diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9be7991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+/tests              export-ignore
+.github             export-ignore
+phpunit.xml.dist    export-ignore
diff --git a/.github/stale.yml b/.github/stale.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dfbb8c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/stale.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+daysUntilStale: 30
+daysUntilClose: 7
+exemptLabels:
+  - pinned
+  - security
+staleLabel: wontfix
+markComment: >
+  This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had
+  recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you
+  for your contributions.
+closeComment: false
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5aacd86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+name: CI
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+
+  build:
+    name: Test
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        php: [ '5.6', '7.0', '7.4', '8.0' ]
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Set up PHP
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: ${{ matrix.php }}
+          coverage: xdebug
+
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 2
+
+      - name: Download dependencies
+        uses: ramsey/composer-install@v1
+        with:
+          composer-options: --no-interaction --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        run: ./vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-clover coverage.xml
+
+      - name: Upload to Codecov
+        env:
+          CODECOV_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
+        run: bash <(curl -s https://codecov.io/bash)
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d1502b0..b3f378b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,5 @@
-vendor/
+/vendor
+.phpunit.result.cache
+phpunit.xml
+.idea
 composer.lock
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..512723c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2022 Christian Sciberras
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 943ee58..a5ee948 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,8 +1,22 @@
-# PHP Castable
+# 🎭 PHP Castable
+
+[![CI](https://github.com/uuf6429/php-castable/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/uuf6429/php-castable/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
+[![codecov](https://codecov.io/gh/uuf6429/php-castable/branch/main/graph/badge.svg)](https://codecov.io/gh/uuf6429/php-castable)
+[![Minimum PHP Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/php-%5E5.6%20%7C%20%5E7%20%7C%20%5E8-8892BF.svg)](https://php.net/)
+[![License](https://poser.pugx.org/uuf6429/php-castable/license)](https://packagist.org/packages/uuf6429/php-castable)
+[![Latest Stable Version](https://poser.pugx.org/uuf6429/php-castable/version)](https://packagist.org/packages/uuf6429/php-castable)
+[![Latest Unstable Version](https://poser.pugx.org/uuf6429/php-castable/v/unstable)](https://packagist.org/packages/uuf6429/php-castable)
 
 Basic groundwork for type-casting in PHP.
 
-## Features / Functionality
+## 🔌 Installation
+The recommended and easiest way to install this library is through Composer:
+
+```shell
+composer require uuf6429/php-castable "^1.0"
+```
+
+## ⭐️ Features / Functionality
 
 - Works with simple types and objects
 - `cast($value, $type)` function that converts a value to a target type.
@@ -13,13 +27,17 @@ Basic groundwork for type-casting in PHP.
 
 While `cast()` is just a regular PHP function, it would be the equivalent to type-casting operators in other languages (e.g. `val as Type`, `(Type)val`, `val.to(Type)`, `CAST(val, TYPE)`...).
 
-## Behaviour
+## 🔍 Casting Behaviour
 
+The casting process follows these steps:
 1. If the value to be type-casted is not an object, PHP's `settype()` is used.
 2. If, instead, it is an object that implements `Castable` interface, `castTo()` is called and its value returned.
 3. Otherwise, if the object is the same or a subclass of the desired type, then it is returned unchanged.
 
-## Motivation
+At any point in time, errors or unsupported type-casting could occur, in which case a `NotCastableException` is thrown.
+
+## 💰 Motivation
+
+In many cases, having specific `castToX()` methods in your classes is enough, and it typically works adequately.
 
-In many cases, having specific `castToX()` methods in your classes is enough and the behaviour typically works adequately.
-However, sometimes this becomes too much or a more dynamic solution is needed. In this case, this package helps to avoid writing the boilerplate code.
\ No newline at end of file
+However, this could get very repetitive and somewhat error-prone, until a more dynamic solution is needed. This package helps to safely avoid all that boilerplate code.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 868ec64..20dabed 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "uuf6429/php-castable",
   "description": "Type casting functionality for PHP",
+  "license": "MIT",
   "type": "library",
   "authors": [
     {
@@ -16,7 +17,15 @@
       "src/functions.php"
     ]
   },
+  "autoload-dev": {
+    "psr-4": {
+      "uuf6429\\Castable\\": "tests/"
+    }
+  },
   "require": {
     "php": "^5.6 || ^7 || ^8"
+  },
+  "require-dev": {
+    "phpunit/phpunit": "^5 | ^6 | ^7 | ^8 | ^9"
   }
 }
diff --git a/phpunit.xml.dist b/phpunit.xml.dist
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c43c07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/phpunit.xml.dist
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+
+<phpunit xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="https://schema.phpunit.de/9.5/phpunit.xsd"
+         colors="true"
+         failOnRisky="true"
+>
+    <testsuites>
+        <testsuite name="All Tests">
+            <directory>./tests/</directory>
+        </testsuite>
+    </testsuites>
+
+    <coverage>
+        <include>
+            <directory suffix=".php">src</directory>
+        </include>
+        <exclude>
+            <file>src/.phpstorm.meta.php</file>
+        </exclude>
+    </coverage>
+</phpunit>
diff --git a/src/functions.php b/src/functions.php
index 6f61310..19d08cd 100644
--- a/src/functions.php
+++ b/src/functions.php
@@ -1,35 +1,37 @@
 <?php
 
