sebastianbergmann/phpunit · error · PHPUnit\Event\RuntimeException

getrusage() failed.

Error message

getrusage() failed.

What it means

SystemCpuTimeMeter reads CPU time via PHP's native getrusage() inside its private cpuTime() helper (reached from userCpuTime()/systemCpuTime()). If the call returns false, a RuntimeException is thrown. Stock PHP builds essentially never return false here — the code is even marked @codeCoverageIgnore — so encountering it signals a non-standard environment (patched or shadowed PHP function) rather than an application bug.

Source

Thrown at src/Event/Value/Telemetry/SystemCpuTimeMeter.php:52

     */
    public function systemCpuTime(): CpuTime
    {
        return $this->cpuTime('ru_stime.tv_sec', 'ru_stime.tv_usec');
    }

    /**
     * @param 'ru_stime.tv_sec'|'ru_utime.tv_sec'   $secondsKey
     * @param 'ru_stime.tv_usec'|'ru_utime.tv_usec' $microsecondsKey
     *
     * @throws RuntimeException
     */
    private function cpuTime(string $secondsKey, string $microsecondsKey): CpuTime
    {
        $usage = getrusage();

        if ($usage === false) {
            // @codeCoverageIgnoreStart
            throw new RuntimeException('getrusage() failed.');
            // @codeCoverageIgnoreEnd
        }

        if (!isset($usage[$secondsKey]) || !isset($usage[$microsecondsKey])) {
            // @codeCoverageIgnoreStart
            throw new RuntimeException(
                sprintf(
                    'getrusage() did not return the expected keys "%s" and "%s".',
                    $secondsKey,
                    $microsecondsKey,
                ),
            );
            // @codeCoverageIgnoreEnd
        }

        $seconds      = $usage[$secondsKey];
        $microseconds = $usage[$microsecondsKey];

View on GitHub (pinned to f123cdb2a2)

Solutions

1. Reproduce outside the sandbox (bare 'php -r "var_dump(getrusage());"') to confirm the environment is the cause; then loosen the seccomp/container profile or use an unmodified PHP build.
2. Remove uopz/runkit overrides or namespace-shadowed getrusage() stubs from the test bootstrap.
3. If you drive the meter in your own runner, wrap userCpuTime()/systemCpuTime() in a try/catch and degrade gracefully to stopwatch-only telemetry.
4. If it reproduces on a stock PHP build, report it to PHPUnit with 'php -i' output and the sandbox details.

Example fix

// before
$cpu = $telemetry->cpuTimeMeter()->userCpuTime(); // may throw RuntimeException

// after
try {
    $cpu = $telemetry->cpuTimeMeter()->userCpuTime();
} catch (PHPUnit\Event\RuntimeException $e) {
    $cpu = null; // CPU telemetry unavailable in this environment; stopwatch data still usable
}

if (!function_exists('getrusage')) {
    // CPU-time telemetry impossible in this environment; use stopwatch-only reporting
}

try {
    $cpu = $meter->userCpuTime();
} catch (PHPUnit\Event\RuntimeException $e) {
    $cpu = null; // fall back to wall-clock-only telemetry and continue
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running under a PHP build where getrusage() is disabled or stubbed; test or tooling environments where uopz/runkit7 intercept native functions; runtimes or seccomp sandboxes that block the underlying getrusage(2) syscall so PHP returns false.

Common situations: Exotic container images or hardened CI sandboxes; heavily patched PHP distributions; unit tests that mock global functions via namespace shadowing (use function ...\getrusage) accidentally affecting the telemetry path.

Related errors

• getrusage() did not return the expected keys "%s" and "%s".
• getrusage() returned non-integer values for "%s" and/or "%s"
• Value for %s must not be negative.
• Value for nanoseconds must not be greater than 999999999.
• Value for %s must not be negative.

AI-assisted analysis of sebastianbergmann/phpunit@f123cdb2a2 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c71fe7428b86dd79. Report an issue: GitHub.