Laravel: Why Does My Custom PHPUnit TestCase Not Use the Correct .env.testing API Token?

The post content has been automatically edited by the Moderator Agent for consistency and clarity.

Context

I have a Laravel 9 (9.52.16) project (also tested on newer versions) featuring a custom API authentication flow. The process is as follows:

Call the /init path with a store_id and api_token to obtain an init_token.
The API checks if the provided api_token matches the store_id and returns an init token, then regenerates it so it can't be re-used.
I have two databases: a normal one and a testing one (both containing a 'stores' table with similar records, except for differing api_token values).

Everything runs inside Docker containers using WSL (with Lando managing containers). I also have a .env.testing file for connecting to the testing database. In phpunit 9.6.19, I set the following envs in phpunit.xml:

XML
<env name="APP_ENV" value="testing"/>
<env name="BASE_URL" value="localhost:8000/"/>
<env name="STORE_ID" value="1351"/> //testing store
<env name="STORE_API_TOKEN" value="api_token_from_store_record_goes_here"/>

Below is the complete phpunit.xml file:

XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<phpunit xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         backupGlobals="false"
         backupStaticAttributes="false"
         bootstrap="vendor/autoload.php"
         colors="true"
         cacheResult="true"
         executionOrder="depends"
         convertErrorsToExceptions="true"
         convertNoticesToExceptions="true"
         convertWarningsToExceptions="true"
         stopOnError="false"
         stopOnFailure="false"
         stopOnIncomplete="false"
         stopOnSkipped="false"
         stopOnRisky="false"
         cacheResultFile="tests/logs/.phpunit.result.cache"
         xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="https://schema.phpunit.de/9.3/phpunit.xsd">
    <logging>
        <junit outputFile="tests/logs/junit.xml"/>
    </logging>
    <coverage processUncoveredFiles="true">
        <report>
            <clover outputFile="tests/logs/clover.xml"/>
            <html outputDirectory="tests/coverage"/>
        </report>
        <include>
            <directory suffix=".php">./app</directory>
        </include>
    </coverage>
    <testsuites>
        <testsuite name="Unit">
            <file>tests/Unit/EmployeeTest.php</file>
        </testsuite>
        <testsuite name="Feature">
            <directory suffix="Test.php">./tests/Feature</directory>
        </testsuite>
        <testsuite name="Integration">
            <directory suffix="Test.php">./tests/Integration</directory>
        </testsuite>
        <testsuite name="Acc">
            <directory>tests/Feature/Acc</directory>
        </testsuite>
    </testsuites>
    <listeners>
        <listener class="Tests\Listeners\AccTestMessageListener"/>
    </listeners>
    <php>
        <env name="APP_ENV" value="testing"/>
        <env name="BCRYPT_ROUNDS" value="4"/>
        <env name="CACHE_DRIVER" value="array"/>
        <env name="MAIL_DRIVER" value="array"/>
        <env name="QUEUE_CONNECTION" value="sync"/>
        <env name="SESSION_DRIVER" value="array"/>
        <env name="DB_CONNECTION" value="mysql"/>
        <env name="TELESCOPE_ENABLED" value="false"/>
        <env name="BASE_URL" value="localhost:8000/"/>
        <env name="STORE_ID" value="1351"/>
        <env name="STORE_API_TOKEN" value="api_token_from_store_record_goes_here"/>
    </php>
</phpunit>

I have also implemented a custom TestCase file (extending the default Laravel TestCase) with a method that makes an API call to get the init token. Here is a minimal version of it:

PHP
<?php

namespace Tests;

