Failing to load Xdebug when running PHPUnit Tests

I have been having a option for a few days. When I try to run a PHPUnit test I get a message saying failed to load Xdebug. I have tried to reinstall, change filepaths etc but I am getting nowhere. Hoping somebody can help me out 🙂

PHP 7.4.3 (cli) (built: Oct  6 2020 15:47:56) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v3.4.0, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v7.4.3, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Answer

Failing loading xxxx.dll is an indication that PHP can’t load the extension file. This could have several reasons:

1. The file does not exist → check if it does

2. The permissions on the file are incorrect → check the permissions

3. The file is of “the wrong extension type”. Which can be either:

   • the extension is for the wrong wrong PHP version
   • the extension is of the wrong bitness (32 vs 64bit)
   • the wrong TS variant (NTS vs ZTS)
   • the wrong “debug mode” build of PHP (either debug, or nodebug)

The API type (except for bitness, which you can check with echo PHP_INT_SIZE;; 4 is 32bit, and 8 is 64bit) is reflected in the “Zend Extension Build” output in php -i or phpinfo().

You can use Xdebug’s wizard to tell you which exact file to download for your specific set-up.