diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 82b5a5d21..78c29817d 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -10,11 +10,10 @@ php:
 services:
  - mysql
 env:
- - USER=travis DB=test
+ - MYSQL_HOST=localhost MYSQL_PORT=3306 MYSQL_USERNAME=travis MYSQL_PASSWORD= MYSQL_DATABASE=test
 
 install:
  - composer install
 before_script:
  - mysql -e 'CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS test;'
- # In order to avoid bin/worker.php warnings
- - touch .htconfig.php
+ - mysql -utravis test < database.sql
diff --git a/boot.php b/boot.php
index 249fd9a89..b58e1bbc0 100644
--- a/boot.php
+++ b/boot.php
@@ -499,36 +499,6 @@ if (!defined("SIGTERM")) {
 if (!defined('CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEDOUT')) {
 	define('CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEDOUT', CURLE_OPERATION_TIMEOUTED);
 }
-/**
- * Reverse the effect of magic_quotes_gpc if it is enabled.
- * Please disable magic_quotes_gpc so we don't have to do this.
- * See http://php.net/manual/en/security.magicquotes.disabling.php
- */
-function startup()
-{
-	error_reporting(E_ERROR | E_WARNING | E_PARSE);
-
-	set_time_limit(0);
-
-	// This has to be quite large to deal with embedded private photos
-	ini_set('pcre.backtrack_limit', 500000);
-
-	if (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) {
-		$process = [&$_GET, &$_POST, &$_COOKIE, &$_REQUEST];
-		while (list($key, $val) = each($process)) {
-			foreach ($val as $k => $v) {
-				unset($process[$key][$k]);
-				if (is_array($v)) {
-					$process[$key][stripslashes($k)] = $v;
-					$process[] = &$process[$key][stripslashes($k)];
-				} else {
-					$process[$key][stripslashes($k)] = stripslashes($v);
-				}
-			}
-		}
-		unset($process);
-	}
-}
 
 /**
  * @brief Retrieve the App structure
diff --git a/htconfig.php b/htconfig.php
index 0e838bd90..87c1301ab 100644
--- a/htconfig.php
+++ b/htconfig.php
@@ -23,17 +23,19 @@ $db_data = 'mysqldatabasename';
 
 // Use environment variables for mysql if they are set beforehand
 if (!empty(getenv('MYSQL_HOST'))
-	&& !empty(getenv('MYSQL_PORT'))
 	&& (!empty(getenv('MYSQL_USERNAME')) || !empty(getenv('MYSQL_USER')))
-	&& !empty(getenv('MYSQL_PASSWORD'))
+	&& !getenv('MYSQL_PASSWORD') === false
 	&& !empty(getenv('MYSQL_DATABASE'))) {
-	$db_host = getenv('MYSQL_HOST') . ':' . getenv('MYSQL_PORT');
+	$db_host = getenv('MYSQL_HOST');
+	if (!empty(getenv('MYSQL_PORT'))) {
+		$db_host .= ':' . getenv('MYSQL_PORT');
+	}
 	if (!empty(getenv('MYSQL_USERNAME'))) {
 		$db_user = getenv('MYSQL_USERNAME');
-	} elseif (!empty(getenv('MYSQL_USER'))) {
+	} else {
 		$db_user = getenv('MYSQL_USER');
 	}
-	$db_pass = getenv('MYSQL_PASSWORD');
+	$db_pass = (string) getenv('MYSQL_PASSWORD');
 	$db_data = getenv('MYSQL_DATABASE');
 }
 
diff --git a/include/api.php b/include/api.php
index 32fe6c651..af6f54fe6 100644
--- a/include/api.php
+++ b/include/api.php
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\Config;
 use Friendica\Core\L10n;
 use Friendica\Core\NotificationsManager;
 use Friendica\Core\PConfig;
+use Friendica\Core\Protocol;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Core\Worker;
 use Friendica\Database\DBM;
@@ -90,11 +91,15 @@ function api_source()
 	}
 
 	// Support for known clients that doesn't send a source name
-	if (strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'], "Twidere") !== false) {
-		return "Twidere";
-	}
+	if (!empty($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'])) {
+		if(strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'], "Twidere") !== false) {
+			return "Twidere";
+		}
 
-	logger("Unrecognized user-agent ".$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'], LOGGER_DEBUG);
+		logger("Unrecognized user-agent ".$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'], LOGGER_DEBUG);
+	} else {
+		logger("Empty user-agent", LOGGER_DEBUG);
+	}
 
 	return "api";
 }
@@ -193,8 +198,8 @@ function api_login(App $a)
 		throw new UnauthorizedException("This API requires login");
 	}
 
-	$user = $_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_USER'];
-	$password = $_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_PW'];
+	$user = defaults($_SERVER, 'PHP_AUTH_USER', '');
+	$password = defaults($_SERVER, 'PHP_AUTH_PW', '');
 
 	// allow "user@server" login (but ignore 'server' part)
 	$at = strstr($user, "@", true);
@@ -258,7 +263,7 @@ function api_check_method($method)
 	if ($method == "*") {
 		return true;
 	}
-	return (strpos($method, $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD']) !== false);
+	return (stripos($method, defaults($_SERVER, 'REQUEST_METHOD', 'GET')) !== false);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -298,7 +303,7 @@ function api_call(App $a)
 				//unset($_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_USER']);
 
 				/// @TODO should be "true ==[=] $info['auth']", if you miss only one = character, you assign a variable (only with ==). Let's make all this even.
-				if ($info['auth'] === true && api_user() === false) {
+				if (!empty($info['auth']) && api_user() === false) {
 					api_login($a);
 				}
 
@@ -475,7 +480,7 @@ function api_rss_extra(App $a, $arr, $user_info)
 		'base'         => System::baseUrl(),
 		'updated'      => api_date(null),
 		'atom_updated' => DateTimeFormat::utcNow(DateTimeFormat::ATOM),
-		'language'     => $user_info['language'],
+		'language'     => $user_info['lang'],
 		'logo'         => System::baseUrl() . "/images/friendica-32.png",
 	];
 
@@ -571,6 +576,7 @@ function api_get_user(App $a, $contact_id = null)
 		}
 	}
 
+	// $called_api is the API path exploded on / and is expected to have at least 2 elements
 	if (is_null($user) && ($a->argc > (count($called_api) - 1)) && (count($called_api) > 0)) {
 		$argid = count($called_api);
 		list($user, $null) = explode(".", $a->argv[$argid]);
@@ -773,13 +779,13 @@ function api_get_user(App $a, $contact_id = null)
 				$link_color = PConfig::get($ret['uid'], 'frio', 'link_color');
 				$bgcolor = PConfig::get($ret['uid'], 'frio', 'background_color');
 			}
-			if (!$nav_bg) {
+			if (empty($nav_bg)) {
 				$nav_bg = "#708fa0";
 			}
-			if (!$link_color) {
+			if (empty($link_color)) {
 				$link_color = "#6fdbe8";
 			}
-			if (!$bgcolor) {
+			if (empty($bgcolor)) {
 				$bgcolor = "#ededed";
 			}
 
@@ -801,12 +807,12 @@ function api_get_user(App $a, $contact_id = null)
  */
 function api_item_get_user(App $a, $item)
 {
-	$status_user = api_get_user($a, $item["author-id"]);
+	$status_user = api_get_user($a, defaults($item, 'author-id', null));
 
