4. The XML Configuration File

The <phpunit> Element

The backupGlobals Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

PHPUnit can optionally backup all global and super-global variables before each test and restore this backup after each test.

This attribute configures this operation for all tests. This configuration can be overridden using the @backupGlobals annotation on the test case class and test method level.

The backupStaticProperties Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

PHPUnit can optionally backup all static properties in all declared classes before each test and restore this backup after each test.

This attribute configures this operation for all tests. This configuration can be overridden using the BackupStaticProperties attribute on the test case class and test method level.

The bootstrap Attribute

This attribute configures the bootstrap script that is loaded before the tests are executed. This script usually only registers the autoloader callback that is used to load the code under test.

The cacheDirectory Attribute

This attribute configures the directory in which PHPUnit caches information such as test results (see below) or the result of static code analysis that is performed for code coverage reporting.

The cacheResult Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: true)

This attribute configures the caching of test results. This caching is required for certain other features to work.

The colors Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether colors are used in PHPUnit’s output.

Setting this attribute to true is equivalent to using the --colors=auto CLI option.

Setting this attribute to false is equivalent to using the --colors=never CLI option.

The columns Attribute

Possible values: integer or string max (default: 80)

This attribute configures the number of columns to use for progress output.

If max is defined as value, the number of columns will be maximum of the current terminal.

The requireCoverageMetadata Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether a test will be marked as risky (see Unintentionally Covered Code) when it does indicate the code it intends to cover using an attribute in code or an annotation in a code comment.

The processIsolation Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether each test should be run in a separate PHP process for increased isolation.

The stopOnError Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with status “error”.

The stopOnFailure Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with status “failure”.

The stopOnIncomplete Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with status “incomplete”.

The stopOnRisky Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with status “risky”.

The stopOnSkipped Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with status “skipped”.

The stopOnWarning Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with status “warning”.

The stopOnDefect Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the test suite execution should be stopped after the first test finished with a status “error”, “failure”, “risky” or “warning”.

The failOnEmptyTestSuite Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the PHPUnit test runner should exit with a shell exit code that indicates failure when the configured test suite is empty.

The failOnIncomplete Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the PHPUnit test runner should exit with a shell exit code that indicates failure when all tests are successful but there are tests that were marked as incomplete.

The failOnRisky Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the PHPUnit test runner should exit with a shell exit code that indicates failure when all tests are successful but there are tests that were marked as risky.

The failOnSkipped Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the PHPUnit test runner should exit with a shell exit code that indicates failure when all tests are successful but there are tests that were marked as skipped.

The failOnWarning Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the PHPUnit test runner should exit with a shell exit code that indicates failure when all tests are successful but there are tests that had warnings.

The beStrictAboutChangesToGlobalState Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether PHPUnit should mark a test as risky when global state is manipulated by the code under test (or the test code).

The beStrictAboutOutputDuringTests Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether PHPUnit should mark a test as risky when the code under test (or the test code) prints output.

The beStrictAboutTestsThatDoNotTestAnything Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: true)

This attribute configures whether PHPUnit should mark a test as risky when no assertions are performed (expectations are also considered).

The beStrictAboutCoverageMetadata Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether PHPUnit should mark a test as risky when it executes code that is not specified to be covered or used using an attribute in code or an annotation in a code comment.

The enforceTimeLimit Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether time limits should be enforced.

The defaultTimeLimit Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 0)

This attribute configures the default time limit (in seconds).

The timeoutForSmallTests Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 1)

This attribute configures the time limit for tests annotated with @small (in seconds).

The timeoutForMediumTests Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 10)

This attribute configures the time limit for tests annotated with @medium (in seconds).

The timeoutForLargeTests Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 60)

This attribute configures the time limit for tests annotated with @large (in seconds).

The defaultTestSuite Attribute

This attribute configures the name of the default test suite.

The stderr Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether PHPUnit should print its output to stderr instead of stdout.

The reverseDefectList Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether tests that are not successful should be printed in reverse order.

The registerMockObjectsFromTestArgumentsRecursively Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether arrays and object graphs that are passed from one test to another using the @depends annotation should be recursively scanned for mock objects.

The extensionsDirectory Attribute

When phpunit.phar is used then this attribute may be used to configure a directory from which all *.phar files will be loaded as extensions for the PHPUnit test runner.

The executionOrder Attribute

Possible values: default, defects, depends, no-depends, duration, random, reverse, size

Using multiple values is possible. These need to be separated by ,.

This attribute configures the order in which tests are executed.

The resolveDependencies Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: true)

This attribute configures whether dependencies between tests (expressed using the @depends annotation) should be resolved.

The testdox Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether the output should be printed in TestDox format.

The displayDetailsOnIncompleteTests Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether details on incomplete tests should be printed.

