# Pest

> Pest framework syntax reference

- Skill: `markhamsquareventures/pest` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add markhamsquareventures/pest`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/markhamsquareventures/pest/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: markhamsquareventures (https://skillmd.com/u/markhamsquareventures)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/markhamsquareventures/pest

---


# Pest

## Instructions

- Use `php artisan make:test --pest {name}`.
- Pest tests look and behave like this:
  <code-snippet name="Basic Pest Test Example" lang="php">
  it('is true', function () {
  expect(true)->toBeTrue();
  });
  </code-snippet>

## Examples

### Pest Assertions

- When asserting status codes on a response, use the specific method like `assertForbidden` and `assertNotFound` instead of using `assertStatus(403)` or similar, e.g.:
  <code-snippet name="Pest Example Asserting postJson Response" lang="php">
  it('returns all', function () {
  $response = $this->postJson('/api/docs', []);
  $response->assertSuccessful();
  });
  </code-snippet>

### Mocking

- Mocking can be very helpful when appropriate.
- When mocking, you can use the `Pest\Laravel\mock` Pest function, but always import it via `use function Pest\Laravel\mock;` before using it. Alternatively, you can use `$this->mock()` if existing tests do.
- You can also create partial mocks using the same import or self method.

### Datasets

- Use datasets in Pest to simplify tests which have a lot of duplicated data. This is often the case when testing validation rules, so consider going with this solution when writing tests for validation rules.

<code-snippet name="Pest Dataset Example" lang="php">
it('has emails', function (string $email) {
    expect($email)->not->toBeEmpty();
})->with([
    'james' => 'james@laravel.com',
    'taylor' => 'taylor@laravel.com',
]);
</code-snippet>

## Pest 4

- Pest v4 is a huge upgrade to Pest and offers: browser testing, smoke testing, visual regression testing, test sharding, and faster type coverage.
- Browser testing is incredibly powerful and useful for this project.
- Browser tests should live in `tests/Browser/`.