Running Tests

Pest BDD integrates seamlessly with the Pest test runner. This guide covers all the ways to run your BDD tests.

Basic Usage

Run All BDD Tests

pest --bdd

This command:

1. Scans PSR-4 autoloaded directories for step definition classes
2. Discovers all .feature files in tests/Behaviors/
3. Executes scenarios and reports results

Regular Pest vs BDD

By default, Pest and BDD tests are separate:

# Run only unit/feature tests (excludes BDD)
pest

# Run only BDD tests
pest --bdd

This separation allows you to:

• Run fast unit tests during development
• Run full BDD suite for acceptance testing
• Keep CI pipelines organized

Filtering Tests

By Feature or Scenario Name

Use --filter to run specific features or scenarios:

# Run features containing "Calculator"
pest --bdd --filter="Calculator"

# Run scenarios containing "Addition"
pest --bdd --filter="Addition"

# Case-insensitive partial match
pest --bdd --filter="user login"

By Tags

Filter scenarios using tags:

# Run only @smoke tagged scenarios
pest --bdd --tags="@smoke"

# Run @smoke but exclude @slow
pest --bdd --tags="@smoke and not @slow"

# Run @critical or @smoke
pest --bdd --tags="@critical or @smoke"

# Complex expressions
pest --bdd --tags="(@smoke or @regression) and not @wip"

Tag expressions support:

• and - Both conditions must match
• or - Either condition can match
• not - Negation
• Parentheses for grouping

Parallel Execution

Speed up your test suite with parallel execution:

pest --bdd --parallel

This runs scenarios across multiple processes. Each scenario is independent, so parallel execution is safe.

Parallel with Process Count

# Use 4 parallel processes
pest --bdd --parallel --processes=4

Output Options

Verbose Output

See detailed step execution:

pest --bdd

Output:

   PASS  Feature: Calculator
   ✓ Scenario: Addition
     ✓ Given I have number 5
     ✓ When I add 3
     ✓ Then the result should be 8

  Tests:    1 passed
  Duration: 0.05s

Compact Output

For CI or large test suites:

pest --bdd --compact

Stop on Failure

Stop execution on first failure:

pest --bdd --stop-on-failure

Test Execution Flow

Understanding the execution flow helps with debugging:

1. Discovery Phase

Scan PSR-4 directories for #[Given], #[When], #[Then]
        ↓
Find .feature files in tests/Behaviors/

2. Parsing Phase

.feature file
        ↓
Behat/Gherkin parser
        ↓
ParsedFeature, ParsedScenario, ParsedStep objects

3. Execution Phase

For each scenario:

Create fresh ScenarioContext
        ↓
For each step:
    Match step text → step definition
    Extract parameters
    Resolve injected parameters
    Execute step method
    Store return value in context
        ↓
Report results

Debugging

See Matched Steps

When a step fails to match, Pest BDD suggests possible definitions:

Step not found: "Given a user exits"

Did you mean?
  Given a user exists
  Given a user {name} exists

Or create a new step:
  #[Given('a user exits')]
  public function aUserExits(): void
  {
      // TODO: Implement
  }

Check Step Discovery

If steps aren't found:

1. Check the class is in a PSR-4 autoloaded directory
2. Verify the namespace matches composer.json
3. Ensure attributes are correctly imported

Debug Step Execution

Add temporary logging to understand execution:

#[Given('a user {name} exists')]
public function userExists(string $name): User
{
    dump("Creating user: $name");  // Temporary debug
    return User::factory()->create(['name' => $name]);
}

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: BDD Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: composer install --prefer-dist --no-progress

      - name: Run BDD tests
        run: vendor/bin/pest --bdd

GitLab CI

bdd-tests:
  stage: test
  script:
    - composer install --prefer-dist --no-progress
    - vendor/bin/pest --bdd
  only:
    - merge_requests
    - main

Running Both Unit and BDD

jobs:
  unit-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: composer install
      - run: vendor/bin/pest

  bdd-tests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: composer install
      - run: vendor/bin/pest --bdd

Common Commands

# Basic BDD run
pest --bdd

# With filter
pest --bdd --filter="Calculator"

# With tags
pest --bdd --tags="@smoke"

# Parallel execution
pest --bdd --parallel

# Stop on first failure
pest --bdd --stop-on-failure

# Combine options
pest --bdd --parallel --tags="@smoke" --stop-on-failure

Performance Tips

Use Tags for Fast Feedback

Mark critical scenarios:

@smoke @fast
Scenario: User can login
  ...

Run smoke tests during development:

pest --bdd --tags="@smoke"

Parallel for Large Suites

For large test suites, parallel execution significantly reduces time:

pest --bdd --parallel --processes=8