Test an existing Contao project

Use this guide to test the frontend and backend of a Contao project you already run. It uses the same application testing setup as any other web application, with helpers for Contao's backend.

Set up the tests

Follow Test a web application to install the tooling, configure PHPUnit and run your first frontend test. Use your Contao project's root as the test repository and its test installation URL as E2E_BASE_URL.

You can use the project's existing server or let the tests start a local PHP server. Neither option installs Contao, runs migrations or resets your project's database. If you want installation and database setup handled automatically, use a Managed Edition test.

Add a backend test

Confirm that /contao/login is available at your test URL. Create tests/E2e/BackendLoginTest.php in the project root:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use Contao\E2eTesting\Application\AbstractApplicationTestCase;
use Contao\E2eTesting\Application\ApplicationConfig;
use Contao\E2eTesting\Application\ApplicationConfigInterface;

final class BackendLoginTest extends AbstractApplicationTestCase
{
    protected static function createApplicationConfig(): ApplicationConfigInterface
    {
        return ApplicationConfig::create(getenv('E2E_BASE_URL') ?: 'http://localhost:8080');
    }

    public function testBackendLoginPage(): void
    {
        $backend = self::application()->createBackendBrowser();
        $backend->visit('/contao/login');

        $this->assertSelectorExists('input[name="username"]');
    }
}

If the frontend tests use LocalApplicationConfig, return the same local configuration here and run vendor/bin/phpunit --testsuite=e2e without a URL variable. Each test class starts and stops its own server.

For the URL-based configuration above, run from the project root with the server available:

E2E_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080 vendor/bin/phpunit --testsuite=e2e

PowerShell:

$env:E2E_BASE_URL = 'http://localhost:8080'
vendor/bin/phpunit --testsuite=e2e

PHPUnit should report passing frontend and backend tests. This backend check needs no user account.

Test authenticated actions

Create a backend test user through your project's fixtures or setup. Inside a test, log in before using the backend helpers:

$backend = self::application()->createBackendBrowser();
$backend->visit('/contao/login');
$backend->submitLogin('admin', 'password');

Use your test user's credentials. Continue with backend interactions for forms, records, file pickers and dynamic palettes. Tests that change data need your project's own reset hooks, as explained in the shared application guide.