-	$status_user["protected"] = $item["private"];
+	$status_user["protected"] = defaults($item, 'private', 0);
 
-	if ($item['thr-parent'] == $item['uri']) {
-		$owner_user = api_get_user($a, $item["owner-id"]);
+	if (defaults($item, 'thr-parent', '') == defaults($item, 'uri', '')) {
+		$owner_user = api_get_user($a, defaults($item, 'author-id', null));
 	} else {
 		$owner_user = $status_user;
 	}
@@ -880,7 +886,6 @@ function api_create_xml(array $data, $root_element)
 {
 	$childname = key($data);
 	$data2 = array_pop($data);
-	$key = key($data2);
 
 	$namespaces = ["" => "http://api.twitter.com",
 				"statusnet" => "http://status.net/schema/api/1/",
@@ -893,18 +898,19 @@ function api_create_xml(array $data, $root_element)
 	}
 
 	if (is_array($data2)) {
+		$key = key($data2);
 		api_walk_recursive($data2, "api_reformat_xml");
-	}
 
-	if ($key == "0") {
-		$data4 = [];
-		$i = 1;
+		if ($key == "0") {
+			$data4 = [];
+			$i = 1;
 
-		foreach ($data2 as $item) {
-			$data4[$i++ . ":" . $childname] = $item;
+			foreach ($data2 as $item) {
+				$data4[$i++ . ":" . $childname] = $item;
+			}
+
+			$data2 = $data4;
 		}
-
-		$data2 = $data4;
 	}
 
 	$data3 = [$root_element => $data2];
@@ -1299,19 +1305,19 @@ function api_status_show($type)
 			'in_reply_to_screen_name' => $in_reply_to['screen_name'],
 			'user' => $user_info,
 			$geo => null,
-			'coordinates' => "",
-			'place' => "",
-			'contributors' => "",
+			'coordinates' => '',
+			'place' => '',
+			'contributors' => '',
 			'is_quote_status' => false,
 			'retweet_count' => 0,
 			'favorite_count' => 0,
 			'favorited' => $lastwall['starred'] ? true : false,
 			'retweeted' => false,
 			'possibly_sensitive' => false,
-			'lang' => "",
+			'lang' => '',
 			'statusnet_html' => $converted["html"],
 			'statusnet_conversation_id' => $lastwall['parent'],
-			'external_url' => System::baseUrl() . "/display/" . $lastwall['guid'],
+			'external_url' => System::baseUrl() . '/display/' . $lastwall['guid'],
 		];
 
 		if (count($converted["attachments"]) > 0) {
@@ -1477,7 +1483,7 @@ function api_users_lookup($type)
 {
 	$users = [];
 
-	if (x($_REQUEST['user_id'])) {
+	if (!empty($_REQUEST['user_id'])) {
 		foreach (explode(',', $_REQUEST['user_id']) as $id) {
 			if (!empty($id)) {
 				$users[] = api_get_user(get_app(), $id);
@@ -1801,20 +1807,20 @@ function api_statuses_show($type)
 	}
 
 	// params
-	$id = intval($a->argv[3]);
+	$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 3, 0));
 
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($_REQUEST["id"]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'id', 0));
 	}
 
 	// Hotot workaround
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($a->argv[4]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 4, 0));
 	}
 
 	logger('API: api_statuses_show: ' . $id);
 
-	$conversation = (x($_REQUEST, 'conversation') ? 1 : 0);
+	$conversation = !empty($_REQUEST['conversation']);
 
 	// try to fetch the item for the local user - or the public item, if there is no local one
 	$uri_item = dba::selectFirst('item', ['uri'], ['id' => $id]);
@@ -1874,24 +1880,24 @@ function api_conversation_show($type)
 	}
 
 	// params
-	$id = intval($a->argv[3]);
-	$count = (x($_REQUEST, 'count') ? $_REQUEST['count'] : 20);
-	$page = (x($_REQUEST, 'page') ? $_REQUEST['page'] - 1 : 0);
+	$id       = intval(defaults($a->argv , 3         , 0));
+	$since_id = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'since_id', 0));
+	$max_id   = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'max_id'  , 0));
+	$count    = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'count'   , 20));
+	$page     = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'page'    , 1)) - 1;
 	if ($page < 0) {
 		$page = 0;
 	}
-	$since_id = (x($_REQUEST, 'since_id') ? $_REQUEST['since_id'] : 0);
-	$max_id = (x($_REQUEST, 'max_id') ? $_REQUEST['max_id'] : 0);
 
-	$start = $page*$count;
+	$start = $page * $count;
 
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($_REQUEST["id"]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'id', 0));
 	}
 
 	// Hotot workaround
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($a->argv[4]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 4, 0));
 	}
 
 	logger('API: api_conversation_show: '.$id);
@@ -1954,15 +1960,15 @@ function api_statuses_repeat($type)
 	api_get_user($a);
 
 	// params
-	$id = intval($a->argv[3]);
+	$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 3, 0));
 
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($_REQUEST["id"]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'id', 0));
 	}
 
 	// Hotot workaround
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($a->argv[4]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 4, 0));
 	}
 
 	logger('API: api_statuses_repeat: '.$id);
@@ -2020,15 +2026,15 @@ function api_statuses_destroy($type)
 	api_get_user($a);
 
 	// params
-	$id = intval($a->argv[3]);
+	$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 3, 0));
 
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($_REQUEST["id"]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'id', 0));
 	}
 
 	// Hotot workaround
 	if ($id == 0) {
-		$id = intval($a->argv[4]);
+		$id = intval(defaults($a->argv, 4, 0));
 	}
 
 	logger('API: api_statuses_destroy: '.$id);
@@ -2205,7 +2211,7 @@ function api_favorites_create_destroy($type)
 	// for versioned api.
 	/// @TODO We need a better global soluton
 	$action_argv_id = 2;
-	if ($a->argv[1] == "1.1") {
+	if (count($a->argv) > 1 && $a->argv[1] == "1.1") {
 		$action_argv_id = 3;
 	}
 
@@ -2214,10 +2220,9 @@ function api_favorites_create_destroy($type)
 	}
 	$action = str_replace("." . $type, "", $a->argv[$action_argv_id]);
 	if ($a->argc == $action_argv_id + 2) {
-		$itemid = intval($a->argv[$action_argv_id + 1]);
+		$itemid = intval(defaults($a->argv, $action_argv_id + 1, 0));
 	} else {
-		///  @TODO use x() to check if _REQUEST contains 'id'
-		$itemid = intval($_REQUEST['id']);
+		$itemid = intval(defaults($_REQUEST, 'id', 0));
 	}
 
 	$item = Item::selectFirstForUser(api_user(), [], ['id' => $itemid, 'uid' => api_user()]);
@@ -2340,25 +2345,33 @@ function api_format_messages($item, $recipient, $sender)
 {
 	// standard meta information
 	$ret = [
-			'id'                    => $item['id'],
-			'sender_id'             => $sender['id'] ,
-			'text'                  => "",
-			'recipient_id'          => $recipient['id'],
-			'created_at'            => api_date($item['created']),
-			'sender_screen_name'    => $sender['screen_name'],
-			'recipient_screen_name' => $recipient['screen_name'],
-			'sender'                => $sender,
-			'recipient'             => $recipient,
-			'title'                 => "",
-			'friendica_seen'        => $item['seen'],
-			'friendica_parent_uri'  => $item['parent-uri'],
+		'id'                    => $item['id'],
+		'sender_id'             => $sender['id'] ,
+		'text'                  => "",
+		'recipient_id'          => $recipient['id'],
+		'created_at'            => api_date(defaults($item, 'created', DateTimeFormat::utcNow())),
+		'sender_screen_name'    => $sender['screen_name'],
+		'recipient_screen_name' => $recipient['screen_name'],
+		'sender'                => $sender,
+		'recipient'             => $recipient,
+		'title'                 => "",
+		'friendica_seen'        => defaults($item, 'seen', 0),
+		'friendica_parent_uri'  => defaults($item, 'parent-uri', ''),
 	];
 
