Generate Symfony test data with Doctrine

Fill your database with one command

As a DoctrineFixturesBundle alternative, you stop writing a fixture class per entity. Add the bundled fixture and load it the way you already load fixtures:

php bin/console doctrine:fixtures:load

The bundled SeedbaseFixtures class generates and loads foreign-key-consistent data over the Doctrine connection. Your schema must already exist; your migrations own it. SeedBase reads that schema, generates realistic rows that satisfy every relationship, and inserts them in the right order so the load succeeds with constraints on.

Seed the database in a test

Need data inside a single test instead of a global fixture load? Pull in the trait and seed the database directly through your Doctrine connection:

use Seedbase\Doctrine\InteractsWithSeedbase;

$this->seedFromSeedbase($connection);

Install with composer require --dev seedbase/seedbase. The InteractsWithSeedbase trait fetches a generation and loads it into the database your test talks to, so your test arranges against realistic, foreign-key-consistent rows without a hand-written fixture in sight.

Realistic, foreign-key-consistent data

The value is the engine, not the thin Symfony adapter. SeedBase resolves foreign keys across tables, so an order that points at a customer always finds a customer that exists, and the rows load with constraints on. It uses realistic distributions and coherent free text, so a description reads like a description and an email reads like an email, instead of "Premium Widget 1" or lorem ipsum your assertions can never trust.

• Foreign keys resolved across tables, with rows inserted parent-before-child.
• Realistic value distributions and coherent free text, not placeholder filler.
• One generation feeds the fixture, the trait or a plain JSON download.

Deterministic and reproducible

Generation is seeded. The same seed produces the same data, every run. That keeps CI reproducible: the same fixture yields the same rows on every machine, so a green build stays green for the right reason. When a test fails, reuse the seed and you reproduce the exact dataset that broke it, instead of chasing a fixture that has since been hand-edited.

Free tier

Generation and JSON download are free to use. You do not need push-to-database or any paid feature to seed your Symfony tests, because the data loads through your own Doctrine connection. Generate once, download the JSON, and let the fixture or the trait wire it into the database. Pro adds Parquet export, direct database push and higher row limits when you want them.

Try it

There is a runnable example you can clone and run, so you watch a real FK-consistent dataset get loaded through a Doctrine connection. Then point it at your own schema.

php examples/doctrine_seed_demo.php

• Paste a schema and look at the rows in the login-free sandbox, no account needed.
• Drive generation from your editor with the JetBrains plugin.
• Read the docs for the Doctrine fixture and the InteractsWithSeedbase trait.