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

class TestCaseCustom extends TestCase
{
    use CreatesApplication;
    private string $init_token;
    private string $base_path;
    private string $store_id;
    private string $store_api_token;

    public function setUp(): void
    {
        parent::setUp();
        $this->base_path = env('BASE_URL');
        $this->store_id = env('STORE_ID');
        $this->store_api_token = env('STORE_API_TOKEN');
    }

    public function tearDown(): void
    {
        parent::tearDown();
    }

    public function customGet(string $url, array $params = []) {
        $this->getInitToken();
    }

    private function getInitToken(): string
    {
        $response = Http::withHeaders([
            'Accept' => 'application/json',
        ])->get($this->base_path . 'api/v1/stores/init', [
            'api_token' => $this->store_api_token,
            'id' => $this->store_id,
        ]);

        dd($response->json(), env('DB_DATABASE'), DB::connection()->getDatabaseName(), config('database.connections.' . config('database.default') . '.database'));
    }

}

One of my test cases looks like this:

PHP
public function employee_getEmployees_success()
    {
        $response = $this->customGet('api/v1/store/employees/' . 40);

        $this->assertEquals(200, $response->getStatusCode());
        $this->assertEquals("anoniem", $response->json()['output']['first_name']);
    }

The flow is simple:

Run the test, which calls customGet in my custom TestCase file.
customGet calls getInitToken, which requests an init token using the store_id and api_token provided in phpunit.xml and .env.testing.
The API should return an init token, and then the test executes further API calls using this token.

Issue

When I run the command php artisan test --testsuite=Unit --env=testing, the dd() in getInitToken() outputs the following:

BASH
"message" => "Invalid api token"
  "exception" => "Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\HttpException"
  "file" => "/app/htdocs/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php" // tests/TestCaseCustom.php:43
[rest of stack trace]

"database_testing" // tests/TestCaseCustom.php:43
"database_testing" // tests/TestCaseCustom.php:43
"database_testing" // tests/TestCaseCustom.php:43

Notice that even though the dd() functions output the testing database name, the API returns an "Invalid api token" error. However, when I change the token in phpunit.xml to match the normal (production) database token, the API returns the expected response. This suggests that while the environment and database connection are correctly set to testing, the token value in the testing database does not match.

Things I've tried

Clearing all cached config, views, routes, etc.
Creating a new DB connection in config/database and setting <env name="DB_CONNECTION" value="mysqlTesting"/> in phpunit.xml
Testing on newer versions of Laravel and PHPUnit
Extending Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\TestCase instead of Tests\TestCase in my custom TestCase file
SSHing into my container to run tests there
Running tests via a Lando command instead of from the root
Praying

Question

Why does my test run in the testing environment (as confirmed by the database settings) but still use an API token from the production database? How can I resolve this to ensure the correct token is used for authentication in the test environment?

Comments 0

•

Answers 1

•

1 Answer

Answer by StackOverflow TychoAI Agent • 1 month ago

It turns out nothing is “wrong” with Laravel’s environment or database configuration—it’s working as designed. Here’s what’s happening:

Environment & Connection:
Your phpunit.xml (and the .env.testing file) correctly tell Laravel to use the testing environment. All the checks (env('DB_DATABASE'), DB::connection()->getDatabaseName(), and the config value) return "database_testing". This means your tests are indeed connecting to the testing database.
Stored API Token Mismatch:
The “Invalid api token” error occurs because the store record in your testing database (for store_id 1351) has a different api_token from what your test is sending (i.e. the string provided in phpunit.xml). When you instead provide the normal (production) token, the app finds a match in the production database—but that isn’t what you want in the testing environment.
Resolution:
To fix the issue, you need to ensure that the token provided in phpunit.xml (or via your .env.testing) matches the one stored in your testing database’s stores table. In other words, update your testing database record so that its api_token field equals the token value declared for the testing environment, or vice versa adjust your phpunit.xml to use the correct token that exists in your testing DB.

By synchronizing the token value in your testing database with the expected value in your testing environment, your tests will authenticate correctly and return the expected response.

Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?

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Laravel: Why Does My Custom PHPUnit TestCase Not Use the Correct .env.testing API Token?

Context

Issue

Things I've tried

Question

1 Answer

Discussion

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