coverage targets. USE WHEN building new Laravel features or endpoints, fixing bugs or refactoring, or testing Eloquent models, policies, jobs, and notifications via red-green-refactor.
origin	ECC
cluster	php-laravel
version	1.0.0

Laravel TDD Workflow

Test-driven development for Laravel applications using PHPUnit and Pest with 80%+ coverage (unit + feature).

When to Use

• New features or endpoints in Laravel
• Bug fixes or refactors
• Testing Eloquent models, policies, jobs, and notifications
• Prefer Pest for new tests unless the project already standardizes on PHPUnit

How It Works

Red-Green-Refactor Cycle

1. Write a failing test
2. Implement the minimal change to pass
3. Refactor while keeping tests green

Test Layers

• Unit: pure PHP classes, value objects, services
• Feature: HTTP endpoints, auth, validation, policies
• Integration: database + queue + external boundaries

Choose layers based on scope:

• Use Unit tests for pure business logic and services.
• Use Feature tests for HTTP, auth, validation, and response shape.
• Use Integration tests when validating DB/queues/external services together.

Database Strategy

• RefreshDatabase for most feature/integration tests (runs migrations once per test run, then wraps each test in a transaction when supported; in-memory databases may re-migrate per test)
• DatabaseTransactions when the schema is already migrated and you only need per-test rollback
• DatabaseMigrations when you need a full migrate/fresh for every test and can afford the cost

Use RefreshDatabase as the default for tests that touch the database: for databases with transaction support, it runs migrations once per test run (via a static flag) and wraps each test in a transaction; for :memory: SQLite or connections without transactions, it migrates before each test. Use DatabaseTransactions when the schema is already migrated and you only need per-test rollbacks.

Testing Framework Choice

• Default to Pest for new tests when available.
• Use PHPUnit only if the project already standardizes on it or requires PHPUnit-specific tooling.

Examples

PHPUnit Example

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

final class ProjectControllerTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

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

        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->postJson('/api/projects', [
            'name' => 'New Project',
        ]);

        $response->assertCreated();
        $this->assertDatabaseHas('projects', ['name' => 'New Project']);
    }
}

Feature Test Example (HTTP Layer)

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

final class ProjectIndexTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

    public function test_projects_index_returns_paginated_results(): void
    {
        $user = User::factory()->create();
        Project::factory()->count(3)->for($user)->create();

        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->getJson('/api/projects');

        $response->assertOk();
        $response->assertJsonStructure(['success', 'data', , ]);
    }
}

Pest Example

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

use function Pest\Laravel\actingAs;
use function Pest\Laravel\assertDatabaseHas;

uses(RefreshDatabase::class);

test('owner can create project', function () {
    $user = User::factory()->create();

    $response = actingAs($user)->postJson('/api/projects', [
        'name' => 'New Project',
    ]);

    $response->assertCreated();
    assertDatabaseHas('projects', ['name' => 'New Project']);
});

Feature Test Pest Example (HTTP Layer)

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

use function Pest\Laravel\actingAs;

uses(RefreshDatabase::class);

test('projects index returns paginated results', function () {
    $user = User::factory()->create();
    Project::factory()->count(3)->for($user)->create();

    $response = actingAs($user)->getJson('/api/projects');

    $response->assertOk();
    $response->assertJsonStructure(['success', 'data', 'error', 'meta']);
});

Factories and States

• Use factories for test data
• Define states for edge cases (archived, admin, trial)

$user = User::factory()->state(['role' => 'admin'])->create();

Database Testing

• Use RefreshDatabase for clean state
• Keep tests isolated and deterministic
• Prefer assertDatabaseHas over manual queries

Persistence Test Example

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

final class ProjectRepositoryTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

    public function test_project_can_be_retrieved_by_slug(): void
    {
        $project = Project::factory()->create(['slug' => 'alpha']);

        $found = Project::query()->where('slug', 'alpha')->firstOrFail();

        $this->assertSame($project->id, $found->id);
    }
}

Fakes for Side Effects

• Bus::fake() for jobs
• Queue::fake() for queued work
• Mail::fake() and Notification::fake() for notifications
• Event::fake() for domain events

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Queue;

Queue::fake();

dispatch(new SendOrderConfirmation($order->id));

Queue::assertPushed(SendOrderConfirmation::class);

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Notification;

Notification::fake();

$user->notify(new InvoiceReady($invoice));

Notification::assertSentTo($user, InvoiceReady::class);

Auth Testing (Sanctum)

use Laravel\Sanctum\Sanctum;

Sanctum::actingAs($user);

$response = $this->getJson('/api/projects');
$response->assertOk();

HTTP and External Services

• Use Http::fake() to isolate external APIs
• Assert outbound payloads with Http::assertSent()

Coverage Targets

• Enforce 80%+ coverage for unit + feature tests
• Use pcov or XDEBUG_MODE=coverage in CI

Test Commands

• php artisan test
• vendor/bin/phpunit
• vendor/bin/pest

Test Configuration

• Use phpunit.xml to set DB_CONNECTION=sqlite and DB_DATABASE=:memory: for fast tests
• Keep separate env for tests to avoid touching dev/prod data

Authorization Tests

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Gate;

$this->assertTrue(Gate::forUser($user)->allows('update', $project));
$this->assertFalse(Gate::forUser($otherUser)->allows('update', $project));

Inertia Feature Tests

When using Inertia.js, assert on the component name and props with the Inertia testing helpers.

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

final class DashboardInertiaTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

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

        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->get('/dashboard');

        $response->assertOk();
        $response->assertInertia(fn (AssertableInertia $page) => $page
            ->component('Dashboard')
            ->where('user.id', $user->id)
            ->has()
        );
    }
}

Prefer assertInertia over raw JSON assertions to keep tests aligned with Inertia responses.