README

Exponential Platform Legacy is a hybrid-kernel open-source Digital Experience Platform (DXP/CMS) built on the Exponential (Legacy) 6.x kernel bridged to Symfony 3.4 LTS via LegacyBridge 2.x. This is the 2.5.0.x skeleton release — pairing the proven Legacy kernel with the eZ Platform 2.5 new stack, with PHP 7.1.3 through 8.2 compatibility running in a single application.

This is a website skeleton for Exponential Platform Legacy (Stable; Open Source).

Project Notice
Project Status
Who is 7x
What is Exponential Platform Legacy?
Technology Stack
Requirements
Quick Start
Main Features
Installation
Key CLI Commands Reference
Issue Tracker
Where to Get More Help
How to Contribute
Donate & Support
Copyright
License

Exponential Platform Legacy Project Notice

"Please Note: This project is not associated with the original eZ Publish software or its original developer, eZ Systems or Ibexa."

This is an independent, 7x + community-driven continuation of the platform. The Exponential Platform Legacy codebase is stewarded and evolved by 7x (se7enx.com) and the open-source community of developers and integrators who have relied on it for decades.

Exponential Platform Legacy Project Status

Exponential Platform Legacy has made it beyond its end of life in 2021 and survived. Current releases are primarily aimed at easing the requirements to support current versions of the PHP language like PHP 8.1, 8.2, and beyond.

The platform is under active maintenance and targeted improvement. The 2.5.0.x release line is based on the eZ Platform 2.5 kernel (se7enxweb/ezpublish-kernel ~7.5.33) bridged to Symfony 3.4 LTS via LegacyBridge 2.x. Ongoing work focuses on:

Continued PHP 8.x compatibility (8.1 and 8.2 tested and supported)
Exponential (Legacy) kernel patches for PHP 8.x runtime compatibility
LegacyBridge 2.x compatibility maintenance for Symfony 3.4 LTS alignment
Dependency upgrades across Composer and Yarn package ecosystems
Security patches and vulnerability triage
Documentation and developer experience improvements

Who is 7x

7x is the North American corporation driving the continued general use, support, development, hosting, and design of Exponential Platform Legacy Enterprise Open Source Content Management System.

7x has been in business supporting Exponential Platform website customers and projects for over 24 years. 7x took over leadership of the project and its development, support, adoption and community growth in 2023.

7x represents a serious company leading the open source community-based effort to improve Exponential Platform and its available community resources to help users continue to adopt and use the platform to deliver the very best in web applications, websites and headless applications in the cloud.

Previously before 2022, 7x was called Brookins Consulting — the outspoken leader in the active Exponential Platform Community and its portals for over 24 years.

7x offers:

Commercial support subscriptions for Exponential Platform Legacy deployments
Hosting on the Exponential Platform cloud infrastructure (exponential.earth)
Custom development, migrations, upgrades, and training
Community stewardship via share.exponential.earth

What is Exponential Platform Legacy?

The Hybrid Kernel Architecture

Exponential Platform Legacy runs two content kernels in the same request cycle:

Legacy Kernel — Exponential (Legacy) 6.x — the classic, battle-hardened PHP content engine with its native template system, modules, cronjob framework, roles, workflows, and full content model. This is the primary kernel in this release.
New Stack — eZ Platform 2.5 (Symfony 3.4 LTS) — accessed via LegacyBridge 2.x, providing REST API v2, GraphQL, Symfony controllers, and the Platform 2.5 Admin UI alongside the legacy admin.

Both kernels share the same database, content repository, and web server entry point. Legacy content is rendered through native Exponential (Legacy) templates (.tpl) and Symfony Twig templates simultaneously. The bridge makes incremental migration possible — or simply lets you keep running the proven legacy stack indefinitely.

This is the 2.5.0.x LegacyBridge release — using LegacyBridge 2.x for Symfony 3.4 LTS compatibility. For the latest Symfony 5.4 LTS + Netgen Layouts experience, see the 4.6.x release.

What Does Exponential Platform Legacy Provide for End Users Building Websites?

Exponential Platform Legacy is a professional PHP application framework with advanced CMS (content management system) functionality. As a CMS, its most notable feature is its fully customizable and extendable content model. It is also suitable as a platform for general PHP development, allowing you to develop professional Internet applications, fast.

Standard CMS functionality, like news publishing and forums, is built in and ready for you to use. Its stand-alone libraries can be used for cross-platform, secure, database independent PHP projects.

Exponential Platform Legacy is database, platform and browser independent. Because it is browser based it can be used and updated from anywhere as long as you have access to the Internet.

Technology Stack

Layer	Technology
Language	PHP 7.1.3 → 8.2
Framework	Symfony 3.4 LTS
CMS Core (legacy)	Exponential (Legacy) 6.x (`ezpublish_legacy/`)
CMS Core (new stack)	eZ Platform 2.5 (`se7enxweb/ezpublish-kernel ~7.5.33`)
Bridge	LegacyBridge 2.x (`se7enxweb/legacy-bridge`)
ORM	Doctrine ORM 2.x
Template Engine	Legacy TPL (legacy kernel) + Twig 2.x (new stack)
Frontend Build	Webpack Encore 1.8.2 + Yarn 1.x + Node.js 14 LTS
Search	Legacy search (default) · Solr 6.x / 7.x (optional)
HTTP Cache	Symfony HttpCache (default) · Varnish 5/6 (optional)
App Cache	Filesystem (default) · Redis 4+ (optional)
Database	MySQL 5.7+ · MariaDB 10.0+ · PostgreSQL 9.5+ · SQLite 3.35+ (dev / testing)
API	REST API v2 · GraphQL ^1.0
Admin UI (legacy)	Exponential (Legacy) Admin (`/ezpublish_legacy/`)
Admin UI (new stack)	eZ Platform 2.5 Admin UI (`/admin/`)
Dependency Mgmt	Composer 2.x · