Use this dialog to create a configuration to be used for running and debugging unit tests on PHP applications in the console using the PHPUnit framework.
Before you start
Enable PHPUnit support
Install and configure PHPUnit on your computer, refer to PHPUnit.
Make sure the PHP plugin is enabled. The PHP plugin is bundled with PhpStorm and activated by default. If the plugin is disabled, enable it in Settings | Plugins as described in Managing plugins.
Test Runner area
In this area, specify the unit tests to launch and the command line switches to be passed to the test runner.
Item
Description
Test scope
In this area, specify the location of tests or the configuration file where they are listed.
Directory: select this option to have all the unit tests in a directory launched.
In the Directory field, specify the directory to search the unit test in. Type the path to the directory manually or click and select the desired directory in the Choose Test Directory dialog, that opens.
Class: select this option to have all the unit tests in a test class launched.
In the Class field, type the name of the desired class. To quickly locate a class, use code completion Ctrl+Space. The location of the selected class will be displayed in the control File read-only field.
Method: select this option to have a specific test method launched.
In the Class field, type the name of the desired class. To quickly locate a class, use code completion Ctrl+Space. The location of the selected class will be displayed in the control File read-only field.
In the Method field, specify the desired method. To quickly locate a class, use code completion Ctrl+Space.
Defined in the configuration file: select this option to have test runner execute the tests from a dedicated XML configuration file.
Composite: select this option to have the test runner execute the tests from an arbitrary tests selection.
In the Composite test patterns area, use , , and to manage the list of test patterns (that is, test classes or test methods) to be included in the configuration.
To add a test pattern, click . To edit the existing pattern, click . In the Add PHPUnit test pattern dialog that opens, locate the desired test class or test method symbol by using the Search by Name tab or the Project tab. If the chosen test method uses a data provider, provide the name of the data set in the Data set field. Note that in the case of several data sets, you need to create a separate pattern entry for each of them.
By default, PhpStorm attempts to detect the test patterns location automatically based on your project structure. To explicitly specify the directory containing test patterns, select the Use alternative patterns base path checkbox, then click and locate the desired directory in the dialog that opens.
To use the default configuration file specified on the Test Frameworks page of the Settings dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S) , clear the Use alternative configuration file checkbox. If no default configuration file is appointed on the Test Frameworks page, the run/debug configuration is invalid. To quickly open the Test Frameworks page, click .
To run the tests from a custom configuration file, select the Use alternative configuration file checkbox, click , and specify the location of the file to use.
Use alternative bootstrap file
In this field, choose the location of the bootstrap PHP script, which will be executed before launching tests.
To use the default bootstrap file specified on the Test Frameworks page of the Settings dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S) , clear the Use alternative bootstrap file checkbox.
To execute a custom bootstrap file, select the Use alternative bootstrap file checkbox, click , and specify the location of the file to use.
If necessary, click and type the desired switches in the Command Line Options dialog. Type each switch on a new line. When you close the dialog, the specified switches are displayed in the Test runner options field with spaces as separators.
Preferred Coverage engine
From this list, choose one of the configured code coverage runners:
Xdebug, a debugging extension providing both the debugging and code coverage capabilities.
To enable Xdebug, make sure at least the following settings are specified in the [xdebug] section of the active php.ini file.
[xdebug]
zend_extension="<path to xdebug extension>"
xdebug.mode=coverage
[xdebug]
zend_extension="<path to xdebug extension>"
xdebug.coverage_enable=1
PCOV, a lightweight extension only providing code coverage capabilities.
To enable PCOV, download and install the extension as described in the PCOV documentation. Then, make sure at least the following settings are specified in the active php.ini file:
extension="<path to pcov extension>"
phpdbg, a debugging and code coverage module, which is bundled in PHP 5.6 and later and requires no additional configuration.
Command Line area
In this area, choose a PHP interpreter and customize its behavior by specifying the options and arguments to be passed to the PHP executable file.
Item
Description
Interpreter
The list contains all the currently configured local and remote PHP interpreters. Choose one of the configured PHP interpreters from the list, or click and define a new interpreter as described in Configure local PHP interpreters and Configure remote PHP interpreters.
Interpreter options
In this field, specify the options to be passed to the PHP executable file. They override the default behavior of the PHP interpreter or ensure that additional activities are performed.
