Test environment setup for web project

Test Environment Setup for Web Projects

A test environment is an isolated setup with its own database, configuration, and state. Without proper setup, tests become unstable, slow, and interfere with each other.

Test Environment Layers

Unit tests     → In-memory / mocks → no external dependencies
Integration    → Test database (SQLite or Docker PostgreSQL)
E2E / Browser  → Staging environment or local Docker Compose
Load tests     → Dedicated staging (isolated from main)

Docker Compose for Test Environment

# docker-compose.test.yml
services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      target: test
    environment:
      APP_ENV: testing
      DB_HOST: db
      DB_DATABASE: testdb
      REDIS_HOST: redis
      QUEUE_CONNECTION: sync    # queues sync in tests
      MAIL_MAILER: array        # intercept emails to array
      CACHE_DRIVER: array       # cache in memory
    depends_on:
      db: { condition: service_healthy }
      redis: { condition: service_healthy }

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: testdb
      POSTGRES_USER: test
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: test
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U test"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5
    tmpfs:
      - /var/lib/postgresql/data   # DB in RAM — faster

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s

Laravel Configuration for Tests

// phpunit.xml
<php>
    <env name="APP_ENV"          value="testing"/>
    <env name="DB_CONNECTION"    value="sqlite"/>
    <env name="DB_DATABASE"      value=":memory:"/>
    <env name="CACHE_DRIVER"     value="array"/>
    <env name="SESSION_DRIVER"   value="array"/>
    <env name="QUEUE_CONNECTION" value="sync"/>
    <env name="MAIL_MAILER"      value="array"/>
</php>

// Basic TestCase with transactions
abstract class TestCase extends BaseTestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;  // rollback DB after each test

    protected function setUp(): void
    {
        parent::setUp();
        $this->withoutVite();  // don't run Vite in tests
        $this->seed(TestDatabaseSeeder::class);
    }
}

Test Isolation

Transactions (fast, but not for HTTP-client tests):

// DatabaseTransactions trait — rollback after each test
use DatabaseTransactions;

Migrations (slower, but more reliable):

// RefreshDatabase trait — recreate DB before each test
use RefreshDatabase;

Mocking External Services:

// Don't make real HTTP requests in tests
Http::fake([
    'api.stripe.com/*'  => Http::response(['id' => 'pi_test_123'], 200),
    'api.sendgrid.com/*' => Http::response(['message_id' => 'test'], 202),
    '*'                 => Http::response(['error' => 'Unexpected request'], 500),
]);

// Intercept email
Mail::fake();
// Verify
Mail::assertSent(OrderConfirmationMail::class, fn($mail) =>
    $mail->hasTo('[email protected]')
);

Test Data Factories

// database/factories/UserFactory.php
class UserFactory extends Factory
{
    public function definition(): array
    {
        return [
            'name'              => $this->faker->name(),
            'email'             => $this->faker->unique()->safeEmail(),
            'email_verified_at' => now(),
            'password'          => Hash::make('password'),
        ];
    }

    public function admin(): static
    {
        return $this->afterCreating(fn(User $user) =>
            $user->assignRole('admin')
        );
    }

    public function unverified(): static
    {
        return $this->state(['email_verified_at' => null]);
    }
}

// Usage in tests
$user = User::factory()->admin()->create();
$users = User::factory()->count(10)->create();

CI/CD — GitHub Actions

name: Tests

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  unit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with: { php-version: '8.3', extensions: 'sqlite3' }
      - run: composer install --no-interaction
      - run: php artisan test --parallel --testsuite=Unit

  integration:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    services:
      postgres:
        image: postgres:16
        env:
          POSTGRES_DB: testdb
          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: test
        ports: ['5432:5432']
        options: --health-cmd pg_isready --health-interval 5s
    env:
      DB_CONNECTION: pgsql
      DB_HOST: localhost
      DB_DATABASE: testdb
      DB_PASSWORD: test
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: composer install
      - run: php artisan test --testsuite=Feature

Test Database Seeder

class TestDatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        // Minimal data set for tests
        Role::create(['name' => 'admin']);
        Role::create(['name' => 'user']);

        Category::factory(5)->create();
        Product::factory(20)->create();
    }
}

Implementation Timeline

Setting up a test environment from scratch (Docker + CI + factories): 3–5 days.