no_run

The no_run attribute tells DocTest to check the syntax of a code block without executing it. The code is validated using php -l (lint).

Syntax

// Syntax is checked but code is not executed
$db->query('SELECT * FROM users');

How It Works

1. The code is written to a temporary file
2. php -l runs against the file to check syntax
3. If the syntax is valid, the block passes
4. If there's a syntax error, the block fails with the error message

When to Use

• Examples that require runtime resources (databases, APIs, services)
• Code showing patterns that can't run standalone
• Snippets that demonstrate syntax without needing execution

Examples

Database query

$users = DB::table('users')
    ->where('active', true)
    ->orderBy('name')
    ->get();

API call

$response = $client->post('/api/users', [
    'json' => ['name' => 'Alice', 'email' => 'alice@example.com'],
]);

Difference from ignore

	ignore	no_run
Syntax check	No	Yes
Execution	No	No
Reports as	Skipped	Pass/Fail