--- title: Selenium testing with Behat and Mink | TestingBot Blog description: |- If you haven't heard of Behat yet, it's a BDD framework which runs on PHP written by Konstantin Kudryashov. Behat is similar to Cucumber for Ruby, ... source_url: html: https://testingbot.com/blog/2012/02/10/selenium-testing-with-mink-and-behat md: https://testingbot.com/blog/2012/02/10/selenium-testing-with-mink-and-behat.md --- # Behat and Mink webdriver testing By [Jochen D.](https://testingbot.com/about/jochen-d)2012-02-10 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Post on Reddit Share link If you haven't heard of [Behat](https://behat.org/) yet, it's a BDD framework which runs on PHP written by [Konstantin Kudryashov](http://about.me/everzet). Behat is similar to Cucumber for Ruby, Lettuce for Python and SpecFlow for .NET. You'll use Behat for functional testing, data-driven testing and API testing. With Behat you can easily write Gherkin stories (which are human readable test cases). To start using Selenium together with Behat, you'll need [Mink](https://mink.behat.org/). Mink is perfect for functional testing together with Behat. It includes Selenium drivers which will run on our Selenium grid. We've added a demo project which is ready to be used in our [Github repo](https://github.com/testingbot/Behat-Mink-TestingBot). ## Installing Behat and Mink Make sure you have PEAR installed. You need PEAR to install Behat and its dependencies. ```bash $ sudo pear channel-discover pear.behat.org $ sudo pear channel-discover pear.symfony.com $ sudo pear install behat/gherkin-beta $ sudo pear install behat/behat-beta ``` Verify your installation: `$ behat --version` Now we need to install Mink: `$ pear install behat/mink` In order to use our TestingBot.com grid, we need to install the PHP TestingBot connector: ```bash $ sudo pear channel-discover testingbot.github.com/pear $ sudo pear install -a testingbot/TestingBot ``` ## Set up a new project Create a new directory and initialise Behat: ```bash $ mkdir behat-demo $ cd behat-demo $ behat --init ``` This will create a directory features in the behat-demo directory. ```bash $ cd features/bootstrap ``` Now create a bootstrap file which will include all the necessities for our test. ```bash $ vim bootstrap.php ``` Add the following in your bootstrap file: ```php { "client_key" : "[KEY]", "client_secret" : "[SECRET]", "browserName" : "iexplore", "version" : 8 } ``` Don't forget to add your client\_key and client\_secret, which you can obtain from our [member area](https://testingbot.com/members). Next, make sure the `FeatureContext.php` file contains the following: `$ vim features/bootstrap/FeatureContext.php` ```php " When I press submit button Then I should see "" Examples: | input | output | | TestingBot | Selenium | ``` This feature is written in Gherkin DSL (DSL meaning Domain Specific Language). This feature will have the following steps: - A user navigates to the homepage of Google - The user enters TestingBot in the search field - The user clicks the submit button (search button) - TestingBot should be included in the results You can run this test by executing the following command: `$ behat --name googleSearch` After executing the command, Behat will return some step suggestions which we'll need to add to the `FeatureContext.php` file. The suggestions will be: ```php /** * @Given /^I fill in searchBox with "([^"]*)"$/ */ public function iFillInSearchboxWith($argument1) { throw new PendingException(); } /** * @When /^I press submit button$/ */ public function iPressSubmitButton() { throw new PendingException(); } ``` Add the following to your `FeatureContext.php` file: ```php /** * @Given /^I fill in searchBox with "([^"]*)"$/ */ public function iFillInSearchboxWith($argument1) { $this->fillField("q",$argument1); } /** * @When /^I press submit button$/ */ public function iPressSubmitButton() { $this->getMink()->getSession()->getDriver()->click("//input[@type='submit'][1]"); //first submit button = search button on Google $this->getMink()->getSession()->wait("3000"); } ``` Now run your feature again: `$ behat --name googleSearch` The test should succeed and you will see: ```bash 1 scenario (1 passed) 4 steps (4 passed) ``` We hope this was a helpful post and helped you as an introduction in using Behat and Mink together with our Selenium grid. You can download this demo project from our [Github repo](https://github.com/testingbot/Behat-Mink-TestingBot). [← Previous post Selenium cloud testing with Jenkins](https://testingbot.com/blog/2012/02/09/selenium-cloud-testing-with-jenkins) [Next post → Selenium with Cucumber and Capybara](https://testingbot.com/blog/2012/02/19/selenium-cucumber-capybara) ## Sidebar ### TestingBot Cloud Testing Run automated, manual and visual tests on remote browsers and devices. Sign up for a free trial. [Free Trial](https://testingbot.com/users/sign_up) ### Latest articles [![Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/ai-insights.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) #### Announcing AI Test Insights Use AI Insights to quickly discover why an automated test... 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[Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/playwright-testing-introduction) [![Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/ai-insights.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights "Announcing AI Test Insights") ### [Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) Use AI Insights to quickly discover why an automated test failed. [Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) [![tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2025/appletv.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing "tvOS Physical Device Testing") ### [tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) Run automated tvOS tests on physical AppleTV devices. [Read article →](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) ## More by Jochen D. [![Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/ai-insights.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights "Announcing AI Test Insights") ### [Announcing AI Test Insights](https://testingbot.com/blog/ai-test-insights) Use AI Insights to quickly discover why an automated test failed. [![Maestro Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2026/maestro-physical.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-physical-device-testing "Maestro Physical Device Testing") ### [Maestro Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/maestro-physical-device-testing) Maestro testing in parallel on physical Android and iOS devices. [![tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/assets/blog/2025/appletv.jpg)](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing "tvOS Physical Device Testing") ### [tvOS Physical Device Testing](https://testingbot.com/blog/tvos-automated-testing) Run automated tvOS tests on physical AppleTV devices. [See all posts by Jochen D. →](https://testingbot.com/about/jochen-d) ## Ready to start testing? [Start a free trial](https://testingbot.com/users/sign_up)