Laravel Testing with TDD

Test-driven development for Laravel applications using PHPUnit, Pest, Laravel factories, and testing helpers.

When to Activate

• Writing new Laravel applications or features
• Implementing API endpoints with Sanctum or Passport authentication
• Testing Eloquent models, relationships, scopes, and accessors
• Setting up testing infrastructure for Laravel projects
• Writing feature tests for HTTP controllers and form requests
• Mocking external services (queues, mail, notifications, HTTP)

TDD Workflow for Laravel

Red-Green-Refactor Cycle

// Step 1: RED — Write a failing test
public function test_a_product_can_be_created(): void
{
    $product = Product::factory()->create(['name' => 'Test Product']);
    $this->assertDatabaseHas('products', ['name' => 'Test Product']);
}

// Step 2: GREEN — Write the migration, model, and factory
// Step 3: REFACTOR — Improve while keeping tests green

Setup

PHPUnit Configuration

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<phpunit xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="vendor/phpunit/phpunit/phpunit.xsd"
         bootstrap="vendor/au…