diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 797e0f8..3fc34f1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 All notable changes to `code-snippets` will be documented in this file.
 
+## 1.1.0 - 2021-07-25
+
+- add `toString()` and `__toString()` methods
+
 ## 1.0.2 - 2021-07-25
 
 - fix minor bugs, refactor line boundary calculations
diff --git a/src/CodeSnippet.php b/src/CodeSnippet.php
index 86cf34e..efee708 100644
--- a/src/CodeSnippet.php
+++ b/src/CodeSnippet.php
@@ -142,6 +142,22 @@ public function getLineNumberEnd(): int
         return $this->surroundingLines[count($this->surroundingLines) - 1] ?? 0;
     }
 
+    public function toString()
+    {
+        $result = '';
+
+        foreach ($this->getLines() as $line) {
+            $result .= $line->value() . PHP_EOL;
+        }
+
+        return $result;
+    }
+
+    public function __toString()
+    {
+        return $this->toString();
+    }
+
     protected function isSurroundedLineNumber(int $lineNumber): bool
     {
         return in_array($lineNumber, $this->surroundingLines, true);
diff --git a/tests/CodeSnippetTest.php b/tests/CodeSnippetTest.php
index f8617aa..b2c2ffb 100644
--- a/tests/CodeSnippetTest.php
+++ b/tests/CodeSnippetTest.php
@@ -149,4 +149,26 @@ public function it_ensures_the_entire_surrounding_lines_are_displayed()
 
         $this->assertMatchesSnapshot($snippet->getLines());
     }
+
+    /** @test */
+    public function it_returns_the_snippet_as_a_string()
+    {
+        $snippet = (new CodeSnippet())
+            ->surroundingLines(10, 12)
+            ->snippetLineCount(8)
+            ->fromFile($this->testsPath('data/file3.php'));
+
+        $this->assertMatchesSnapshot($snippet->toString());
+    }
+
+    /** @test */
+    public function it_returns_a_string_when_the_snippet_is_cast_to_a_string()
+    {
+        $snippet = (new CodeSnippet())
+            ->surroundingLines(10, 12)
+            ->snippetLineCount(8)
+            ->fromFile($this->testsPath('data/file3.php'));
+
+        $this->assertMatchesSnapshot((string)$snippet);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/tests/__snapshots__/CodeSnippetTest__it_returns_a_string_when_the_snippet_is_cast_to_a_string__1.txt b/tests/__snapshots__/CodeSnippetTest__it_returns_a_string_when_the_snippet_is_cast_to_a_string__1.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36fecd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/__snapshots__/CodeSnippetTest__it_returns_a_string_when_the_snippet_is_cast_to_a_string__1.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+        /**
+        @var Ray $ray
+         */
+        $ray = ray()->text('hello world')
+            ->blue()
+            ->large();
+
+        Ray
diff --git a/tests/__snapshots__/CodeSnippetTest__it_returns_the_snippet_as_a_string__1.txt b/tests/__snapshots__/CodeSnippetTest__it_returns_the_snippet_as_a_string__1.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36fecd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/__snapshots__/CodeSnippetTest__it_returns_the_snippet_as_a_string__1.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+        /**
+        @var Ray $ray
+         */
+        $ray = ray()->text('hello world')
+            ->blue()
+            ->large();
+
+        Ray