pestphp/pest · error · TestDescriptionMissing

A test in [%s] is missing its description. Please give every

Error message

A test in [%s] is missing its description. Please give every test a description.

What it means

Every Pest test needs a human description. When TestCaseFactory::addMethod receives a method whose description is null (a test closure registered without a name), it throws TestDescriptionMissing, naming the file. The run aborts at load time so an anonymous test can never silently disappear from the suite.

Source

Thrown at src/Factories/TestCaseFactory.php:183

                $methodsCode
            }
            PHP;

            eval($classCode);
        } catch (ParseError $caught) {
            throw new RuntimeException(sprintf(
                "Unable to create test case for test file at [%s]. \n %s",
                $filename,
                $classCode
            ), 1, $caught);
        }
    }

    public function addMethod(TestCaseMethodFactory $method): void
    {
        if ($method->description === null) {
            throw new TestDescriptionMissing($method->filename);
        }

        if (array_key_exists($method->description, $this->methods)) {
            throw new TestAlreadyExist($method->filename, $method->description);
        }

        if (
            $method->closure instanceof \Closure &&
            new \ReflectionFunction($method->closure)->isStatic()
        ) {

            throw new TestClosureMustNotBeStatic($method);
        }

        if (! $method->receivesArguments()) {
            if (! $method->closure instanceof \Closure) {
                throw ShouldNotHappen::fromMessage('The test closure may not be empty.');
            }

View on GitHub (pinned to 1af74a215c)

Solutions

Give every test a description string: test('creates a user', function () { ... });
If you build tests dynamically, ensure the description variable is always a non-empty string before calling test()/it().
Adopt it()/test() with meaningful names — the description is also the failure output, so a missing one hides failures.

Example fix

// before
test(function () {
    expect(1)->toBe(1);
});
// after
test('one is one', function () {
    expect(1)->toBe(1);
});

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// in shared helpers that create tests programmatically:
function testName(string $description, Closure $closure): void
{
    if (trim($description) === '') {
        throw new InvalidArgumentException('Test description is required');
    }

    test($description, $closure);
}

Prevention

Always pass a description string as the first argument to test()/it().
Wrap programmatic test creation in helpers that validate the description.
Code-review rule: a bare test(function...) with no title never merges.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling test() with only a closure (no string first argument); constructing tests programmatically through the factories/API without setting a description; a helper that wraps test() and forgets to forward the description argument.

Common situations: Copy-pasting a test() call and deleting the string; writing tests through custom helper layers or plugins; migrating PHPUnit method-style tests where names came from method names, not strings.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of pestphp/pest@1af74a215c (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/90d134d66d1d07af. Report an issue: GitHub.