Linking from Tests

TestLink provides two types of links from tests to production code:

• linksAndCovers - Traceability + coverage tracking
• links - Traceability only (no coverage)

Both work with Pest and PHPUnit, using different syntax for each framework.

Link Types

Type	Pest Method	PHPUnit Attribute	Purpose
Link + Coverage	->linksAndCovers()	#[LinksAndCovers]	Traceability + triggers coverage
Link Only	->links()	#[Links]	Traceability without coverage

Pest Setup

Add the RuntimeBootstrap to your tests/Pest.php:

// tests/Pest.php
use TestFlowLabs\TestLink\Runtime\RuntimeBootstrap;

RuntimeBootstrap::init();

Basic Usage

Pest

test('creates a new user', function () {
    $user = app(UserService::class)->create([
        'name' => 'John',
        'email' => 'john@example.com',
    ]);

    expect($user)->toBeInstanceOf(User::class);
})->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::create');

PHPUnit

use TestFlowLabs\TestingAttributes\LinksAndCovers;

class UserServiceTest extends TestCase
{
    #[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
    public function test_creates_a_new_user(): void
    {
        $user = app(UserService::class)->create([
            'name' => 'John',
            'email' => 'john@example.com',
        ]);

        $this->assertInstanceOf(User::class, $user);
    }
}

Link Only (No Coverage)

Use for integration or e2e tests where unit coverage is tracked elsewhere:

Pest

test('creates user through API endpoint', function () {
    $response = $this->post('/api/users', [
        'name' => 'John',
        'email' => 'john@example.com',
    ]);

    $response->assertCreated();
})->links(UserService::class.'::create');

PHPUnit

use TestFlowLabs\TestingAttributes\Links;

class UserApiTest extends TestCase
{
    #[Links(UserService::class, 'create')]
    public function test_creates_user_through_api(): void
    {
        $response = $this->post('/api/users', [
            'name' => 'John',
            'email' => 'john@example.com',
        ]);

        $response->assertCreated();
    }
}

Method Reference Formats

Pest

Format	Example
Specific method	UserService::class.'::create'
Entire class	UserService::class

PHPUnit

Format	Example
Specific method	#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
Entire class	#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class)]

Multiple Methods

Pest

test('complete checkout flow', function () {
    // Test that exercises multiple methods
})->linksAndCovers(CartService::class.'::checkout')
  ->linksAndCovers(PaymentService::class.'::charge')
  ->linksAndCovers(OrderService::class.'::create')
  ->links(EmailService::class.'::sendConfirmation');

PHPUnit

#[LinksAndCovers(CartService::class, 'checkout')]
#[LinksAndCovers(PaymentService::class, 'charge')]
#[LinksAndCovers(OrderService::class, 'create')]
#[Links(EmailService::class, 'sendConfirmation')]
public function test_complete_checkout_flow(): void
{
    // Test that exercises multiple methods
}

With Other Pest Methods

Link methods work with all Pest chaining methods:

test('premium user gets discount', function () {
    // ...
})->linksAndCovers(DiscountService::class.'::calculate')
  ->group('pricing')
  ->skip(fn () => !config('features.discounts'));

it('sends welcome email', function () {
    // ...
})->linksAndCovers(EmailService::class.'::sendWelcome')
  ->throws(MailException::class);

Inside Describe Blocks (Pest)

describe('UserService', function () {
    describe('create method', function () {
        it('creates with valid data', function () {
            // ...
        })->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::create');

        it('validates email format', function () {
            // ...
        })->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::create');
    });
});

When to Use Each

Scenario	Method	Reason
Unit test	linksAndCovers / #[LinksAndCovers]	Want coverage tracking
Integration test	links / #[Links]	Coverage tracked in unit tests
E2E test	links / #[Links]	Coverage tracked in unit tests
Feature test	linksAndCovers / #[LinksAndCovers]	Primary coverage point

Validation

Check your links are valid:

testlink validate

View All Links

Generate a report of all coverage links:

testlink report