Sebastian Bergmann

Master test automation
with personalised consulting and training from the creator of PHPUnit.

I will show you and your team the clear path: make your complex systems testable and release with real confidence.

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Creator of PHPUnit
3.5+ Million Users
25+ Years Experience
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Sebastian Bergmann

PHPUnit Creator Open Source Advocate Testing Expert International Speaker

"Hello, I'm Sebastian. I've been experiencing PHP for over 25 years and know exactly how the fear of legacy code and the associated frustration feels. It's my mission to help teams overcome these fears and enjoy developing again.

As the creator and main maintainer of PHPUnit, I offer you first-hand knowledge. My expertise, grown from decades of experience, numerous technical books, international talks, and my commitment as a founding member of the PHP Foundation, flows directly into our collaboration.

I live the open-source philosophy of shared learning and transparency. Together we create a testing culture that puts trust and confidence at the center."

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Sebastian Bergmann speaking at a conference

How I help you and your team

Whether it's fear of refactoring, time pressure or a legacy labyrinth – together we make your software testable and your team confident.

Training

Professional training directly from the creator of PHPUnit – online, in-house or through the education flat rate from thePHP.cc.

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Consulting & Coaching

We solve test automation on your real codebase – practical solutions you take with you right away.

  • We test your software together
  • Architecture & code reviews
  • Strategy workshops & team coaching
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What my customers say

Real voices from teams I've transformed

"We had the pleasure of working with Sebastian to train our teams. He did excellent work and we will certainly use his services again in the future."
Oliver Ratzesberger

Senior Director, eBay Inc.

"Sebastian helped us both through reviews of our codebase and through training for our team. New employees were able to transfer their skills to PHPUnit in no time."
Noah Sussmann

Test Architect, Etsy Inc.

"The energy in the workshops was incredibly impressive. The positive feedback from my team confirmed that the effort was a complete success."
Mike Depuy

Director of Software Engineering, Salesforce

Insights

Learn from real projects and practical experiences

The key board of a hotel reception, made of dark wood and divided into two rows of narrow compartments. An oval brass plate with a room number sits above each compartment, and below it a hook holds a heavy brass fob with the matching key. A few hooks are empty because their keys are out. A visual metaphor for a number that has exactly one place, leaving nowhere for a second key under the same number to hang.
Article

One version per process

Andrew Nesbitt explains the size of npm dependency trees with the resolver. In PHP, the resolver is ultimately the engine itself: one name, one definition, one version per process. That is why PHP trees stay small, and why PHPUnit's PHAR has to rename its dependencies.

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A person's hands at a workbench: one holds a brass pipe fitting, the other writes on a clipboard with a red pencil, and more fittings stand on the table. A symbol of verification: to know whether a part is right, someone has to examine it and write down what they observed.
Article

When the diff is free

Symfony Language Tools no longer accepts pull requests, and most Laravel packages no longer accept issues. Both decisions rest on the same premise: the diff has become cheap. What remains scarce is an understanding of the problem, and the contribution that carries it best is a failing test.

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A person's hands tying a bowline knot in a sailing rope, the water below. A symbol of verification: trust in a knot is not inherited from whoever tied it, it is earned by tying and checking it yourself.
Article

Confidence is not transferable

After my experiment with AI-generated code, I came across three observations: organisational, individual, and generational. Together they point to an uncomfortable conclusion, and to the skill that will matter most in the AI era.

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Presentations & Talks

Material and recordings from conferences and events

Video
September 2026

From Events to Insights: Testing and Documenting Event‑Based Software

Turning your tests into powerful, visual documentation of behavior for your event-based software.

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Video
August 2026

Test-Driven Security

I argue that security flaws result from a lack of testing, and demonstrate how PHPUnit can help prevent common vulnerabilities, such as SQL Injection or Cross-Site Scripting.

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Video
August 2026

Supply Chain Security in the PHP Ecosystem

Do you know what ends up in your vendor directory, and why? Composer has turned the dependency resolver into a supply chain security checkpoint. This talk shows how it works, where it helps, and where it can bite.

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Events

You can meet me next at these events

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Let's talk about your project

Whether you're just starting with testing or have a complex legacy system - we'll find the right solution for your team.

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30-minute free initial consultation

Book a direct appointment for a non-binding consultation. We'll discuss your challenges and find the best solution together.

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Fast help in urgent cases

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