PhpStorm 2019.1 Help

Run/Debug Configuration: PHPSpec

This dialog is available only when the PHP and PHPSpec plugins are installed and enabled. The plugins are activated by default. If the plugins are disabled, enable them on the Plugins page as described in Managing plugins.

Use this dialog to create a configuration to be used for running and debugging unit tests on PHP applications using the PHPSpec toolset.

Before you start

To run PHPSpec tests:

  1. Install and configure the PHPSpec toolset on your computer as described in Testing with PHPSpec.

  2. Make sure the PHP and PHPSpec plugins are enabled. The plugins are activated by default. If the plugins are disabled, enable them on the Plugins page as described in Managing plugins.

Test Runner area

In this area, appoint the specifications to launch and the command line switches to be passed to PHPSpec.

Item

Description

Test scope

In this area, specify the location of specifications or the configuration file where they are listed.
  • Directory: select this option to have all the specifications in a directory launched.

    In the Directory field, appoint the directory to search for *Spec.php files with specifications in. Type the path to the directory manually or click Browse browseButton.png and select the desired directory in the Choose Test Directory dialog, that opens.

  • File: select this option to have all the specifications in a particular *Spec.php file launched.
    1. In the File field, specify the *Spec.php file to search the specifications in. Type the path to the file manually or click Browse browseButton.png and select the desired directory in the dialog, that opens.

    2. In the Class field, specify the desired class. Type the class name manually or click Browse browseButton.png and select the desired class in the tree view, that opens.

  • Specification: select this option to have a particular specification launched.
    1. In the File field, specify the *Spec.php file to search for the specification in. Type the filename manually or click Browse browseButton.png and select the desired file in the tree view, that opens.

    2. In the specification field, type the desired specification.

  • Defined in the configuration file: select this option to have PHPSpec execute the tests from a dedicated .yml configuration file.

    By default, PHPSpec uses the configuration file appointed in the Test Runner area of the Test Frameworks page. In its turn, this can be either the native configuration file (phpspec.yml or phpspec.yml.dist) or any other YML configuration file, which you specified as Default during the initial configuration of PHPSpec in PhpStorm.

    • To have the default for all PHPSpec run configurations file used, clear the Use alternative configuration file checkbox.

    • To launch specifications from a custom configuration file, select the Use alternative configuration file checkbox and specify the location of the desired YML file in the field next to it.

    • To open the PHPSpec page and specify another default configuration file to use, click the the Settings button button.

Command Line area

In this area, customize the behavior of the current PHP interpreter by specifying the options and arguments to be passed to the PHP executable file.

Item

Description

Interpreter options

In this field, specify the options to be passed to the PHP executable file. They override the default behavior of the PHP interpreter and/or ensure that additional activities are performed.

If necessary, click the Expand button and type the desired options in the Command Line Options dialog. Type each option on a new line. When you close the dialog, they are all displayed in the Command line options field with spaces as separators.

Custom working directory

In this field, specify the location of the files that are outside the folder with tests and are referenced in your tests through relative paths.
This setting does not block the test execution because the location of tests is always specified through a full path to the corresponding files and/or directories.
By default, the field is empty and the working directory is the root of the project.

Environment variables

In this field, specify the environment variables be passed to the built-in server. See Environment Variables in Apache for details.

Common options

When you edit a run configuration (but not a run configuration template), you can specify the following options:

Item

Description

Name

In this field, specify the name for the run/debug configuration. The name will help you identify the created configuration when you choose to edit it later, or when you invoke it, for example, from the Run popup (Shift+Alt+F10).

Share

Select this checkbox to make the run/debug configuration available to other team members.

The shared run/debug configurations are kept in separate xml files under .idea\runConfigurations folder, while the local run/debug configurations are kept in the .idea\workspace.xml.

Allow running in parallel

If this checkbox is selected, it is possible to launch a run configuration multiple times in parallel instead of rerunning it. Each runner will start in its own tab of the Run Tool Window or Debug Tool Window.

When disabled, every time a new instance of the run/debug configuration is launched, PhpStorm checks the presence of the other instances of the same run/debug configuration, and displays a confirmation dialog. If you click OK in the confirmation dialog, the first instance of the runner will be stopped, and the next one will take its place. This makes sense when launching two instances of run/debug configurations of the same type consumes too much of the CPU and memory resources..

Toolbar

The tree view of run/debug configurations has a toolbar that helps you manage configurations available in your project as well as adjust default configurations templates.

Item

Shortcut

Description

the Add buttonAlt+Insert

Create a run/debug configuration.

the Remove buttonAlt+Delete

Delete the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you cannot delete default configurations.

Copy Ctrl+D

Create a copy of the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you create copies of default configurations.

Save configuration

The toolbar shows this button only when you select a temporary configuration. Click this button to save a temporary configuration as permanent.

Edit Templates

View and edit the template (that is, the default settings) for the selected run/debug configuration. The templates are displayed under the Templates node and used for newly created configurations.

Method up/Method down

Alt+Up/Alt+Down

Move the selected run/debug configuration up and down in the list.

The order of configurations in the list defines the order, in which the configurations appear when you choose a run/debug configuration.

Default templates of run/debug configurations are always sorted alphabetically.

Move into new folder / Create new folder

Move into new folder / Create new folder. You can group run/debug configurations by placing them into folders.

To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click Folder, and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.

Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag or Move Up and Move Down buttons.

To remove grouping, select a folder and click Remove Configuration.

Sort configurations

Click this button to sort configurations in the alphabetical order.

Before Launch options

In this area you can specify tasks that must be performed before starting the selected run/debug configuration. The tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.

Item

Shortcut

Description

the Add buttonAlt+Insert

Click this icon to add one of the following available tasks:

  • Run External tool: select to run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in PhpStorm yet, add its definition. For more information, see Configuring Third-Party Tools and External Tools.

  • Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration to be run.

  • Launch Web Browser: select this option to have a browser started.C In the dialog that opens, select the type of the browser and provide the start Url. Also, specify if you want the browser be launched with JavaScript debugger.

  • Run File Watchers: select this option to have PhpStorm apply all the currently active file watchers.

  • Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task.

    In the Grunt task dialog that opens, specify the Gruntfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.

  • Run Gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task.

    In the Gulp task dialog that opens, specify the Gulpfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.

  • Run npm Script: select this option to execute an npm script.

    In the NPM Script dialog that opens, specify the npm run/debug configuration settings.
  • Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected:

    • If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start.

    • If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.

  • Run Phing target: add this task to execute the specified Phing target prior to running or debugging. To appoint a Phing target, click Browse browse and select the desired target in the dialog that opens.

  • Generate CoffeeScript Source Maps: select this option to generate the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located.

  • Upload files to Remote Host: select this option to have the application files automatically uploaded to the server according to the default server access configuration.

  • Run Remote External tool: adds a remote SSH external tool.

the Remove buttonAlt+Delete

Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.

Edit Enter

Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.

Method up/Method down

Alt+Up/Alt+Down

Click these icons to move the selected task one line up or down in the list. (The tasks are performed in the order that they appear in the list.)

Show this page

Select this checkbox to show the run/debug configuration settings prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.

Activate tool window

By default this checkbox is selected and the Run or the Debug tool window opens when you start the run/debug configuration.

Otherwise, if the checkbox is cleared, the tool window isn't shown. However, when the configuration is running, you can open the corresponding tool window for it yourself by pressing Alt+4 or Alt+5.

Last modified: 26 July 2019

See Also