Tests can be run manually from the top-level build dir using: php -n -d extension=modules/geos.so tests/001_Geometry.phpt If you want to use valgrind, it is recommended to disable Zend memory management: export USE_ZEND_ALLOC=0 And avoid unload of modules: export ZEND_DONT_UNLOAD_MODULES=1 Read more on https://bugs.php.net/bugs-getting-valgrind-log.php