#[LinksAndCovers]

Declares that a test method covers and links to specific production methods.

Signature

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_METHOD | Attribute::TARGET_CLASS | Attribute::IS_REPEATABLE)]
class LinksAndCovers
{
    public function __construct(
        public string $class,
        public ?string $method = null
    ) {}
}

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
$class	string	Yes	Production class name or placeholder
$method	string|null	No	Method name (null for class-level)

Usage

Basic usage

use TestFlowLabs\TestingAttributes\LinksAndCovers;

class UserServiceTest extends TestCase
{
    #[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
    public function test_creates_user(): void
    {
        $service = new UserService();
        $user = $service->create(['name' => 'John']);

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

Multiple methods

#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
#[LinksAndCovers(UserValidator::class, 'validateEmail')]
public function test_creates_user_with_validation(): void
{
    // Test covers both methods
}

With placeholder

#[LinksAndCovers('@user-create')]
public function test_creates_user(): void
{
    // Placeholder resolved with `testlink pair`
}

Class-level coverage

#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class)]  // No method = entire class
public function test_user_service_integration(): void
{
    // Covers entire UserService class
}

Target

#[LinksAndCovers] can be applied to:

Test methods

class UserServiceTest extends TestCase
{
    #[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
    public function test_creates_user(): void
    {
        // ...
    }
}

Test classes

#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class)]
class UserServiceTest extends TestCase
{
    public function test_creates_user(): void
    {
        // All tests in this class cover UserService
    }
}

vs #[Links]

Attribute	Creates Link	Includes Coverage
#[LinksAndCovers]	✓	✓
#[Links]	✓	✗

Use #[LinksAndCovers] for:

• Unit tests
• Tests that should count toward coverage

Use #[Links] for:

• Integration tests
• E2E tests
• Tests where coverage is handled elsewhere

Pest Equivalent

#[LinksAndCovers] is the PHPUnit equivalent of Pest's ->linksAndCovers():

// PHPUnit
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
public function test_creates_user(): void { }

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

Validation

TestLink validates #[LinksAndCovers] attributes:

./vendor/bin/testlink validate

Checks

• Class exists
• Method exists (if specified)
• Corresponding #[TestedBy] exists in production

Errors

✗ Invalid LinksAndCovers:
  Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user
    → App\UserService::nonexistent (method not found)

Sync Behavior

When running testlink sync --link-only:

1. LinksAndCovers attributes are read
2. Corresponding production files are found
3. @see tags are added to production methods

// Test
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
public function test_creates_user(): void

// After sync, production gets:
/**
 * @see \Tests\UserServiceTest::test_creates_user
 */
public function create(array $data): User

Method Reference Format

Full namespace

#[LinksAndCovers('App\Services\UserService', 'create')]

Using ::class

use App\Services\UserService;

#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]

Placeholder

#[LinksAndCovers('@user-create')]

Best Practices

Use ::class constant

// Preferred
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]

// Works but less maintainable
#[LinksAndCovers('App\Services\UserService', 'create')]

One attribute per method

// Clear and explicit
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'validate')]
public function test_creates_validated_user(): void

// Avoid: class-level when method-level is more accurate
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class)]  // Too broad
public function test_creates_user(): void

Match with TestedBy

Ensure bidirectional linking:

// Production
#[TestedBy(UserServiceTest::class, 'test_creates_user')]
public function create(array $data): User

// Test
#[LinksAndCovers(UserService::class, 'create')]
public function test_creates_user(): void