PHPUnit Implementation for Safe Refactoring
Add test coverage to your running PHP applications so your team can refactor confidently and catch bugs before customers do.
👋 Talk to a PHPUnit expert.
Trusted and top rated tech team
Deploying untested legacy PHP is a gamble
Most PHP applications accumulate years of code before anyone prioritizes testing. Refactoring becomes risky, deployments get stressful, and tech debt compounds. Curotec implements PHPUnit coverage for production codebases so your team can make changes without the guesswork.
Our capabilities include:
- Testing strategy aligned to business risk
- Isolated unit testing for complex dependencies
- CI/CD pipeline integration
- Legacy code coverage strategies
- Framework-specific testing patterns (Laravel, Symfony)
- Test maintenance and documentation
Who we support
PHPUnit implementation projects typically come from teams that shipped fast early on and now face the consequences. These are the engineering leaders we work with most often.
SaaS Teams With Legacy PHP Backends
Your application has years of business logic with minimal test coverage. Every feature request means touching code nobody wants to touch, and your senior engineers spend more time debugging regressions than building new functionality.
CTOs Who Inherited Untested Code
You joined a company with an existing PHP codebase and discovered the hard way there's no safety net. You need to modernize without breaking revenue-generating features, but your team is afraid to refactor anything significant.
Laravel or Symfony Teams Scaling Up
Your framework provides testing tools out of the box, but your team never adopted them consistently. Now you're adding engineers and need testing standards before velocity drops and bugs multiply.
Ways to engage
We offer a wide range of engagement models to meet our clients’ needs. From hourly consultation to fully managed solutions, our engagement models are designed to be flexible and customizable.
Staff Augmentation
Get access to on-demand product and engineering team talent that gives your company the flexibility to scale up and down as business needs ebb and flow.
Retainer Services
Retainers are perfect for companies that have a fully built product in maintenance mode. We'll give you peace of mind by keeping your software running, secure, and up to date.
Project Engagement
Project-based contracts that can range from small-scale audit and strategy sessions to more intricate replatforming or build from scratch initiatives.
We'll spec out a custom engagement model for you
Invested in creating success and defining new standards
Why choose Curotec for PHPUnit?
Adding test coverage to a codebase that’s already running is harder than testing from scratch. Curotec engineers understand legacy PHP patterns, framework quirks, and the tradeoffs between coverage percentage and practical value. We build test suites your team will actually maintain.
1
Extraordinary people, exceptional outcomes
Our outstanding team represents our greatest asset. With business acumen, we translate objectives into solutions. Intellectual agility drives efficient software development problem-solving. Superior communication ensures seamless teamwork integration.
2
Deep technical expertise
We don’t claim to be experts in every framework and language. Instead, we focus on the tech ecosystems in which we excel, selecting engagements that align with our competencies for optimal results. Moreover, we offer pre-developed components and scaffolding to save you time and money.
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Balancing innovation with practicality
We stay ahead of industry trends and innovations, avoiding the hype of every new technology fad. Focusing on innovations with real commercial potential, we guide you through the ever-changing tech landscape, helping you embrace proven technologies and cutting-edge advancements.
4
Flexibility in our approach
We offer a range of flexible working arrangements to meet your specific needs. Whether you prefer our end-to-end project delivery, embedding our experts within your teams, or consulting and retainer options, we have a solution designed to suit you.
How we add test coverage to existing PHP
Critical Path Coverage
Dependency Isolation
Automated Regression Detection
Coverage Reporting
Legacy Refactoring Safety
Sustainable Test Architecture
Testing tools for PHP codebases
Testing Frameworks
Curotec engineers select and configure testing frameworks based on your codebase complexity and team experience level.
- PHPUnit – Industry-standard testing framework with assertions, data providers, and lifecycle hooks for comprehensive unit and integration testing
- Pest – Expressive syntax layer built on PHPUnit that reduces boilerplate while maintaining full compatibility with existing test suites
- Codeception – Full-stack testing framework combining unit, functional, and acceptance testing in a single configurable toolchain
- ParaTest – Parallel test runner that distributes PHPUnit tests across CPU cores, cutting suite execution time significantly
- PHPUnit Attributes – Modern PHP 8+ metadata syntax replacing docblock annotations for cleaner, IDE-supported test configuration
- Infection – Mutation testing framework that validates test quality by introducing code changes and verifying tests catch them
Mocking & Test Doubles
Test isolation requires clean dependency mocking, and these libraries handle everything from simple stubs to complex fakes.