 	// "uid" and "self" are only needed for some internal stuff, so remove it from here
-	unset($ret["sender"]["uid"]);
-	unset($ret["sender"]["self"]);
-	unset($ret["recipient"]["uid"]);
-	unset($ret["recipient"]["self"]);
+	if (isset($ret['sender']['uid'])) {
+		unset($ret['sender']['uid']);
+	}
+	if (isset($ret['sender']['self'])) {
+		unset($ret['sender']['self']);
+	}
+	if (isset($ret['recipient']['uid'])) {
+		unset($ret['recipient']['uid']);
+	}
+	if (isset($ret['recipient']['self'])) {
+		unset($ret['recipient']['self']);
+	}
 
 	//don't send title to regular StatusNET requests to avoid confusing these apps
 	if (x($_GET, 'getText')) {
@@ -2405,8 +2418,8 @@ function api_convert_item($item)
 		$statustext = trim($statustitle."\n\n".$statusbody);
 	}
 
-	if (($item["network"] == NETWORK_FEED) && (strlen($statustext)> 1000)) {
-		$statustext = substr($statustext, 0, 1000)."... \n".$item["plink"];
+	if ((defaults($item, 'network', Protocol::PHANTOM) == Protocol::FEED) && (strlen($statustext)> 1000)) {
+		$statustext = substr($statustext, 0, 1000) . "... \n" . defaults($item, 'plink', '');
 	}
 
 	$statushtml = BBCode::convert(api_clean_attachments($body), false);
@@ -2440,7 +2453,7 @@ function api_convert_item($item)
 	}
 
 	// feeds without body should contain the link
-	if (($item['network'] == NETWORK_FEED) && (strlen($item['body']) == 0)) {
+	if ((defaults($item, 'network', Protocol::PHANTOM) == Protocol::FEED) && (strlen($item['body']) == 0)) {
 		$statushtml .= BBCode::convert($item['plink']);
 	}
 
@@ -2482,7 +2495,7 @@ function api_get_attachments(&$body)
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (strstr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'], "AndStatus")) {
+	if (strstr(defaults($_SERVER, 'HTTP_USER_AGENT', ''), "AndStatus")) {
 		foreach ($images[0] as $orig) {
 			$body = str_replace($orig, "", $body);
 		}
@@ -3324,18 +3337,15 @@ function api_statusnet_config($type)
 {
 	$a = get_app();
 
-	$name = $a->config['sitename'];
-	$server = $a->get_hostname();
-	$logo = System::baseUrl() . '/images/friendica-64.png';
-	$email = $a->config['admin_email'];
-	$closed = (($a->config['register_policy'] == REGISTER_CLOSED) ? 'true' : 'false');
-	$private = ((Config::get('system', 'block_public')) ? 'true' : 'false');
-	$textlimit = (string) (($a->config['max_import_size']) ? $a->config['max_import_size'] : 200000);
-	if ($a->config['api_import_size']) {
-		$textlimit = (string) $a->config['api_import_size'];
-	}
-	$ssl = ((Config::get('system', 'have_ssl')) ? 'true' : 'false');
-	$sslserver = (($ssl === 'true') ? str_replace('http:', 'https:', System::baseUrl()) : '');
+	$name      = Config::get('config', 'sitename');
+	$server    = $a->get_hostname();
+	$logo      = System::baseUrl() . '/images/friendica-64.png';
+	$email     = Config::get('config', 'admin_email');
+	$closed    = Config::get('config', 'register_policy') == REGISTER_CLOSED ? 'true' : 'false';
+	$private   = Config::get('system', 'block_public') ? 'true' : 'false';
+	$textlimit = (string) Config::get('config', 'api_import_size', Config::get('config', 'max_import_size', 200000));
+	$ssl       = Config::get('system', 'have_ssl') ? 'true' : 'false';
+	$sslserver = Config::get('system', 'have_ssl') ? str_replace('http:', 'https:', System::baseUrl()) : '';
 
 	$config = [
 		'site' => ['name' => $name,'server' => $server, 'theme' => 'default', 'path' => '',
@@ -3457,34 +3467,40 @@ api_register_func('api/followers/ids', 'api_followers_ids', true);
  */
 function api_direct_messages_new($type)
 {
-
 	$a = get_app();
 
 	if (api_user() === false) {
 		throw new ForbiddenException();
 	}
 
-	if (!x($_POST, "text") || (!x($_POST, "screen_name") && !x($_POST, "user_id"))) {
+	if (empty($_POST["text"]) || empty($_POST["screen_name"]) && empty($_POST["user_id"])) {
 		return;
 	}
 
 	$sender = api_get_user($a);
 
-	if ($_POST['screen_name']) {
+	$recipient = null;
+	if (!empty($_POST['screen_name'])) {
 		$r = q(
 			"SELECT `id`, `nurl`, `network` FROM `contact` WHERE `uid`=%d AND `nick`='%s'",
 			intval(api_user()),
 			dbesc($_POST['screen_name'])
 		);
 
-		// Selecting the id by priority, friendica first
-		api_best_nickname($r);
+		if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+			// Selecting the id by priority, friendica first
+			api_best_nickname($r);
 
-		$recipient = api_get_user($a, $r[0]['nurl']);
+			$recipient = api_get_user($a, $r[0]['nurl']);
+		}
 	} else {
 		$recipient = api_get_user($a, $_POST['user_id']);
 	}
 
+	if (empty($recipient)) {
+		throw new NotFoundException('Recipient not found');
+	}
+
 	$replyto = '';
 	$sub     = '';
 	if (x($_REQUEST, 'replyto')) {
@@ -3622,17 +3638,17 @@ function api_direct_messages_box($type, $box, $verbose)
 		throw new ForbiddenException();
 	}
 	// params
-	$count = (x($_GET, 'count') ? $_GET['count'] : 20);
-	$page = (x($_REQUEST, 'page') ? $_REQUEST['page'] -1 : 0);
+	$count = defaults($_GET, 'count', 20);
+	$page = defaults($_REQUEST, 'page', 1) - 1;
 	if ($page < 0) {
 		$page = 0;
 	}
 
-	$since_id = (x($_REQUEST, 'since_id') ? $_REQUEST['since_id'] : 0);
-	$max_id = (x($_REQUEST, 'max_id') ? $_REQUEST['max_id'] : 0);
+	$since_id = defaults($_REQUEST, 'since_id', 0);
+	$max_id = defaults($_REQUEST, 'max_id', 0);
 
-	$user_id = (x($_REQUEST, 'user_id') ? $_REQUEST['user_id'] : "");
-	$screen_name = (x($_REQUEST, 'screen_name') ? $_REQUEST['screen_name'] : "");
+	$user_id = defaults($_REQUEST, 'user_id', '');
+	$screen_name = defaults($_REQUEST, 'screen_name', '');
 