The displayDetailsOnSkippedTests Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether details on skipped tests should be printed.

The displayDetailsOnTestsThatTriggerDeprecations Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether details on tests that triggered deprecations should be printed.

The displayDetailsOnTestsThatTriggerErrors Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether details on tests that triggered errors should be printed.

The displayDetailsOnTestsThatTriggerNotices Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether details on tests that triggered notices should be printed.

The displayDetailsOnTestsThatTriggerWarnings Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether details on tests that triggered warnings should be printed.

The <testsuites> Element

Parent element: <phpunit>

This element is the root for one or more <testsuite> elements that are used to configure the tests that are to be executed.

The <testsuite> Element

Parent element: <testsuites>

A <testsuite> element must have a name attribute and may have one or more <directory> and/or <file> child elements that configure directories and/or files, respectively, that should be searched for tests.

<testsuites>
  <testsuite name="unit">
    <directory>tests/unit</directory>
  </testsuite>
  <testsuite name="integration">
    <directory>tests/integration</directory>
  </testsuite>
  <testsuite name="edge-to-edge">
    <directory>tests/edge-to-edge</directory>
  </testsuite>
</testsuites>

Using the phpVersion and phpVersionOperator attributes, a required PHP version can be specified:

<testsuites>
  <testsuite name="unit">
    <directory phpVersion="8.0.0" phpVersionOperator=">=">tests/unit</directory>
  </testsuite>
</testsuites>

In the example above, the tests from the tests/unit directory are only added to the test suite if the PHP version is at least 8.0.0. The phpVersionOperator attribute is optional and defaults to >=.

The <coverage> Element

Parent element: <phpunit>

The <coverage> element and its children can be used to configure code coverage:

<coverage includeUncoveredFiles="true"
          pathCoverage="false"
          ignoreDeprecatedCodeUnits="true"
          disableCodeCoverageIgnore="true">
    <!-- ... -->
</coverage>

The includeUncoveredFiles Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: true)

When set to true, all source code files that are configured to be considered for code coverage analysis will be included in the code coverage report(s). This includes source code files that are not executed while the tests are running.

The ignoreDeprecatedCodeUnits Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether code units annotated with @deprecated should be ignored from code coverage.

The pathCoverage Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

When set to false, only line coverage data will be collected, processed, and reported.

When set to true, line coverage, branch coverage, and path coverage data will be collected, processed, and reported. This requires a code coverage driver that supports path coverage. Path Coverage is currently only implemented by Xdebug.

The disableCodeCoverageIgnore Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

This attribute configures whether metadata to ignore code should be ignored.

The <include> Element

Parent element: <coverage>

Configures a set of files to be included in code coverage report(s).

<include>
    <directory suffix=".php">src</directory>
</include>

The example shown above instructs PHPUnit to include all source code files with .php suffix in the src directory and its sub-directories in the code coverage report(s).

The <exclude> Element

Parent element: <coverage>

Configures a set of files to be excluded from code coverage report(s).

<include>
    <directory suffix=".php">src</directory>
</include>
<exclude>
    <directory suffix=".php">src/generated</directory>
    <file>src/autoload.php</file>
</exclude>

The example shown above instructs PHPUnit to include all source code files with .php suffix in the src directory and its sub-directories in the code coverage report but exclude all files with .php suffix in the src/generated directory and its sub-directories as well as the src/autoload.php file from the code coverage report(s).

The <directory> Element

Parent elements: <include>, <exclude>

Configures a directory and its sub-directories for inclusion in or exclusion from code coverage report(s).

The prefix Attribute

Possible values: string

Configures a prefix-based filter that is applied to the names of files in the directory and its sub-directories.

The suffix Attribute

Possible values: string (default: '.php')

Configures a suffix-based filter that is applied to the names of files in the directory and its sub-directories.

The phpVersion Attribute

Possible values: string

Configures a filter based on the version of the PHP runtime that is used to run the current PHPUnit process.

The phpVersionOperator Attribute

Possible values: '<', 'lt', '<=', 'le', '>', 'gt', '>=', 'ge', '==', '=', 'eq', '!=', '<>', 'ne' (default: '>=')

Configures the comparison operator to be used with version_compare() for the filter based on the version of the PHP runtime that is used to run the current PHPUnit process.

The <file> Element

Parent elements: <include>, <exclude>

Configures a file for inclusion in or exclusion from code coverage report(s).

The <report> Element

Parent element: <coverage>

Configures the code coverage reports to be generated.

