feat(php): add PAO - agent-optimized output for PHP testing tools#2
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feat(php): add PAO - agent-optimized output for PHP testing tools#2
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PAO by @nunomaduro auto-detects AI agents and replaces verbose PHPUnit/Pest/ParaTest output with constant-size JSON (~20 tokens). Added to Quick Reference table and dedicated section before manual flags.
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Pull request overview
Adds documentation for PAO (Agent-Optimized Output) to the PHP CLI output optimization guide, positioning it as an automated alternative to manually applying PHPUnit/Pest/ParaTest “quiet” flags.
Changes:
- Introduces a new PAO (Agent-Optimized Output) section describing what PAO does and how to install it.
- Adds an example of PAO’s compact JSON output plus a small token-reduction comparison table.
- Clarifies that manual PHPUnit/Pest/ParaTest flags remain documented for cases where PAO can’t be added.
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Pull request overview
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alies-dev
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Summary
PAO is the best-in-class solution for PHP test output optimization — it automates what this guide documents manually (for PHPUnit - based packages, doesn't cover https://github.com/php-testo/testo). This is the kind of tool-level integration we'd love to see more of across ecosystems.
Why
This guide documents AI-friendly CLI flags. PAO takes a different, better approach: instead of requiring developers to remember flags, it detects AI agents automatically and outputs minimal JSON. Both approaches are useful — PAO for testing tools, manual flags for everything else (PHPStan, Psalm, phpcs, Composer, etc.).