Fix Validation Errors

This guide shows how to identify and fix common TestLink validation errors.

Running Validation

./vendor/bin/testlink validate

Common Errors and Solutions

1. Orphan TestedBy

Error:

  ✗ Found 1 orphan TestedBy link(s):
    App\UserService::create
      → Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user (test not found)

Cause: A #[TestedBy] attribute exists in production code, but the test doesn't have a corresponding test link (->linksAndCovers() in Pest, #[LinksAndCovers] in PHPUnit, or @see tag).

Solutions:

Option A: Add the missing link in the test:

test('creates user', function () {
    // ...
})->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::create');

Option B: Remove the #[TestedBy] if the test was removed:

// Remove this line if test no longer exists
// #[TestedBy('Tests\UserServiceTest', 'test_creates_user')]
public function create(array $data): User

Option C: Run sync to auto-fix:

./vendor/bin/testlink sync

2. Missing TestedBy

Error:

  ⚠ Found 1 test link(s) without TestedBy:
    Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user
      → App\UserService::create (no TestedBy attribute)

Cause: A test has a link (->linksAndCovers(), #[LinksAndCovers], or @see), but the production method doesn't have #[TestedBy].

Solutions:

Option A: Add the missing #[TestedBy]:

#[TestedBy('Tests\UserServiceTest', 'test_creates_user')]
public function create(array $data): User

Option B: Run sync with link-only mode:

./vendor/bin/testlink sync --link-only

3. Duplicate Links

Error:

  ✗ Found 1 duplicate link(s):
    Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user
      → App\UserService::create
      Found in: PHPUnit attribute, Pest method chain

Cause: The same link is declared in both a PHPUnit attribute AND a Pest method chain.

Solution: Remove one of the duplicates. Keep only:

// Either use the attribute
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
public function test_creates_user(): void

// OR use the method chain
test('creates user', function () {
    // ...
})->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::create');

4. Unresolved Placeholder

Error:

  ✗ Found 1 unresolved placeholder(s):
    @user-create
      Production: App\UserService::create
      Tests: Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user

Cause: A placeholder marker hasn't been resolved to real references.

Solution: Run the pair command:

# Preview first
./vendor/bin/testlink pair --dry-run

# Apply changes
./vendor/bin/testlink pair

5. Invalid Test Reference

Error:

  ✗ Found 1 invalid TestedBy reference(s):
    App\UserService::create
      → Tests\UserServiceTest::test_nonexistent (test not found)

Cause: The #[TestedBy] points to a test that doesn't exist.

Solutions:

Option A: Fix the test name:

// Wrong
#[TestedBy('Tests\UserServiceTest', 'test_nonexistent')]

// Correct
#[TestedBy('Tests\UserServiceTest', 'test_creates_user')]

Option B: Remove if test was deleted:

// Remove the stale TestedBy
public function create(array $data): User

6. Invalid Method Reference

Error:

  ✗ Found 1 invalid linksAndCovers reference(s):
    Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user
      → App\UserService::nonexistent (method not found)

Cause: The test link points to a method that doesn't exist.

Solution: Fix the method reference:

// Wrong
->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::nonexistent')

// Correct
->linksAndCovers(UserService::class.'::create')

7. FQCN Issue in @see Tag

Error:

  ⚠ Found 1 @see tag FQCN issue(s):
    tests/UserServiceTest.php:15
      @see UserService::create (should use FQCN: \App\UserService)

Cause: An @see tag uses a short class name instead of fully qualified.

Solution: Use the full class name:

// Wrong
/** @see UserService::create */

// Correct
/** @see \App\UserService::create */

// Or with use statement
use App\UserService;
/** @see UserService::create */

Batch Fixing

Fix all sync issues

./vendor/bin/testlink sync

Fix all placeholder issues

./vendor/bin/testlink pair

Fix orphaned @see tags

./vendor/bin/testlink sync --prune

Dry-Run First

Always preview changes before applying:

# Preview sync changes
./vendor/bin/testlink sync --dry-run

# Preview pair changes
./vendor/bin/testlink pair --dry-run

Verbose Output

For more details about errors:

./vendor/bin/testlink validate --verbose

This shows:

• File paths
• Line numbers
• Additional context

Suppressing Warnings

If you want to ignore certain warnings temporarily:

# Only fail on errors, not warnings
./vendor/bin/testlink validate

# Fail on both errors and warnings
./vendor/bin/testlink validate --strict

Common Causes of Errors

Error	Common Cause
Orphan TestedBy	Test was renamed or deleted
Missing TestedBy	New test added without updating production
Duplicate links	Mixed PHPUnit attributes with Pest chains
Unresolved placeholder	Forgot to run pair before committing
Invalid reference	Typo in class or method name