 	//  caller user info
 	unset($_REQUEST["user_id"]);
@@ -3656,7 +3672,7 @@ function api_direct_messages_box($type, $box, $verbose)
 	if ($box=="sentbox") {
 		$sql_extra = "`mail`.`from-url`='" . dbesc($profile_url) . "'";
 	} elseif ($box == "conversation") {
-		$sql_extra = "`mail`.`parent-uri`='" . dbesc($_GET["uri"])  . "'";
+		$sql_extra = "`mail`.`parent-uri`='" . dbesc(defaults($_GET, 'uri', ''))  . "'";
 	} elseif ($box == "all") {
 		$sql_extra = "true";
 	} elseif ($box == "inbox") {
@@ -5577,8 +5593,10 @@ function api_friendica_notification($type)
 
 	if ($type == "xml") {
 		$xmlnotes = [];
-		foreach ($notes as $note) {
-			$xmlnotes[] = ["@attributes" => $note];
+		if (!empty($notes)) {
+			foreach ($notes as $note) {
+				$xmlnotes[] = ["@attributes" => $note];
+			}
 		}
 
 		$notes = $xmlnotes;
diff --git a/include/dba.php b/include/dba.php
index 17c62b814..9d828f8b4 100644
--- a/include/dba.php
+++ b/include/dba.php
@@ -1015,7 +1015,7 @@ class dba {
 		$commands = [];
 
 		// Create a key for the loop prevention
-		$key = $table . ':' . implode(':', array_keys($conditions)) . ':' . implode(':', $conditions);
+		$key = $table . ':' . json_encode($conditions);
 
 		// We quit when this key already exists in the callstack.
 		if (isset($callstack[$key])) {
@@ -1042,7 +1042,7 @@ class dba {
 			$rel_def = array_values(self::$relation[$table])[0];
 
 			// Create a key for preventing double queries
-			$qkey = $field . '-' . $table . ':' . implode(':', array_keys($conditions)) . ':' . implode(':', $conditions);
+			$qkey = $field . '-' . $table . ':' . json_encode($conditions);
 
 			// When the search field is the relation field, we don't need to fetch the rows
 			// This is useful when the leading record is already deleted in the frontend but the rest is done in the backend
diff --git a/include/security.php b/include/security.php
index e8a03ad0f..dbba09172 100644
--- a/include/security.php
+++ b/include/security.php
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ function new_cookie($time, $user = [])
 	if ($user) {
 		$value = json_encode(["uid" => $user["uid"],
 			"hash" => cookie_hash($user),
-			"ip" => $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']]);
+			"ip" => defaults($_SERVER, 'REMOTE_ADDR', '0.0.0.0')]);
 	} else {
 		$value = "";
 	}
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ function authenticate_success($user_record, $login_initial = false, $interactive
 	$_SESSION['page_flags'] = $user_record['page-flags'];
 	$_SESSION['my_url'] = System::baseUrl() . '/profile/' . $user_record['nickname'];
 	$_SESSION['my_address'] = $user_record['nickname'] . '@' . substr(System::baseUrl(), strpos(System::baseUrl(), '://') + 3);
-	$_SESSION['addr'] = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
+	$_SESSION['addr'] = defaults($_SERVER, 'REMOTE_ADDR', '0.0.0.0');
 
 	$a->user = $user_record;
 
diff --git a/include/text.php b/include/text.php
index 04bbb6724..0066e1881 100644
--- a/include/text.php
+++ b/include/text.php
@@ -1156,7 +1156,7 @@ function put_item_in_cache(&$item, $update = false)
 	$rendered_html = defaults($item, 'rendered-html', '');
 
 	if ($rendered_hash == ''
-		|| $item["rendered-html"] == ""
+		|| $rendered_html == ""
 		|| $rendered_hash != hash("md5", $item["body"])
 		|| Config::get("system", "ignore_cache")
 	) {
@@ -1176,7 +1176,7 @@ function put_item_in_cache(&$item, $update = false)
 			$update = true;
 		}
 
-		if ($update && ($item["id"] > 0)) {
+		if ($update && !empty($item["id"])) {
 			Item::update(['rendered-html' => $item["rendered-html"], 'rendered-hash' => $item["rendered-hash"]],
 					['id' => $item["id"]]);
 		}
diff --git a/mod/item.php b/mod/item.php
index be9fa09c4..95eaa9d78 100644
--- a/mod/item.php
+++ b/mod/item.php
@@ -178,6 +178,8 @@ function item_post(App $a) {
 		return;
 	}
 
+	$categories = '';
+
 	if ($orig_post) {
 		$str_group_allow   = $orig_post['allow_gid'];
 		$str_contact_allow = $orig_post['allow_cid'];
@@ -223,13 +225,13 @@ function item_post(App $a) {
 			$str_contact_deny  = perms2str($_REQUEST['contact_deny']);
 		}
 
-		$title             = notags(trim($_REQUEST['title']));
-		$location          = notags(trim($_REQUEST['location']));
-		$coord             = notags(trim($_REQUEST['coord']));
-		$verb              = notags(trim($_REQUEST['verb']));
-		$emailcc           = notags(trim($_REQUEST['emailcc']));
-		$body              = escape_tags(trim($_REQUEST['body']));
-		$network           = notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'network', NETWORK_DFRN)));
+		$title             =      notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'title'   , '')));
+		$location          =      notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'location', '')));
+		$coord             =      notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'coord'   , '')));
+		$verb              =      notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'verb'    , '')));
+		$emailcc           =      notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'emailcc' , '')));
+		$body              = escape_tags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'body'    , '')));
+		$network           =      notags(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'network' , NETWORK_DFRN)));
 		$guid              = get_guid(32);
 
 		$postopts = defaults($_REQUEST, 'postopts', '');
@@ -279,15 +281,15 @@ function item_post(App $a) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (strlen($categories)) {
+	if (!empty($categories)) {
 		// get the "fileas" tags for this post
 		$filedas = file_tag_file_to_list($categories, 'file');
 	}
 	// save old and new categories, so we can determine what needs to be deleted from pconfig
 	$categories_old = $categories;
-	$categories = file_tag_list_to_file(trim($_REQUEST['category']), 'category');
+	$categories = file_tag_list_to_file(trim(defaults($_REQUEST, 'category', '')), 'category');
 	$categories_new = $categories;
-	if (strlen($filedas)) {
+	if (!empty($filedas)) {
 		// append the fileas stuff to the new categories list
 		$categories .= file_tag_list_to_file($filedas, 'file');
 	}
diff --git a/mod/wall_upload.php b/mod/wall_upload.php
index 7067077eb..8bf296615 100644
--- a/mod/wall_upload.php
+++ b/mod/wall_upload.php
@@ -125,28 +125,36 @@ function wall_upload_post(App $a, $desktopmode = true)
 		$filetype = $_FILES['userfile']['type'];
 
 	} elseif (x($_FILES, 'media')) {
-		if (is_array($_FILES['media']['tmp_name'])) {
-			$src = $_FILES['media']['tmp_name'][0];
-		} else {
-			$src = $_FILES['media']['tmp_name'];
+		if (!empty($_FILES['media']['tmp_name'])) {
+			if (is_array($_FILES['media']['tmp_name'])) {
+				$src = $_FILES['media']['tmp_name'][0];
+			} else {
+				$src = $_FILES['media']['tmp_name'];
+			}
 		}
 