If necessary, click and type the desired options in the Command Line Options dialog. Type each option on a new line. When you close the dialog, they are all displayed in the Command line options field with spaces as separators.
Custom working directory
In this field, specify the location of the files that are outside the folder with tests and are referenced in your tests through relative paths.
This setting does not block the test execution because the location of tests is always specified through a full path to the corresponding files and directories.
By default, the field is empty, and the working directory is the root of the project.
Environment variables
In this field, specify the environment variables to be passed to the built-in server. You can add the name-value pairs of environment variables manually by clicking , or click and browse to the .env file on your computer.
This area only appears if you select a Docker Compose-based remote interpreter in the Interpreter field. Here, you can add some Docker Compose commands with options to the run configuration.
Item
Description
Commands and options
You can use the following commands of the Docker Compose Command-Line Interface:
Commands
Supported options
up: Builds, creates, starts, and attaches to containers for a service.
Use this field to preview the complete command string.
For example, the up --build exec --user jetbrains combination in the Commands and options field produces the following output in the preview:
Common settings
When you edit a run configuration (but not a run configuration template), you can specify the following options:
Item
Description
Name
Specify a name for the run configuration to quickly identify it among others when editing or running.
Allow multiple instances
Allow running multiple instances of this run configuration in parallel.
By default, it is disabled, and when you start this configuration while another instance is still running, PhpStorm suggests stopping the running instance and starting another one. This is helpful when a run configuration consumes a lot of resources and there is no good reason to run multiple instances.
Store as project file
Save the file with the run configuration settings to share it with other team members. The default location is .idea/runConfigurations. However, if you do not want to share the .idea directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.
By default, it is disabled, and PhpStorm stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.
Toolbar
The tree view of run/debug configurations has a toolbar that helps you manage configurations available in your project as well as adjust default configurations templates.
Item
Shortcut
Description
Alt+Insert
Create a run/debug configuration.
Alt+Delete
Delete the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you cannot delete default configurations.
Ctrl+D
Create a copy of the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you create copies of default configurations.
The button is displayed only when you select a temporary configuration. Click this button to save a temporary configuration as permanent.
Move into new folder / Create new folder. You can group run/debug configurations by placing them into folders.
To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click , and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.
Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag or and buttons.
To remove grouping, select a folder and click .
Click this button to sort configurations in the alphabetical order.
Before launch
In this area, you can specify tasks to be performed before starting the selected run/debug configuration. The tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.
Item
Shortcut
Description
Alt+Insert
Click this icon to add one of the following available tasks:
Run External tool: select to run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in PhpStorm yet, add its definition. For more information, refer to External tools and External Tools.
Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration and wait until it finishes before starting the current configuration. If you want to run several configurations in parallel, use a compound run/debug configuration.
Launch Web Browser: select this option to have a browser started. In the dialog that opens, select the type of the browser and provide the start URL. Also, specify if you want the browser to be launched with the JavaScript debugger.
Run File Watchers: select this option to have PhpStorm apply all the currently active File Watchers.
Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task.
In the Grunt task dialog that opens, specify the Gruntfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool.
Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.
Run gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task.
In the Gulp task dialog that opens, specify the Gulpfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool.
Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.
Run npm script: select this option to execute an npm script.
Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected:
If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start.
If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.
Run Phing target: add this task to execute the specified Phing target prior to running or debugging. To appoint a Phing target, click Browse and select the desired target in the dialog that opens.
Generate CoffeeScript Source Maps: select this option to generate the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located.
Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.
Enter
Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.
Alt+Up
Alt+Down
Click these icons to move the selected task one line up or down in the list. The tasks are performed in the order that they appear in the list.
Show this page
Select this checkbox to show the run/debug configuration settings prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.
Activate tool window
By default this checkbox is selected and the Run or the Debug tool window opens when you start the run/debug configuration.
Otherwise, if the checkbox is cleared, the tool window is hidden. However, when the configuration is running, you can open the corresponding tool window for it yourself by pressing Alt+4 or Alt+5.
and select the desired directory in the 
, 
, and 
to manage the list of test patterns (that is, test classes or test methods) to be included in the configuration.
. 
, and specify the location of the file to use.
and type the desired switches in the 
and define a new interpreter as described in 
and type the desired options in the 
, or click 
and browse to the 
, and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.
and 
buttons.