sebastianbergmann/phpunit · error · InvalidPhptFileException

PHPT file must contain one of the sections --%s--

Error message

PHPT file must contain one of the sections --%s--

What it means

parse() calls ensureExactlyOneSectionOf() twice: once for the code family (FILE, FILEEOF, FILE_EXTERNAL) and once for the expectation family (EXPECT, EXPECT_EXTERNAL, EXPECTF, EXPECTF_EXTERNAL, EXPECTREGEX, EXPECTREGEX_EXTERNAL). When no member of a family is present, InvalidPhptFileException('PHPT file must contain one of the sections --%s--') is thrown with the family list joined as --FILE--, --FILEEOF--, --FILE_EXTERNAL--. Every .phpt needs exactly one code section and exactly one expectation section.

Source

Thrown at src/Runner/Phpt/Parser.php:307

     * @param non-empty-list<non-empty-string> $sectionFamily
     *
     * @throws ConflictingPhptSectionsException
     * @throws InvalidPhptFileException
     *
     * @return non-empty-string
     */
    private function ensureExactlyOneSectionOf(array $sections, array $sectionFamily): string
    {
        $found = [];

        foreach ($sectionFamily as $name) {
            if (isset($sections[$name])) {
                $found[] = $name;
            }
        }

        if ($found === []) {
            throw new InvalidPhptFileException(
                sprintf(
                    'PHPT file must contain one of the sections --%s--',
                    implode('--, --', $sectionFamily),
                ),
            );
        }

        if (count($found) > 1) {
            throw new ConflictingPhptSectionsException($found);
        }

        return $found[0];
    }

    /**
     * @param array<non-empty-string, string> $sections
     * @param non-empty-string                $codeSection
     *

View on GitHub (pinned to f123cdb2a2)

Solutions

1. Add the missing code section (--FILE-- is the usual choice) when the complaint lists the FILE family.
2. Add the missing expectation section (--EXPECT--, or --EXPECTF--/--EXPECTREGEX-- for fuzzy matching) when the complaint lists the EXPECT family.
3. Even when using --SKIPIF-- to skip the test, keep one code and one expectation section in the file.

Example fix

-- before
--TEST--
Demo
--FILE--
echo 'Hello';

-- after
--TEST--
Demo
--FILE--
echo 'Hello';
--EXPECT--
Hello

function assertPhptHasRequiredFamilies(string $phptFile): void
{
    $body = (string) file_get_contents($phptFile);
    $code   = ['FILE--', 'FILEEOF--', 'FILE_EXTERNAL--'];
    $expect = ['EXPECT--', 'EXPECT_EXTERNAL--', 'EXPECTF--', 'EXPECTF_EXTERNAL--', 'EXPECTREGEX--', 'EXPECTREGEX_EXTERNAL--'];

    foreach (array_merge($code, $expect) as $needle) {
        if (str_contains($body, '--' . $needle)) {
            return; // at least one section header found
        }
    }

    throw new RuntimeException($phptFile . ' lacks a code and/or expectation section');
}

When it happens

Trigger: A .phpt file with an expectation section but no --FILE--/--FILEEOF--/--FILE_EXTERNAL--, or with a code section but no --EXPECT*-- section (for example only --TEST-- and --FILE--).

Common situations: Truncating a template when creating a new test; deleting a section while editing; assuming --TEST-- alone is enough because some other PHPT runner tolerates it.

Related errors

• --%s-- is not a valid PHPT section
• --%s-- section occurs more than once
• PHPT file must not contain text before its first section (li
• PHPT file must not contain more than one of the sections --%
• --%s-- section is empty

AI-assisted analysis of sebastianbergmann/phpunit@f123cdb2a2 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c105e467d97c1ecf. Report an issue: GitHub.