Framework: $this->faker has no providers loaded in model factories

[edgrosvenor]

• Laravel Version: 8.0.0
• PHP Version: 7.4.2
• Database Driver & Version: MySQL 5.7.29

Description:

Any attempt to use Model::factory()->create() where $this->faker is used in the definition() method will result in Faker complaining of an unknown formatter. It appears that by default there are no providers loaded.

Steps To Reproduce:

Write a test in a fresh Laravel 8 installation that uses the User factory that ships with it and run it.

public function testBasicTest()
    {
        User::factory()->create();
    }

Results in

 Unknown formatter "name"

  at vendor/fzaninotto/faker/src/Faker/Generator.php:248

[taylorotwell]

You are attempting to do this in a unit test class. Unit test classes do not boot the framework at all. Use the tests in the Feature test directory.

[Darival]

@taylorotwell @JeffreyWay
this is the source of confussion:
What's new in laravel 8, episode 8

Jeffrey creates a unit test in tests/Unit but use Test/TestCase instead of the PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase used when
php artisan make:test --unit

[JeffreyWay]

If you want your unit tests to boot the framework, yes you need to extend Tests\TestCase. 👍