Caching and maintenance
Managed Edition tests reuse installations to make later runs faster. Each project stores test data in its ignored .contao-e2e/ directory.
What gets reused?
| Change | What happens on the next test run |
|---|---|
| No relevant changes | Reuse the installation and restore test fixtures |
| Composer requirements or a linked package's manifest | Resolve dependencies in a fresh installation |
| Package source or application configuration | Rerun application setup and migrations |
| Fixture contents only | Reset and reload the database |
Parallel processes use separate installation and database slots. Source fingerprints are cached for the PHPUnit process, so edit package code between runs. Specialized tests that change source during a run can call ProcessCachedSourceFingerprint::reset().
The Playwright process and browser engine are reused within each test class in both modes. Browser contexts have independent cookies and storage and are closed between tests. See browsers and assertions.
Restore database fixtures
Managed Edition tests restore recipe fixtures between tests by default. Call resetDatabase() when you need a different fixture set or a fresh database during a test. It returns a FixtureResult, whose generated values can be read with value() or inserted into strings with interpolate(). See fixture references.
For read-only tests with a data provider, prepareDatabase($fixtures) reuses an unchanged fixture set. It still clears active browser sessions and mutable runtime caches. Use resetDatabase() if a test may have changed database contents.
Existing applications need their own database reset hooks. See custom PHPUnit integration.
Workspace and cleanup
| Location | Contents |
|---|---|
.contao-e2e/cache/e2e/installations/<fingerprint>/<slot>/project |
Cached Contao installations |
.contao-e2e/database/data |
Default Docker database files |
.contao-e2e/database/<fingerprint>/data |
Files for additional database images |
.contao-e2e/runtime/ |
Web server router and origin mapping |
.contao-e2e/traces/ |
Recorded browser traces |
An existing database server stores database files in its own data directory. CONTAO_E2E_DIRECTORY overrides the test workspace. Set CONTAO_E2E_NO_CACHE=1 to force a fresh Managed Edition dependency installation.
Use vendor/bin/contao-e2e cache:clear to clear installation caches and vendor/bin/contao-e2e database:stop to stop the project's Docker database variants. Active test leases protect running tests unless you supply --force. See CLI commands.
Keep PHPUnit's cache in the workspace
Set cacheDirectory in your existing phpunit.xml.dist:
<phpunit cacheDirectory=".contao-e2e/cache/phpunit"/>
Alternatively, pass --cache-directory=.contao-e2e/cache/phpunit to PHPUnit. This keeps disposable test data together.
Xdebug is disabled in Managed Edition setup commands and the web server. See CI caches to reuse installations and browser binaries between CI runs.
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