- What is ichinya/laratesto used for?
- Laratesto is a lightweight Laravel package that bundles testing helpers and ready-made assertions so you can write feature and unit tests without repeating boilerplate. It covers common scenarios such as HTTP requests, response checks and database assertions, and plugs into the testing stack you already use. It is a development-only dependency installed with require-dev, so it never ships to production.
- How do I install laratesto with Composer?
- Run composer require --dev ichinya/laratesto and Composer package auto-discovery registers the service provider, so no manual configuration is needed. Because the package is pre-1.0, pin the exact version (for example 0.8.3) rather than a caret range, since discovery behavior can change between minor releases. Verify the install on a fresh Laravel skeleton before adding it to an existing suite.
- Does laratesto work with PHPUnit and Pest?
- Yes, the package is designed to integrate cleanly with PHPUnit and Pest, and its runner is self-sufficient, so it can run tests even without PHPUnit installed. That means you can adopt it alongside whichever runner your team already standardises on. Try it on one low-risk service first to confirm the output matches your current CI expectations.
- Which Laravel and PHP versions does laratesto support?
- The package requires PHP 8.3 or newer and has been verified end-to-end on a fresh Laravel 13 skeleton (13.37.0) across PHP 8.3.35, 8.4.26 and 8.5.11. A transitive dependency, nette/schema, currently caps PHP support at 8.5, so PHP 8.6 fails platform checks until it is updated. Confirm your own Laravel version explicitly rather than assuming the verified matrix covers it.
- What assertions and helpers does laratesto provide?
- It ships ready-made assertions for common Laravel test scenarios plus helpers for HTTP requests, response inspection and database testing, all aimed at reducing boilerplate in feature and unit tests. The helpers are expressive wrappers over Laravel existing testing stack rather than a separate framework. Because the API is pre-1.0, check the changelog before relying on a specific helper signature.
- Is laratesto safe to install in a production application?
- It is a dev-only test-runner package, not a runtime dependency, so it cannot break production; at worst a discovery regression breaks your CI pipeline or quietly reduces coverage. Install it under require-dev and keep it out of production builds. Treat any change in test counts after upgrading as a signal to investigate rather than accept.
- Why are some of my tests missing after upgrading laratesto?
- Version 0.8.3 changed test discovery for class-level #[Test] attributes on classes that extend LaravelTestCase or use InteractsWithLaravel, excluding bridge helper implementations including trait aliases while preserving user overrides, inherited user tests and unrelated methods with matching names. If your counts drop after upgrading, that precedence rule is the usual cause. Record your test count and coverage percentage before and after, and require an explanation for every delta.
- Can I use laratesto alongside an existing PHPUnit test suite?
- Yes, but do not convert your suite wholesale. Spike it on one low-risk service, keep your existing PHPUnit or Pest configuration in place, and compare test counts and coverage before and after enabling class-level discovery. Upstream own numbers shifted between runs, so expect yours to move and investigate each difference, then broaden adoption only after parity checks pass on two independent services.
- Is laratesto stable enough for long-lived projects?
- At 0.8.3 it is pre-1.0, which means there is no semver stability guarantee: discovery semantics and attribute APIs can still change, and that release itself altered which tests are found. Pin the exact version in composer.json and review each upgrade deliberately. Ask the maintainer about the 1.0 timeline, the intended semver policy and any support path before rolling it out widely.
- What are the alternatives to laratesto for Laravel testing?
- The main alternative is staying on stock PHPUnit or Pest with Laravel built-in testing helpers and your own base test case, which teams that mandate an audited runner will usually prefer. Laratesto value is attribute-driven, low-ceremony test declaration with less boilerplate. If you need a stable, documented contract for discovery precedence, weigh that requirement against the convenience before adopting.