sebastianbergmann/phpunit · error · PHPUnit\TextUI\XmlConfiguration\CannotFindSchemaException

Schema for PHPUnit %s is not available

Error message

Schema for PHPUnit %s is not available

What it means

SchemaFinder::find($version) locates the XSD for a given PHPUnit series inside the installation (schema/<version>.xsd, or phpunit.xsd for the current series) and throws CannotFindSchemaException when that file is not present. It typically surfaces from schema validation/migration tooling that asked for a version whose schema is not bundled with the installed PHPUnit release, or from an incomplete installation where the schema directory is missing.

Source

Thrown at src/TextUI/Configuration/Xml/SchemaFinder.php:64

        rsort($result);

        return $result;
    }

    /**
     * @throws CannotFindSchemaException
     */
    public function find(string $version): string
    {
        if ($version === Version::series()) {
            $filename = $this->path() . 'phpunit.xsd';
        } else {
            $filename = $this->path() . 'schema/' . $version . '.xsd';
        }

        if (!is_file($filename)) {
            throw new CannotFindSchemaException(
                sprintf(
                    'Schema for PHPUnit %s is not available',
                    $version,
                ),
            );
        }

        return $filename;
    }

    private function path(): string
    {
        if (defined('__PHPUNIT_PHAR_ROOT__') && is_string(__PHPUNIT_PHAR_ROOT__)) {
            return __PHPUNIT_PHAR_ROOT__ . '/';
        }

        return __DIR__ . '/../../../../';
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to f123cdb2a2)

Solutions

1. Request the schema for the installed version: `Version::series()` rather than a hardcoded number
2. Reinstall cleanly: `composer reinstall phpunit/phpunit` or re-fetch the PHAR
3. Verify the schema directory exists: `ls vendor/phpunit/phpunit/schema`

Example fix

// before (hardcoded version may not be bundled)
$schema = (new SchemaFinder)->find('9.2');

// after (use the installed series)
use PHPUnit\Runner\Version;

$schema = (new SchemaFinder)->find(Version::series());

use PHPUnit\Runner\Version;

$version = Version::series(); // the series actually installed
$schemaDir = dirname((new \ReflectionClass(Version::class))->getFileName()) . '/schema';

if (!is_file("{$schemaDir}/{$version}.xsd") && !is_file(dirname($schemaDir) . '/phpunit.xsd')) {
    fwrite(STDERR, 'PHPUnit installation is missing its schema files; reinstall phpunit/phpunit' . PHP_EOL);
    exit(2);
}

try {
    $schema = (new \PHPUnit\TextUI\XmlConfiguration\SchemaFinder)->find($version);
} catch (\PHPUnit\TextUI\XmlConfiguration\CannotFindSchemaException $e) {
    // requested series has no bundled XSD: retry with Version::series(),
    // or reinstall the phpunit/phpunit package intact
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a version series string that has no schema/NN.xsd in the installed phpunit (e.g. validating against a newer or older series than what vendor/phpunit/phpunit/schema ships); extracting the PHAR or copying files in a way that drops the schema directory; custom distributions that prune data files.

Common situations: Tooling that hardcodes a version string instead of using PHPUnit\Runner\Version::series(); composer/phive installations corrupted by partial updates or aggressive .gitignore/classmap optimizers; docker images copying only PHPUnit's PHP files.

Related errors

• Cannot read baseline %s: %s
• Cannot read baseline %s, version %d is not supported
• Parameter "%s" does not exist
• Option %s requires a non-empty value
• Cannot load XML configuration file %s

AI-assisted analysis of sebastianbergmann/phpunit@f123cdb2a2 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2e42f5b0c4fb6834. Report an issue: GitHub.