Configuring PHPUnit

So far, we’ve been running PHPUnit using this command:

./vendor/bin/phpunit tests

It works, but as your project grows, it’s helpful to have a configuration file so you don’t have to repeat the same options every time.

Let’s walk through creating and simplifying a phpunit.xml file.

Step 1: Generate the Config File

PHPUnit can generate a starter config file for you:

./vendor/bin/phpunit --generate-configuration

This will create a phpunit.xml file in your project root.

Step 2: Review the Generated File

The file contains a lot of options, including strict settings for deprecations, risky tests, and code coverage.

For example, it includes:

• requireCoverageMetadata="true"
• failOnRisky="true"
• failOnWarning="true"

You might also see warnings about missing coverage annotations if your tests don’t specify them. But we’re not covering code coverage just yet — so let’s trim this down.

Here’s a minimal version to use:

This does the basics:

• Sets up autoloading with bootstrap="vendor/autoload.php"
• Defines the tests/ directory as the test suite
• Tells PHPUnit to include source files in src/
• Enables colored output in the terminal for easier readability

To enable colors, you can add this line inside the root <phpunit> tag:

colors="true"

Your test output will now be easier to read — with green for passing tests, red for failing ones, and yellow for warnings or skipped tests.

Save your changes to phpunit.xml, and now you can run tests with:

./vendor/bin/phpunit

No need to specify the tests/ directory — it’s now the default.