// agents · pestphp/pest

pest

The elegant testing framework for PHP developers and AI agents.

★ 11.7k stars⑂ 540 forksMITupdated 2026-10
▦ visual — this project's README ships no embeddable screenshot,
so here's a placeholder. The guide below is complete regardless.
// project facts

Project facts

pest is an open-source ai agents project by pestphp (pestphp/pest on GitHub). It has 11,735 GitHub stars and 540 forks, is released under the MIT license, and was last updated on GitHub on 1 October 2026.

Repository
pestphp/pest
GitHub stars
11,735
Forks
540
License
MIT
Last updated on GitHub
1 October 2026
Category
AI Agents
Listing
Full install guide
Official site
Official site
// how it works

How it works

  1. Define the job

    Research, coding, browsing, or ops — agents work best with a clear goal.

  2. Pick a framework

    From no-code builders to code-first SDKs, match complexity to the task.

  3. Give it tools

    Web search, code execution, and APIs are what make agents useful.

  4. Run and supervise

    Watch the trace, approve consequential actions, iterate.

// features

Why people love it

Observability

Traces show exactly what the agent did and why.

Human in the loop

Approval gates for actions that matter.

Memory

Long-term memory across sessions, not goldfish chat.

Multi-agent teams

Specialized agents collaborate on bigger jobs.

Tool use

Agents call real tools: browsers, terminals, APIs.

Evaluations

Benchmarks keep agent quality measurable.

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// run it

Run it yourself

  1. Step 1 — Clone the repo

    Download the source and move into the project folder.

    git clone https://github.com/pestphp/pest.git
    cd pest
  2. Step 2 — Check the README

    Every project documents its own setup; start with install requirements.

    cat README.md | head -60
  3. Step 3 — Run it

    Follow the project's launch command — Docker, pip, npm, or a binary release.

    # see README for the exact launch command
// use cases

What you can build

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// faq

Questions, answered

Who maintains pest?

It is an open-source project at pestphp/pest with 540 forks. Check the repo's contributors and recent commits to see how active maintenance is.

Is pest free for commercial use?

MIT licensed — use it commercially, no strings attached.

Are agents reliable enough?

For bounded tasks with supervision, yes. Fully autonomous money-moves still need guardrails.

How do I keep them safe?

Sandboxing, approval gates, and least-privilege credentials.

Do I need to code?

Builders exist, but code-first frameworks go further.

// keep exploring

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// alternatives

Alternatives in AI Agents

The most-starred other AI Agents projects in the LibreAI catalogue — the realistic shortlist if pest is not the right fit.

Get pest

Free and open — grab the source, star the repo, and start creating.