Yaml configuration¶

Currently the preferred way to define the configuration for your Behat project is by using one or more files with PHP configuration.

But historically this configuration could also be expressed in files in the Yaml format. This possibility is still available for now, and you can use it instead of PHP configuration in your projects - however it will likely be deprecated and removed in the future.

Here is an example of how some configuration could look using a Yaml file:

imports:
    - imported.yaml

default:
    formatters:
        progress: ~
        junit: false
    suites:
        my_suite:
            contexts:
                - MyContext
            paths:
                - "one.feature"
            filters:
                tags: "@run"
    extensions:
        MyCustomExtension: ~

Converting your configuration¶

If your project uses the legacy Yaml format for your configuration, you can easily convert them to the PHP format by using the built in config converter.

To use it, just run:

vendor/bin/behat --convert-config

This will load the default config file loaded by your project and convert it from the Yaml format to the PHP format. It will also convert any config files that are imported by this main file. It will then remove the old Yaml files.

We recommend carefully reviewing the generated config, particularly if you are using extensions, custom formatters, or have complex configuration files.

If you want to convert any other config file which is not your default config file (for example a config file used in the CI environment), just load it with the -c (or --config) option like this:

vendor/bin/behat --convert-config -c ci-behat.yml

This will load the ci-behat.yml config file and convert it to the PHP format.

Note

Behat needs to be able to load this config file before converting it, so it must be a valid Behat config file.