<report>
    <clover outputFile="clover.xml"/>
    <cobertura outputFile="cobertura.xml"/>
    <crap4j outputFile="crap4j.xml" threshold="50"/>
    <html outputDirectory="html-coverage" lowUpperBound="50" highLowerBound="90"/>
    <php outputFile="coverage.php"/>
    <text outputFile="coverage.txt" showUncoveredFiles="false" showOnlySummary="true"/>
    <xml outputDirectory="xml-coverage"/>
</report>

The <clover> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in Clover XML format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the Clover XML report is written.

The <cobertura> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in Cobertura XML format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the Cobertura XML report is written.

The <crap4j> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in Crap4J XML format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the Crap4J XML report is written.

The threshold Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 50)

The <html> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in HTML format.

The outputDirectory Attribute

The directory to which the HTML report is written.

The lowUpperBound Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 50)

The upper bound of what should be considered “low coverage”.

The highLowerBound Attribute

Possible values: integer (default: 90)

The lower bound of what should be considered “high coverage”.

The <php> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in PHP format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the PHP report is written.

The <text> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in text format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the text report is written.

The showUncoveredFiles Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

The showOnlySummary Attribute

Possible values: true or false (default: false)

The <xml> Element

Parent element: <report>

Configures a code coverage report in PHPUnit XML format.

The outputDirectory Attribute

Possible values: string

The directory to which the PHPUnit XML report is written.

The <logging> Element

Parent element: <phpunit>

The <logging> element and its children can be used to configure the logging of the test execution.

<logging>
    <junit outputFile="junit.xml"/>
    <teamcity outputFile="teamcity.txt"/>
    <testdoxHtml outputFile="testdox.html"/>
    <testdoxText outputFile="testdox.txt"/>
</logging>

The <junit> Element

Parent element: <logging>

Configures a test result logfile in JUnit XML format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the test result logfile in JUnit XML format is written.

The <teamcity> Element

Parent element: <logging>

Configures a test result logfile in TeamCity format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the test result logfile in TeamCity format is written.

The <testdoxHtml> Element

Parent element: <logging>

Configures a test result logfile in TestDox HTML format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the test result logfile in TestDox HTML format is written.

The <testdoxText> Element

Parent element: <logging>

Configures a test result logfile in TestDox text format.

The outputFile Attribute

Possible values: string

The file to which the test result logfile in TestDox text format is written.

The <groups> Element

Parent element: <phpunit>

The <groups> element and its <include>, <exclude>, and <group> children can be used to select groups of tests marked with the @group annotation (documented in @group) that should (not) be run:

<groups>
  <include>
    <group>name</group>
  </include>
  <exclude>
    <group>name</group>
  </exclude>
</groups>

The example shown above is equivalent to invoking the PHPUnit test runner with --group name --exclude-group name.

The <extensions> Element

Parent element: <phpunit>

The <extensions> element and its <bootstrap> children can be used to register test runner extensions.

The <bootstrap> Element

Parent element: <extensions>

<extensions>
    <bootstrap class="Vendor\ExampleExtensionForPhpunit\Extension"/>
</extensions>

The <parameter> Element

Parent element: <bootstrap>

The <parameter> element can be used to configure parameters that are passed to the extension for bootstrapping.

<extensions>
    <bootstrap class="Vendor\ExampleExtensionForPhpunit\Extension">
        <parameter name="message" value="the-message"/>
    </bootstrap>
</extensions>

The <php> Element

Parent element: <phpunit>

The <php> element and its children can be used to configure PHP settings, constants, and global variables. It can also be used to prepend the include_path.

The <includePath> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to prepend a path to the include_path.

The <ini> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a PHP configuration setting.

<php>
  <ini name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

ini_set('foo', 'bar');

The <const> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a global constant.

<php>
  <const name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

define('foo', 'bar');

The <var> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a global variable.

<php>
  <var name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$GLOBALS['foo'] = 'bar';

The <env> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_ENV.

<php>
  <env name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_ENV['foo'] = 'bar';

By default, environment variables are not overwritten if they exist already. To force overwriting existing variables, use the force attribute:

<php>
  <env name="foo" value="bar" force="true"/>
</php>

The <get> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_GET.

<php>
  <get name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_GET['foo'] = 'bar';

The <post> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_POST.

<php>
  <post name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_POST['foo'] = 'bar';

The <cookie> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_COOKIE.

<php>
  <cookie name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_COOKIE['foo'] = 'bar';

The <server> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_SERVER.

<php>
  <server name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_SERVER['foo'] = 'bar';

The <files> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_FILES.

<php>
  <files name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_FILES['foo'] = 'bar';

The <request> Element

Parent element: <php>

This element can be used to set a value in the super-global array $_REQUEST.

<php>
  <request name="foo" value="bar"/>
</php>

The XML configuration above corresponds to the following PHP code:

$_REQUEST['foo'] = 'bar';