-		if (is_array($_FILES['media']['name'])) {
-			$filename = basename($_FILES['media']['name'][0]);
-		} else {
-			$filename = basename($_FILES['media']['name']);
+		if (!empty($_FILES['media']['name'])) {
+			if (is_array($_FILES['media']['name'])) {
+				$filename = basename($_FILES['media']['name'][0]);
+			} else {
+				$filename = basename($_FILES['media']['name']);
+			}
 		}
 
-		if (is_array($_FILES['media']['size'])) {
-			$filesize = intval($_FILES['media']['size'][0]);
-		} else {
-			$filesize = intval($_FILES['media']['size']);
+		if (!empty($_FILES['media']['size'])) {
+			if (is_array($_FILES['media']['size'])) {
+				$filesize = intval($_FILES['media']['size'][0]);
+			} else {
+				$filesize = intval($_FILES['media']['size']);
+			}
 		}
 
-		if (is_array($_FILES['media']['type'])) {
-			$filetype = $_FILES['media']['type'][0];
-		} else {
-			$filetype = $_FILES['media']['type'];
+		if (!empty($_FILES['media']['type'])) {
+			if (is_array($_FILES['media']['type'])) {
+				$filetype = $_FILES['media']['type'][0];
+			} else {
+				$filetype = $_FILES['media']['type'];
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/phpunit.xml b/phpunit.xml
index b2d978aee..b6f6247f6 100644
--- a/phpunit.xml
+++ b/phpunit.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 <?xml version="1.0"?>
-<phpunit bootstrap="tests/bootstrap.php">
+<phpunit
+	bootstrap="tests/bootstrap.php"
+	verbose="true">
     <testsuites>
         <testsuite>
             <directory>tests/</directory>
diff --git a/src/App.php b/src/App.php
index f5626761e..92ff05713 100644
--- a/src/App.php
+++ b/src/App.php
@@ -181,7 +181,10 @@ class App
 
 		$this->process_id = uniqid('log', true);
 
-		startup();
+		set_time_limit(0);
+
+		// This has to be quite large to deal with embedded private photos
+		ini_set('pcre.backtrack_limit', 500000);
 
 		$this->scheme = 'http';
 
@@ -290,7 +293,7 @@ class App
 		$this->is_tablet = $mobile_detect->isTablet();
 
 		// Friendica-Client
-		$this->is_friendica_app = ($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] == 'Apache-HttpClient/UNAVAILABLE (java 1.4)');
+		$this->is_friendica_app = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']) && $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] == 'Apache-HttpClient/UNAVAILABLE (java 1.4)';
 
 		// Register template engines
 		$this->register_template_engine('Friendica\Render\FriendicaSmartyEngine');
@@ -863,7 +866,7 @@ class App
 			return;
 		}
 
-		array_unshift($args, ((x($this->config, 'php_path')) && (strlen($this->config['php_path'])) ? $this->config['php_path'] : 'php'));
+		array_unshift($args, $this->getConfigValue('config', 'php_path', 'php'));
 
 		for ($x = 0; $x < count($args); $x ++) {
 			$args[$x] = escapeshellarg($args[$x]);
@@ -875,7 +878,7 @@ class App
 			return;
 		}
 
-		if (Config::get('system', 'proc_windows')) {
+		if (strtoupper(substr(PHP_OS, 0, 3)) === 'WIN') {
 			$resource = proc_open('cmd /c start /b ' . $cmdline, [], $foo, $this->get_basepath());
 		} else {
 			$resource = proc_open($cmdline . ' &', [], $foo, $this->get_basepath());
diff --git a/src/Core/System.php b/src/Core/System.php
index ded781da8..abc39e5a2 100644
--- a/src/Core/System.php
+++ b/src/Core/System.php
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ class System extends BaseObject
 				}
 			} elseif (!in_array($func['function'], $ignore)) {
 				$callstack[] = $func['function'];
+				$func['class'] = '';
 				$previous = $func;
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/src/Database/DBStructure.php b/src/Database/DBStructure.php
index d3ce350a7..7bb9b18ae 100644
--- a/src/Database/DBStructure.php
+++ b/src/Database/DBStructure.php
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ class DBStructure
 					$field_definition = $database[$name]["fields"][$fieldname];
 
 					// Define the default collation if not given
-					if (!isset($parameters['Collation']) && !is_null($field_definition['Collation'])) {
+					if (!isset($parameters['Collation']) && !empty($field_definition['Collation'])) {
 						$parameters['Collation'] = 'utf8mb4_general_ci';
 					} else {
 						$parameters['Collation'] = null;
@@ -536,26 +536,26 @@ class DBStructure
 	private static function FieldCommand($parameters, $create = true) {
 		$fieldstruct = $parameters["type"];
 
-		if (!is_null($parameters["Collation"])) {
+		if (!empty($parameters["Collation"])) {
 			$fieldstruct .= " COLLATE ".$parameters["Collation"];
 		}
 
-		if ($parameters["not null"]) {
+		if (!empty($parameters["not null"])) {
 			$fieldstruct .= " NOT NULL";
 		}
 
-		if (isset($parameters["default"])) {
+		if (!empty($parameters["default"])) {
 			if (strpos(strtolower($parameters["type"]),"int")!==false) {
 				$fieldstruct .= " DEFAULT ".$parameters["default"];
 			} else {
 				$fieldstruct .= " DEFAULT '".$parameters["default"]."'";
 			}
 		}
-		if ($parameters["extra"] != "") {
+		if (!empty($parameters["extra"])) {
 			$fieldstruct .= " ".$parameters["extra"];
 		}
 
-		if (!is_null($parameters["comment"])) {
+		if (!empty($parameters["comment"])) {
 			$fieldstruct .= " COMMENT '".dbesc($parameters["comment"])."'";
 		}
 
@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@ class DBStructure
 			}
 		}
 
-		if (!is_null($structure["indexes"])) {
+		if (!empty($structure["indexes"])) {
 			foreach ($structure["indexes"] AS $indexname => $fieldnames) {
 				$sql_index = self::createIndex($indexname, $fieldnames, "");
 				if (!is_null($sql_index)) {
@@ -588,11 +588,11 @@ class DBStructure
 			}
 		}
 
-		if (!is_null($structure["engine"])) {
+		if (!empty($structure["engine"])) {
 			$engine = " ENGINE=" . $structure["engine"];
 		}
 
-		if (!is_null($structure["comment"])) {
+		if (!empty($structure["comment"])) {
 			$comment = " COMMENT='" . dbesc($structure["comment"]) . "'";
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/Model/Conversation.php b/src/Model/Conversation.php
index 17f151fe0..69bbc3bb6 100644
--- a/src/Model/Conversation.php
+++ b/src/Model/Conversation.php
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class Conversation
 					unset($old_conv['source']);
 				}
 				// Update structure data all the time but the source only when its from a better protocol.
-				if (($old_conv['protocol'] < $conversation['protocol']) && ($old_conv['protocol'] != 0)) {
+				if (isset($conversation['protocol']) && isset($conversation['source']) && ($old_conv['protocol'] < $conversation['protocol']) && ($old_conv['protocol'] != 0)) {
 					unset($conversation['protocol']);
 					unset($conversation['source']);
 				}
diff --git a/src/Model/Item.php b/src/Model/Item.php
index d31d7c132..664a8e9b2 100644
--- a/src/Model/Item.php
+++ b/src/Model/Item.php
@@ -809,7 +809,9 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 		// If item has attachments, drop them
 		foreach (explode(", ", $item['attach']) as $attach) {
 			preg_match("|attach/(\d+)|", $attach, $matches);
-			dba::delete('attach', ['id' => $matches[1], 'uid' => $item['uid']]);
+			if (is_array($matches) && count($matches) > 1) {
+				dba::delete('attach', ['id' => $matches[1], 'uid' => $item['uid']]);
+			}
 		}
 