-use uuf6429\Castable\Castable;
-use uuf6429\Castable\NotCastableException;
+namespace uuf6429\Castable;
+
+use Exception;
+use Throwable;
 
 function cast($value, $type)
 {
-    if (!is_object($value)) {
-        if (settype($value, $type)) {
-            return $value;
+    try {
+        if (!is_object($value)) {
+            if (@settype($value, $type)) {
+                return $value;
+            }
+            throw new NotCastableException(
+                sprintf('Value of type %s cannot be cast to %s', gettype($value), $type)
+            );
         }
-        throw new NotCastableException(
-            sprintf('Value of type %s cannot be cast to %s', gettype($value), $type)
-        );
-    }
 
-    if ($value instanceof Castable) {
-        try {
+        if ($value instanceof Castable) {
             return $value->castTo($type);
-        } catch (Exception $exception) {
-        } catch (Throwable $exception) {
         }
-        throw new NotCastableException(
-            sprintf('Castable object could not be cast to %s', $type), 0, $exception
-        );
-    }
 
-    if (!is_a($value, $type)) {
-        throw new NotCastableException(
-            sprintf('Object of class %s is not compatible with class %s', get_class($value), $type)
-        );
-    }
+        if ($type !== 'object' && !is_a($value, $type)) {
+            throw new NotCastableException(
+                sprintf('Object of class %s is not compatible with class %s', get_class($value), $type)
+            );
+        }
 
-    return $value;
+        return $value;
+    } catch (Exception $exception) {
+    } catch (Throwable $exception) {
+    }
+    throw new NotCastableException(
+        sprintf('Castable object could not be cast to %s', $type), 0, $exception
+    );
 }
diff --git a/tests/BaseTestCase.php b/tests/BaseTestCase.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37ad3b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/BaseTestCase.php
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace uuf6429\Castable;
+
+if (class_exists(\PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase::class)) {
+    class BaseTestCase extends \PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase
+    {
+    }
+} elseif (class_exists(\PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase::class)) {
+    class BaseTestCase extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
+    {
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/CastTest.php b/tests/CastTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a36b48d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/CastTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace uuf6429\Castable;
+
+use ArrayObject;
+
+class CastTest extends BaseTestCase
+{
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider invalidCastingDataProvider
+     */
+    public function test_that_invalid_casting_triggers_exception($originalValue, $targetType)
+    {
+        $this->expectException(NotCastableException::class);
+
+        cast($originalValue, $targetType);
+    }
+
+    public function invalidCastingDataProvider()
+    {
+        return [
+            'invalid data type of target type' => [
+                '$originalValue' => 1,
+                '$targetType' => 1,
+            ],
+            'invalid target type' => [
+                '$originalValue' => 1,
+                '$targetType' => 'invalid',
+            ],
+            'invalid conversion; object to integer' => [
+                '$originalValue' => (object)[],
+                '$targetType' => 'integer',
+            ],
+            'invalid conversion; object to specific class' => [
+                '$originalValue' => (object)[],
+                '$targetType' => ArrayObject::class,
+            ],
+            'converting example object unsupported type' => [
+                '$originalValue' => new ExampleCastableClass(),
+                '$targetType' => 'someType',
+            ],
+            'as per php, aliases should not work' => [
+                '$originalValue' => new ExampleCastableClass(),
+                '$targetType' => 'integer',
+            ],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider validCastingDataProvider
+     */
+    public function test_that_valid_casting_returns_expected_value($originalValue, $targetType, $expectedValue)
+    {
+        $this->assertSame($expectedValue, cast($originalValue, $targetType));
+    }
+
+    public function validCastingDataProvider()
+    {
+        return [
+            'converting number to string' => [
+                '$originalValue' => 123,
+                '$targetType' => 'string',
+                '$expectedValue' => '123',
+            ],
+            'converting number to boolean' => [
+                '$originalValue' => 1,
+                '$targetType' => 'bool',
+                '$expectedValue' => true,
+            ],
+            'converting float to integer (lossy)' => [
+                '$originalValue' => 123.456,
+                '$targetType' => 'int',
+                '$expectedValue' => 123,
+            ],
+            'converting specific object to generic object' => [
+                '$originalValue' => ($inst = new ArrayObject()),
+                '$targetType' => 'object',
+                '$expectedValue' => $inst,
+            ],
+            'converting example object to number should work' => [
+                '$originalValue' => new ExampleCastableClass(),
+                '$targetType' => 'int',
+                '$expectedValue' => 123,
+            ],
+        ];
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/ExampleCastableClass.php b/tests/ExampleCastableClass.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41b8439
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ExampleCastableClass.php
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace uuf6429\Castable;
+
+use InvalidArgumentException;
+
+class ExampleCastableClass implements Castable
+{
+    public function castTo($type)
+    {
+        switch ($type) {
+            case 'int':
+                return 123;
+
+            case 'string':
+                return 'example';
+
+            default:
+                throw new InvalidArgumentException("Unsupported cast type: $type");
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file