Lib Asserts Laravel Package

Getting Started

Install via Composer:

composer require codeception/lib-asserts --dev

No bootstrapping required—just import assertions directly:

use Codeception\Asserts;

// In your test or utility script
Asserts::equals($actual, $expected, 'User should be active');
Asserts::isTrue($user->isActive(), 'User status check');
Asserts::contains('admin', $roles, 'Roles should include admin');

Start with the most common assertions (equals, isEmpty, isTrue, contains, throws) to validate simple business logic in unit tests, custom test runners, or CI validation scripts.

Implementation Patterns

• Custom Assertion Libraries: Build domain-specific assertions (e.g., Asserts::isNotBlankEmail($value)) wrapping lib-asserts for reusable validation logic.
• Integration with Test Frameworks: Use lib-asserts in PHPSpec, PHPUnit, or plain CLI scripts—especially where you want consistent failure messages without phpunit/phpunit as a hard dependency.
• CI Validation Hooks: Embed assertions in deployment checks or schema validation scripts (e.g., Asserts::isTrue(file_exists('.env'), 'Environment file missing')).
• Test DSL Construction: Layer expressive macros (e.g., Asserts::hasStatusCode(201) for API tests) by extending Asserts class and overriding fail() for custom reporting.
• Mixed Test Environments: In monorepos or polyglot projects, use assertions to validate non-PHP outputs (e.g., JSON response from a Go microservice via CLI) in a unified test suite.

Gotchas and Tips

• No assertion chaining: Unlike PHPUnit’s ->assertEquals(), methods are static and not chainable—write Asserts::equals($a, $b) on separate lines.
• Failure message formatting: Messages are prepended with method name (e.g., Asserts::equals() failed: User should be active). For fine-grained control, use Asserts::equals($a, $b) and pass an empty string '' to suppress default prefix if desired.
• Type coercion differences: equals() is not strict—use strictEquals() for identical type+value checks. Default equals() uses ==; prefer explicit types when validating numeric strings or booleans.
• Exception assertions: throws() requires a callable and optionally an expected class/message. Remember to wrap in a closure: Asserts::throws(RuntimeException::class, fn() => $subject->action()).
• Extensibility: Extend Asserts and override fail($message) to redirect output to custom loggers (e.g., Monolog), CI annotations, or Slack alerts.
• Versioning note: The release date 2026-02-06 in the description is likely a placeholder—verify the latest stable tag on Packagist for production use.