How to specify a different .env file for phpunit in Laravel 5?

Question

I have a .env file containing my database connection details, as is normal for Laravel 5. I want to override these for testing, which I can do in phpunit.

Answer 1

You could override the .env file being used in your TestCase file, where the framework is booted for testing.

More specific:

tests/TestCase.php

/**
 * Creates the application.
 *
 * @return \Illuminate\Foundation\Application
 */
public function createApplication()
{
    /* @var \Illuminate\Foundation\Application $app */
    $app = require __DIR__ . '/../bootstrap/app.php';

    $app->loadEnvironmentFrom('.env.testing'); // specify the file to use for environment, must be run before boostrap

    $app->make('Illuminate\Contracts\Console\Kernel')->bootstrap();

    return $app;
}

All the tests extending TestCase will use this configuration file.

Please note that any setting defined in phpunit.xml will override this configuration.

Update

Starting Laravel5.4, the createApplication function is no longer found in tests\TestCase. It has been moved to tests\CreatesApplication trait.