sebastianbergmann/phpunit · error · PHPUnit\Util\Xml\XmlException

Could not parse XML from empty file

Error message

Could not parse XML from empty file "%s"

What it means

After successfully reading a file, Xml\Loader::loadFile() checks that its content is non-empty; a file consisting of nothing or only whitespace throws XmlException('Could not parse XML from empty file "<path>"'). PHPUnit distinguishes this from unreadable files so you know the file exists but has no parseable content.

Solutions

1. Restore the real content of the file (git checkout the file or re-run the generator that produced it)
2. If the file is an unwanted leftover, delete it so PHPUnit's config auto-discovery is not misled
3. Validate configuration files in CI before the test step: `test -s phpunit.xml`
4. Ensure a minimal valid document exists: `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><phpunit/>`

Example fix

# before
$ wc -c phpunit.xml   # 0
$ vendor/bin/phpunit
# XmlException: Could not parse XML from empty file "phpunit.xml"

# after
$ git checkout -- phpunit.xml
$ vendor/bin/phpunit

$contents = file_get_contents($filename);
if ($contents === false) {
    throw new RuntimeException("Cannot read {$filename}");
}
if (trim($contents) === '') {
    throw new RuntimeException("{$filename} is empty");
}

use PHPUnit\Util\Xml\XmlException;

try {
    $document = (new Loader)->loadFile($filename);
} catch (XmlException $e) {
    if (str_contains($e->getMessage(), 'empty file')) {
        // regenerate the config/baseline instead of parsing on
    }
    throw $e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Pointing PHPUnit's configuration loading (phpunit.xml, --configuration, baseline or migration input) at a file that is zero bytes or contains only blank lines/spaces — for example a config created by `touch`, truncated by a failed write, or emptied by a botched CI cache restore.

Common situations: Config templates generated by scripts that failed mid-write; CI caches restored empty; files accidentially truncated during merge conflicts; committing an empty placeholder phpunit.xml.

Related errors

• Cannot load XML configuration file
• Could not read XML from file
• Default test suite is not configured
• Invalid version comparison operator
• Parameter " " does not exist

AI-assisted analysis of sebastianbergmann/phpunit@f123cdb2a2 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/963984dbcf5394f0. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Util/Xml/Loader.php:51

     */
    public function loadFile(string $filename, bool $ignoreComments = false): DOMDocument
    {
        $reporting = error_reporting(0);
        $contents  = file_get_contents($filename);

        error_reporting($reporting);

        if ($contents === false) {
            throw new XmlException(
                sprintf(
                    'Could not read XML from file "%s"',
                    $filename,
                ),
            );
        }

        if (trim($contents) === '') {
            throw new XmlException(
                sprintf(
                    'Could not parse XML from empty file "%s"',
                    $filename,
                ),
            );
        }

        return $this->load($contents, $ignoreComments);
    }

    /**
     * @throws XmlException
     */
    public function load(string $actual, bool $ignoreComments = false): DOMDocument
    {
        if ($actual === '') {
            throw new XmlException('Could not parse XML from empty string');
        }

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