 		// Delete tags that had been attached to other items
@@ -1997,7 +1999,7 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 			Contact::unmarkForArchival($contact);
 		}
 
-		$update = (!$arr['private'] && (($arr["author-link"] === $arr["owner-link"]) || ($arr["parent-uri"] === $arr["uri"])));
+		$update = (!$arr['private'] && ((defaults($arr, 'author-link', '') === defaults($arr, 'owner-link', '')) || ($arr["parent-uri"] === $arr["uri"])));
 
 		// Is it a forum? Then we don't care about the rules from above
 		if (!$update && ($arr["network"] == NETWORK_DFRN) && ($arr["parent-uri"] === $arr["uri"])) {
diff --git a/src/Network/Probe.php b/src/Network/Probe.php
index 5f665814b..8e44c8a50 100644
--- a/src/Network/Probe.php
+++ b/src/Network/Probe.php
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ class Probe
 		$redirects = 0;
 
 		logger("Probing for ".$host, LOGGER_DEBUG);
+		$xrd = null;
 
 		$ret = Network::curl($ssl_url, false, $redirects, ['timeout' => $xrd_timeout, 'accept_content' => 'application/xrd+xml']);
 		if ($ret['success']) {
@@ -1510,6 +1511,7 @@ class Probe
 			return false;
 		}
 		$feed = $ret['body'];
+		$dummy1 = $dummy2 = $dummy3 = null;
 		$feed_data = Feed::import($feed, $dummy1, $dummy2, $dummy3, true);
 
 		if (!$feed_data) {
diff --git a/tests/ApiTest.php b/tests/ApiTest.php
index c21f651d5..c8443512c 100644
--- a/tests/ApiTest.php
+++ b/tests/ApiTest.php
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 		global $a;
 		parent::setUp();
 
+		// Reusable App object
+		$this->app = new App(__DIR__.'/../');
+		$a = $this->app;
+
 		// User data that the test database is populated with
 		$this->selfUser = [
 			'id' => 42,
@@ -36,6 +40,12 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 			'nick' => 'selfcontact',
 			'nurl' => 'http://localhost/profile/selfcontact'
 		];
+		$this->friendUser = [
+			'id' => 44,
+			'name' => 'Friend contact',
+			'nick' => 'friendcontact',
+			'nurl' => 'http://localhost/profile/friendcontact'
+		];
 		$this->otherUser = [
 			'id' => 43,
 			'name' => 'othercontact',
@@ -53,10 +63,6 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 			'uid' => $this->selfUser['id']
 		];
 
-		// Reusable App object
-		$this->app = new App(__DIR__.'/../');
-		$a = $this->app;
-
 		// Default config
 		Config::set('config', 'hostname', 'localhost');
 		Config::set('system', 'throttle_limit_day', 100);
@@ -481,7 +487,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 
 		$this->app->query_string = 'api_path.rss';
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>'."\n".
 				'some_data',
 			api_call($this->app)
 		);
@@ -505,7 +511,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 
 		$this->app->query_string = 'api_path.atom';
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>'."\n".
 				'some_data',
 			api_call($this->app)
 		);
@@ -571,14 +577,14 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiErrorWithXml()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'."\n".
 			'<status xmlns="http://api.twitter.com" xmlns:statusnet="http://status.net/schema/api/1/" '.
 				'xmlns:friendica="http://friendi.ca/schema/api/1/" '.
-				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <error>error_message</error>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <code>200 Friendica\Network\HTTP</code>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <request/>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'</status>'.PHP_EOL,
+				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'."\n".
+			'  <error>error_message</error>'."\n".
+			'  <code>200 Friendica\Network\HTTP</code>'."\n".
+			'  <request/>'."\n".
+			'</status>'."\n",
 			api_error('xml', new HTTPException('error_message'))
 		);
 	}
@@ -591,14 +597,14 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiErrorWithRss()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'."\n".
 			'<status xmlns="http://api.twitter.com" xmlns:statusnet="http://status.net/schema/api/1/" '.
 				'xmlns:friendica="http://friendi.ca/schema/api/1/" '.
-				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <error>error_message</error>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <code>200 Friendica\Network\HTTP</code>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <request/>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'</status>'.PHP_EOL,
+				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'."\n".
+			'  <error>error_message</error>'."\n".
+			'  <code>200 Friendica\Network\HTTP</code>'."\n".
+			'  <request/>'."\n".
+			'</status>'."\n",
 			api_error('rss', new HTTPException('error_message'))
 		);
 	}
@@ -611,14 +617,14 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiErrorWithAtom()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'."\n".
 			'<status xmlns="http://api.twitter.com" xmlns:statusnet="http://status.net/schema/api/1/" '.
 				'xmlns:friendica="http://friendi.ca/schema/api/1/" '.
-				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <error>error_message</error>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <code>200 Friendica\Network\HTTP</code>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'  <request/>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'</status>'.PHP_EOL,
+				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'."\n".
+			'  <error>error_message</error>'."\n".
+			'  <code>200 Friendica\Network\HTTP</code>'."\n".
+			'  <request/>'."\n".
+			'</status>'."\n",
 			api_error('atom', new HTTPException('error_message'))
 		);
 	}
@@ -629,7 +635,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiRssExtra()
 	{
-		$user_info = ['url' => 'user_url'];
+		$user_info = ['url' => 'user_url', 'lang' => 'en'];
 		$result = api_rss_extra($this->app, [], $user_info);
 		$this->assertEquals($user_info, $result['$user']);
 		$this->assertEquals($user_info['url'], $result['$rss']['alternate']);
@@ -818,7 +824,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiGetUserWithCalledApi()
 	{
 		global $called_api;
-		$called_api = ['api_path'];
+		$called_api = ['api', 'api_path'];
 		$this->assertSelfUser(api_get_user($this->app));
 	}
 
@@ -853,7 +859,6 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 		$this->assertSelfUser(api_get_user($this->app, 0));
 	}
 