- PHPUnit Mock Objects – Built-in mocking system for creating test doubles with method expectations and return value configuration
- Mockery – Flexible mocking library with expressive syntax for defining expectations, argument matching, and call verification
- Prophecy – Object mocking framework focused on behavior specification with automatic interface discovery and method stubbing
- PHP-VCR – Records and replays HTTP interactions so tests run against consistent API responses without live network calls
- Faker – Generates realistic test data for names, addresses, emails, and custom formats to populate test fixtures dynamically
- Object Mothers – Factory patterns for creating preconfigured test objects with sensible defaults and easy property overrides
CI/CD Integration
Your test suite runs automatically on every commit through pipeline configurations tailored to your deployment workflow.
- GitHub Actions – Workflow automation running PHPUnit on pull requests with matrix builds across PHP versions and dependency sets
- GitLab CI – Pipeline configuration with test stages, coverage artifacts, and merge request blocking on test failures
- Jenkins – Self-hosted automation server with PHPUnit plugins for test reporting, trend analysis, and build status integration
- CircleCI – Cloud-based pipelines with parallelism, caching, and test splitting to minimize feedback loop time
- Bitbucket Pipelines – Integrated CI for Bitbucket repositories with PHPUnit execution and coverage report publishing
- Travis CI – Hosted continuous integration with PHP version matrix testing and automatic pull request validation
Coverage Analysis
Coverage tools identify untested code paths and generate reports that integrate directly into your review process.
- PCOV – Lightweight coverage driver with minimal performance overhead, designed specifically for PHPUnit integration
- Xdebug – Full-featured debugger and profiler that provides detailed coverage data including branch and path analysis
- PHPUnit Coverage – Built-in reporting generating HTML, XML, and Clover formats for CI integration and local review
- Codecov – Coverage tracking service with pull request comments, trend graphs, and team-level coverage dashboards
- Coveralls – Hosted coverage analysis with GitHub integration showing coverage changes on every pull request
- SonarQube – Code quality platform combining coverage data with static analysis for comprehensive codebase health metrics
Static Analysis
These tools catch type errors and code issues before tests run, reducing debugging time and improving test reliability.
- PHPStan – Static analyzer finding bugs through type inference without running code, with configurable strictness levels
- Psalm – Type checker with automatic fix suggestions, taint analysis for security, and IDE integration for real-time feedback
- PHP_CodeSniffer – Coding standard enforcement detecting style violations and ensuring consistent formatting across test files
- Rector – Automated refactoring tool that upgrades PHPUnit syntax and test patterns to modern versions programmatically
- PHPDoc Checker – Validates docblock annotations match actual method signatures, catching documentation drift in test suites
- PHP Mess Detector – Identifies complex or problematic code patterns that indicate areas needing test coverage priority
Framework Testing Tools
Laravel and Symfony ship with testing utilities that extend PHPUnit for framework-specific patterns and assertions.
- Laravel TestCase – Base class with application bootstrapping, database transactions, and HTTP testing methods built in
- Laravel Dusk – Browser automation for end-to-end testing with Chrome driver integration and authentication helpers
- Symfony WebTestCase – Functional testing class for HTTP requests, form submissions, and response assertions without a browser
- Symfony Panther – Browser testing library using real Chrome or Firefox for JavaScript-heavy application testing
- Mockery Laravel – Service container integration allowing mock injection into Laravel’s dependency injection system
- Doctrine Test Fixtures – Database fixture loading for Symfony applications with transaction rollback between tests
FAQs about our PHPUnit services
How do you add tests to code that wasn't built for testing?
Legacy code often has tight coupling and hidden dependencies. We start by identifying seams where we can inject test doubles, then write characterization tests that document current behavior before any refactoring. This lets us add coverage incrementally without rewriting your application.
How long until we have meaningful test coverage?
Most teams see value within the first two weeks. We prioritize critical business logic and high-change areas first, so you get regression protection on the code that matters most while we build out broader coverage over subsequent sprints.
Will this disrupt our current development workflow?
No. We integrate into your existing Git workflow and CI pipeline. Tests run alongside your team’s work from day one, and we coordinate with your engineers to avoid merge conflicts and ensure test patterns match your coding standards.
How do you decide what code to test first?
We analyze your codebase for change frequency, bug history, and business criticality. Code that changes often and handles money, auth, or core business logic gets covered first. Low-change utility code can wait.
Can our team maintain the tests after you leave?
That’s the goal. We document testing patterns, pair with your engineers during implementation, and structure tests to be readable and maintainable. Your team should be writing tests confidently by the end of the engagement.
Ready to have a conversation?
We’re here to discuss how we can partner, sharing our knowledge and experience for your product development needs. Get started driving your business forward.