symfony

symfony

A PHP framework for building web and console applications, with reusable PHP components you can also take on their own. For developers who want predictable releases and long-term support versions.

Made by symfony on GitHub. These notes are Mindket's, written from its README; the project's own files and license are in its repository.

About

What it is: Symfony gives PHP developers a framework for building web and console applications. It also provides reusable components that you can pick up separately. Thousands of web applications and many well-known PHP projects run on it.

Who it suits: PHP developers who build web applications or command-line tools, and teams that need to plan upgrades around a stable release process.

Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example
Software | Web developers | Build web applications on a structured framework | A PHP web application built on Symfony
Business software | Teams that plan upgrades | Follow long-term support versions and strict versioning | Staying on a long-term support release between upgrades
Open source | PHP project maintainers | Reuse individual components in their own code | Adding one component to an existing PHP project

Anyone who does not write PHP can skip it.

Where to use it:

• Web applications written in PHP
• Console applications written in PHP
• Other PHP projects that need one of its components

Use case | Who | What they get back
Web application | PHP developers | A framework to build the application on
Console application | Developers of command-line tools | The same framework for tools you run in a terminal
Single component | Maintainers of other PHP code | A reusable piece without the rest of the framework

How to set it up: You need PHP and Composer. The project keeps its exact requirements in its documentation, so check them before you install.

• PHP
• Composer, the installer the project names

1. Check the requirements in the Symfony documentation.
2. Install Symfony with Composer, following the project's install guide.
3. Read the Getting Started guide.
4. Try the Symfony Demo application to see a working example.

For newcomers and experts: If you are new, a framework gives your PHP code a ready structure so you do not start from a blank folder. Begin with the Getting Started guide, then open the Symfony Demo application to see how a real one fits together.

If you know the field, the release policy is the main trade-off to weigh. Versions follow semantic versioning strictly, long-term support versions are published, and the release process is predictable. The framework is also split into components, so you can adopt one without the others.

Check the requirements
Install with Composer
Read the Getting Started guide
Try the Demo application

Good to know:

• Support: help is available on GitHub Discussions, Slack and other community places.
• License: MIT.
• Cost to run: none named.
• Data it reaches: the source names none.

On GitHub, 7 November 2026

• Stars: 31,438 (128 that day)
• Forks: 9,948
• Watching: 1,053
• Open issues and pull requests: 268
• Language: PHP
• License: MIT
• Topics: bundle, framework, hacktoberfest, php, php-framework, symfony, symfony-bundle
• Trending: #8 repository of the day on GitHub trending (7 November 2026)

Links

• Code: https://github.com/symfony/symfony
• Website: https://symfony.com/
• Releases: https://github.com/symfony/symfony/releases
• Issues: https://github.com/symfony/symfony/issues
• Star history: https://www.star-history.com/#symfony/symfony&Date

Get the code

git clone https://github.com/symfony/symfony.git

Then follow the setup in its README. Nothing in this kit runs by itself.