-
 	/**
 	 * Test the api_item_get_user() function.
 	 * @return void
@@ -957,12 +962,12 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiCreateXml()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'."\n".
 			'<root_element xmlns="http://api.twitter.com" xmlns:statusnet="http://status.net/schema/api/1/" '.
 				'xmlns:friendica="http://friendi.ca/schema/api/1/" '.
-				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'.PHP_EOL.
-				'  <data>some_data</data>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'</root_element>'.PHP_EOL,
+				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'."\n".
+				'  <data>some_data</data>'."\n".
+			'</root_element>'."\n",
 			api_create_xml(['data' => ['some_data']], 'root_element')
 		);
 	}
@@ -974,10 +979,10 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiCreateXmlWithoutNamespaces()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'<ok>'.PHP_EOL.
-				'  <data>some_data</data>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'</ok>'.PHP_EOL,
+			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'."\n".
+			'<ok>'."\n".
+				'  <data>some_data</data>'."\n".
+			'</ok>'."\n",
 			api_create_xml(['data' => ['some_data']], 'ok')
 		);
 	}
@@ -999,12 +1004,12 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiFormatDataWithXml()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'.PHP_EOL.
+			'<?xml version="1.0"?>'."\n".
 			'<root_element xmlns="http://api.twitter.com" xmlns:statusnet="http://status.net/schema/api/1/" '.
 				'xmlns:friendica="http://friendi.ca/schema/api/1/" '.
-				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'.PHP_EOL.
-				'  <data>some_data</data>'.PHP_EOL.
-			'</root_element>'.PHP_EOL,
+				'xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss">'."\n".
+				'  <data>some_data</data>'."\n".
+			'</root_element>'."\n",
 			api_format_data('root_element', 'xml', ['data' => ['some_data']])
 		);
 	}
@@ -1073,6 +1078,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 				'width' => 666,
 				'height' => 666,
 				'tmp_name' => $this->getTempImage(),
+				'name' => 'spacer.png',
 				'type' => 'image/png'
 			]
 		];
@@ -1110,6 +1116,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 				'width' => 666,
 				'height' => 666,
 				'tmp_name' => $this->getTempImage(),
+				'name' => 'spacer.png',
 				'type' => 'image/png'
 			]
 		];
@@ -1217,6 +1224,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 				'width' => 666,
 				'height' => 666,
 				'tmp_name' => $this->getTempImage(),
+				'name' => 'spacer.png',
 				'type' => 'image/png'
 			]
 		];
@@ -1833,6 +1841,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroy()
 	{
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'create'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		api_favorites_create_destroy('json');
 	}
 
@@ -1843,9 +1853,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroyWithInvalidId()
 	{
-		// This triggers a very specific condition ($action_argv_id + 2)
-		$this->app->argv[1] = '1.1';
-		$this->app->argc = 5;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'create', '12.json'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		api_favorites_create_destroy('json');
 	}
 
@@ -1856,8 +1865,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroyWithInvalidAction()
 	{
-		$this->app->argv[1] = '1.1';
-		$this->app->argc = 10;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'change.json'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$_REQUEST['id'] = 1;
 		api_favorites_create_destroy('json');
 	}
@@ -1868,9 +1877,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroyWithCreateAction()
 	{
-		$this->app->argv[1] = '1.1';
-		$this->app->argv[3] = 'create';
-		$this->app->argc = 10;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'create.json'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$_REQUEST['id'] = 3;
 		$result = api_favorites_create_destroy('json');
 		$this->assertStatus($result['status']);
@@ -1882,9 +1890,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroyWithCreateActionAndRss()
 	{
-		$this->app->argv[1] = '1.1';
-		$this->app->argv[3] = 'create';
-		$this->app->argc = 10;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'create.rss'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$_REQUEST['id'] = 3;
 		$result = api_favorites_create_destroy('rss');
 		$this->assertXml($result, 'status');
@@ -1896,9 +1903,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroyWithDestroyAction()
 	{
-		$this->app->argv[1] = '1.1';
-		$this->app->argv[3] = 'destroy';
-		$this->app->argc = 10;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'destroy.json'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$_REQUEST['id'] = 3;
 		$result = api_favorites_create_destroy('json');
 		$this->assertStatus($result['status']);
@@ -1911,6 +1917,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFavoritesCreateDestroyWithoutAuthenticatedUser()
 	{
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', '1.1', 'favorites', 'create.json'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$_SESSION['authenticated'] = false;
 		api_favorites_create_destroy('json');
 	}
@@ -1962,7 +1970,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 			['id' => 2, 'screen_name' => 'recipient_name'],
 			['id' => 3, 'screen_name' => 'sender_name']
 		);
-		$this->assertEquals('item_title'.PHP_EOL.'item_body', $result['text']);
+		$this->assertEquals('item_title'."\n".'item_body', $result['text']);
 		$this->assertEquals(1, $result['id']);
 		$this->assertEquals(2, $result['recipient_id']);
 		$this->assertEquals(3, $result['sender_id']);
@@ -2014,8 +2022,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 			['id' => 2, 'screen_name' => 'recipient_name'],
 			['id' => 3, 'screen_name' => 'sender_name']
 		);
-		$this->assertNull($result['sender']);
-		$this->assertNull($result['recipient']);
+		$this->assertTrue(!isset($result['sender']));
+		$this->assertTrue(!isset($result['recipient']));
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -2051,7 +2059,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 				'repellat officia illum quos impedit quam iste esse unde qui '.
 				'suscipit aut facilis ut inventore omnis exercitationem quo magnam '.
 				'consequatur maxime aut illum soluta quaerat natus unde aspernatur '.
-				'et sed beatae nihil ullam temporibus corporis ratione blanditiis'
+				'et sed beatae nihil ullam temporibus corporis ratione blanditiis',
+				'plink' => 'item_plink'
 			]
 		);
 		$this->assertStringStartsWith('item_title', $result['text']);
@@ -2108,7 +2117,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiGetAttachmentsWithImage()
 	{
-		$body = '[img]img_url[/img]';
+		$body = '[img]http://via.placeholder.com/1x1.png[/img]';
 		$this->assertInternalType('array', api_get_attachments($body));
 	}
 
@@ -2119,7 +2128,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiGetAttachmentsWithImageAndAndStatus()
 	{
 		$_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] = 'AndStatus';
-		$body = '[img]img_url[/img]';
+		$body = '[img]http://via.placeholder.com/1x1.png[/img]';
 		$this->assertInternalType('array', api_get_attachments($body));
 	}
 
