PHPUnit "phpunit: command not found" in CI

PHPUnit installed via Composer lives at vendor/bin/phpunit, not on the global PATH. Calling a bare phpunit, or installing with --no-dev so the dev tool is excluded, leaves the shell unable to find the command.

What this error means

A test step fails with "phpunit: command not found" or "vendor/bin/phpunit: No such file or directory". PHPUnit is a dev dependency that was either not installed or not invoked via its vendor path.

composer

$ phpunit
bash: phpunit: command not found

# or
$ vendor/bin/phpunit
bash: vendor/bin/phpunit: No such file or directory

Common causes

Dev dependencies were not installed

composer install --no-dev (or a missing install) skips require-dev, so PHPUnit’s binstub is never created.

PHPUnit invoked from the wrong path

A bare phpunit relies on a global install that is not present; the Composer-installed binary is at vendor/bin/phpunit.

How to fix it

Install dev dependencies and use the vendor binstub

Run a full install in the test job and call PHPUnit by its vendor path.

Terminal

composer install --no-interaction --prefer-dist
vendor/bin/phpunit

Run it through Composer scripts

Define a test script so the command is consistent across environments.

composer.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "phpunit"
  }
}
# then in CI: composer test

How to prevent it

Install dev dependencies (no --no-dev) in test jobs.
Invoke PHPUnit via vendor/bin/phpunit or a composer test script, never a bare phpunit.
Reserve --no-dev for the deploy artifact, not the test job.