Browser Testing

phpspec includes a lightweight HTTP client for testing web endpoints. Make requests and assert on responses — no external dependencies needed.

Configuration

Add base_url to your config:

# phpspec.yaml
base_url: http://localhost:8080

Quick example

describe('User API', function () {
    it('returns a user by id', function () {
        $response = get('/api/users/1');

        expect($response)->toBeOk();
        expect($response)->toHaveStatus(200);
        expect($response->json['name'])->toBe('Chuck Norris');
        expect($response)->toHavePath('data.user.name', 'Chuck Norris');
    });

    it('creates a user', function () {
        $response = post('/api/users', json: ['name' => 'Chuck']);
        expect($response)->toHaveStatus(201);
    });
});

Making requests

Function	Description
`visit(string $path)`	GET request (alias for `get()`)
`get(string $path)`	GET request
`post(string $path, ...)`	POST request
`put(string $path, ...)`	PUT request
`patch(string $path, ...)`	PATCH request
`delete(string $path)`	DELETE request

Request options

Key	Type	Description
`json`	`array`	JSON-encoded body; sets `Content-Type: application/json`
`body`	`string`	Raw request body
`headers`	`array`	Additional HTTP headers

Response object

Property	Type	Description
`$response->status`	`int`	HTTP status code
`$response->body`	`string`	Raw response body
`$response->json`	`array`	Body decoded as JSON (lazy)
`$response->headers`	`array`	Response headers

Response matchers

`toBeOk()`

Asserts the response status is 200.

expect($response)->toBeOk();

`toBeBad()`

Asserts the response status is 400.

`toHaveStatus(int $code)`

Asserts exact status code.

expect($response)->toHaveStatus(201);
expect($response)->toHaveStatus(404);

`toHavePath(string $path, mixed $expected)`

Asserts a value at a dot-notation path in the JSON body.

expect($response)->toHavePath('data.user.name', 'Alice');
expect($response)->toHavePath('meta.total', 42);

`toHaveHeader(string $name, ?string $value)`

Asserts a header exists, optionally checking its value.

expect($response)->toHaveHeader('Content-Type');
expect($response)->toHaveHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
expect($response)->not()->toHaveHeader('X-Debug');

`toRedirectTo(string $url)`

Asserts a 3xx redirect with matching Location header.

expect($response)->toRedirectTo('/dashboard');

Using existing matchers

You don’t need special matchers for everything — use the ones you already know:

// Body
expect($response->body)->toContain('hello');
expect($response->body)->toMatch('/id":\s*\d+/');

// JSON
expect($response->json)->toHaveKey('name');
expect($response->json['items'])->toHaveCount(3);

// Direct value access
expect($response->json['name'])->toBe('Chuck Norris');
expect($response->status)->toBeGreaterThan(199);

← Configuration

Extensions →