@@ -2155,7 +2164,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiFormatItemsEmbededImages()
 	{
 		$this->assertEquals(
-			'text http://localhost/display/item_guid',
+			'text ' . \Friendica\Core\System::baseUrl() . '/display/item_guid',
 			api_format_items_embeded_images(['guid' => 'item_guid'], 'text data:image/foo')
 		);
 	}
@@ -2196,7 +2205,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFormatItemsActivities()
 	{
-		$item = [];
+		$item = ['uid' => 0, 'uri' => ''];
 		$result = api_format_items_activities($item);
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('like', $result);
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('dislike', $result);
@@ -2211,7 +2220,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFormatItemsActivitiesWithXml()
 	{
-		$item = [];
+		$item = ['uid' => 0, 'uri' => ''];
 		$result = api_format_items_activities($item, 'xml');
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('friendica:like', $result);
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('friendica:dislike', $result);
@@ -2325,10 +2334,16 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 			[
 				'item_network' => 'item_network',
 				'source' => 'web',
-				'coord' => '5 7'
+				'coord' => '5 7',
+				'body' => '',
+				'verb' => '',
+				'author-id' => 43,
+				'author-network' => \Friendica\Core\Protocol::DFRN,
+				'author-link' => 'http://localhost/profile/othercontact',
+				'plink' => '',
 			]
 		];
-		$result = api_format_items($items, [], true);
+		$result = api_format_items($items, ['id' => 0], true);
 		foreach ($result as $status) {
 			$this->assertStatus($status);
 		}
@@ -2342,10 +2357,16 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	{
 		$items = [
 			[
-				'coord' => '5 7'
+				'coord' => '5 7',
+				'body' => '',
+				'verb' => '',
+				'author-id' => 43,
+				'author-network' => \Friendica\Core\Protocol::DFRN,
+				'author-link' => 'http://localhost/profile/othercontact',
+				'plink' => '',
 			]
 		];
-		$result = api_format_items($items, [], true, 'xml');
+		$result = api_format_items($items, ['id' => 0], true, 'xml');
 		foreach ($result as $status) {
 			$this->assertStatus($status);
 		}
@@ -2389,7 +2410,6 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiHelpTestWithXml()
 	{
-		$this->markTestIncomplete('Triggers this error: "key() expects parameter 1 to be array, string given"');
 		$result = api_help_test('xml');
 		$this->assertXml($result, 'ok');
 	}
@@ -2615,7 +2635,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 		$result = api_statusnet_config('json');
 		$this->assertEquals('localhost', $result['config']['site']['server']);
 		$this->assertEquals('default', $result['config']['site']['theme']);
-		$this->assertEquals('http://localhost/images/friendica-64.png', $result['config']['site']['logo']);
+		$this->assertEquals(\Friendica\Core\System::baseUrl() . '/images/friendica-64.png', $result['config']['site']['logo']);
 		$this->assertTrue($result['config']['site']['fancy']);
 		$this->assertEquals('en', $result['config']['site']['language']);
 		$this->assertEquals('UTC', $result['config']['site']['timezone']);
@@ -2725,7 +2745,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiDirectMessagesNewWithScreenName()
 	{
 		$_POST['text'] = 'message_text';
-		$_POST['screen_name'] = $this->otherUser['nick'];
+		$_POST['screen_name'] = $this->friendUser['nick'];
 		$result = api_direct_messages_new('json');
 		$this->assertEquals(1, $result['direct_message']['id']);
 		$this->assertContains('message_text', $result['direct_message']['text']);
@@ -2740,7 +2760,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiDirectMessagesNewWithTitle()
 	{
 		$_POST['text'] = 'message_text';
-		$_POST['screen_name'] = $this->otherUser['nick'];
+		$_POST['screen_name'] = $this->friendUser['nick'];
 		$_REQUEST['title'] = 'message_title';
 		$result = api_direct_messages_new('json');
 		$this->assertEquals(1, $result['direct_message']['id']);
@@ -2757,7 +2777,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	public function testApiDirectMessagesNewWithRss()
 	{
 		$_POST['text'] = 'message_text';
-		$_POST['screen_name'] = $this->otherUser['nick'];
+		$_POST['screen_name'] = $this->friendUser['nick'];
 		$result = api_direct_messages_new('rss');
 		$this->assertXml($result, 'direct-messages');
 	}
@@ -3357,7 +3377,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiShareAsRetweet()
 	{
-		$item = [];
+		$item = ['body' => ''];
 		$result = api_share_as_retweet($item);
 		$this->assertFalse($result);
 	}
@@ -3397,7 +3417,7 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiInReplyTo()
 	{
-		$result = api_in_reply_to([]);
+		$result = api_in_reply_to(['id' => 0, 'parent' => 0, 'uri' => '', 'thr-parent' => '']);
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('status_id', $result);
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('user_id', $result);
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey('status_id_str', $result);
@@ -3562,7 +3582,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFriendicaNotificationWithArgumentCount()
 	{
-		$this->app->argc = 3;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', 'friendica', 'notification'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$result = api_friendica_notification('json');
 		$this->assertEquals(['note' => false], $result);
 	}
@@ -3573,8 +3594,8 @@ class ApiTest extends DatabaseTest
 	 */
 	public function testApiFriendicaNotificationWithXmlResult()
 	{
-		$this->markTestIncomplete('Fails with "Invalid argument supplied for foreach()".');
-		$this->app->argc = 3;
+		$this->app->argv = ['api', 'friendica', 'notification'];
+		$this->app->argc = count($this->app->argv);
 		$result = api_friendica_notification('xml');
 		$this->assertXml($result, 'notes');
 	}
diff --git a/tests/DatabaseTest.php b/tests/DatabaseTest.php
index 12150932c..e79e9237b 100644
--- a/tests/DatabaseTest.php
+++ b/tests/DatabaseTest.php
@@ -20,6 +20,54 @@ abstract class DatabaseTest extends TestCase
 
 	use TestCaseTrait;
 
+	/**
+	 * Renames an eventually existing .htconfig.php to .htconfig.php.tmp
+	 * Creates a new .htconfig.php for bin/worker.php execution
+	 */
+	public static function setUpBeforeClass()
+	{
+		parent::setUpBeforeClass();
+
+		$base_config_file_name = 'htconfig.php';
+		$config_file_name = '.htconfig.php';
+
+		$base_config_file_path = stream_resolve_include_path($base_config_file_name);
+		$config_file_path = dirname($base_config_file_path) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $config_file_name;
+		$config_file_path_tmp = $config_file_path . '.tmp';
+
+		if (file_exists($config_file_path)) {
+			rename($config_file_path, $config_file_path_tmp);
+		}
+
+		$config_string = file_get_contents($base_config_file_path);
+
+		$config_string = str_replace('die(', '// die(', $config_string);
+
+		file_put_contents($config_file_path, $config_string);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Delete the created .htconfig.php
+	 * Renames an eventually existing .htconfig.php.tmp to .htconfig.php
+	 */
+	public static function tearDownAfterClass()
+	{
+		$base_config_file_name = 'htconfig.php';
+		$config_file_name = '.htconfig.php';
+
+		$base_config_file_path = stream_resolve_include_path($base_config_file_name);
+		$config_file_path = dirname($base_config_file_path) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $config_file_name;
+		$config_file_path_tmp = $config_file_path . '.tmp';
+
+		if (file_exists($config_file_path)) {
+			unlink($config_file_path);
+		}
+
+		if (file_exists($config_file_path_tmp)) {
+			rename($config_file_path_tmp, $config_file_path);
+		}
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Get database connection.
 	 *
@@ -34,21 +82,23 @@ abstract class DatabaseTest extends TestCase
 	protected function getConnection()
 	{
 		if (!dba::$connected) {
-			dba::connect('localhost', getenv('USER'), getenv('PASS'), getenv('DB'));
+			dba::connect(getenv('MYSQL_HOST') . ':' . getenv('MYSQL_PORT'), getenv('MYSQL_USERNAME'), getenv('MYSQL_PASSWORD'), getenv('MYSQL_DATABASE'));
 
 			if (dba::$connected) {
 				$app = get_app();
 				// We need to do this in order to disable logging
-				$app->module = 'install';
+				$app->mode = \Friendica\App::MODE_INSTALL;
 
 				// Create database structure
 				DBStructure::update(false, true, true);
+
+				$app->mode = \Friendica\App::MODE_NORMAL;
 			} else {
-				$this->markTestSkipped('Could not connect to the database.');
+				$this->markTestSkipped('Could not connect to the database. Please check the MYSQL_* environment variables.');
 			}
 		}
 
-		return $this->createDefaultDBConnection(dba::get_db(), getenv('DB'));
+		return $this->createDefaultDBConnection(dba::get_db(), getenv('MYSQL_DATABASE'));
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/tests/datasets/api.yml b/tests/datasets/api.yml
index 14053c3e8..25c9dade6 100644
--- a/tests/datasets/api.yml
+++ b/tests/datasets/api.yml
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ contact:
         network: dfrn
     -
         id: 44
-        uid: 0
+        uid: 42
         name: Friend contact
         nick: friendcontact
         self: 0