Find framework reference pages for controllers, routes, middleware, modules, database, views, and security.

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Testing An App

Tests protect your application code while CorianderCore can update independently.

What To Test First

Start with the behavior that would hurt if it broke:

  • route smoke tests
  • repository methods
  • permission services
  • validation rules
  • Markdown/documentation links, for documentation sites
  • generated downloads, for guided projects

Module Unit Test

Modules are the easiest app code to test because they should not depend on HTTP rendering.

use Modules\Blog\BlogValidator;
use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

final class BlogValidatorTest extends TestCase
{
    public function testTitleIsRequired(): void
    {
        $errors = (new BlogValidator())->validatePost([
            'title' => '',
            'body' => 'Content',
        ]);

        self::assertArrayHasKey('title', $errors);
    }
}

Route Smoke Test

Smoke tests check that important public routes still respond after framework updates.

public function testDocumentationRouteResponds(): void
{
    $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] = 'GET';
    $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] = '/documentation';

    ob_start();
    require PROJECT_ROOT . '/public/index.php';
    $output = ob_get_clean();

    self::assertIsString($output);
    self::assertStringContainsString('Documentation', $output);
}

Prefer focused route smoke tests over browser-heavy tests for basic coverage.

Repository Tests

For repository code, use a test database when possible.

SQLite is practical for fast local tests. If production uses MySQL-specific SQL, add at least one integration check against MySQL before release.

Permission Tests

Permission services should be deterministic.

public function testAdminCanEditAnyPost(): void
{
    $service = new BlogPermissionService();

    self::assertTrue($service->canEdit(
        ['id' => 1, 'role' => 'admin'],
        ['author_id' => 99]
    ));
}

Test permission rules once in the permission class, then keep controller tests lighter.

Documentation App Checks

For documentation websites, add quality checks:

  • internal links exist
  • code fence languages are supported
  • downloads exist
  • generated assets exist
  • no app code lives under CorianderCore

This documentation site uses that pattern in tests/Docs.

Before Merging

Run:

composer test
php coriander nodejs run build-prod

When downloads or assets changed, also run:

composer generate-downloads
php coriander nodejs run build-prod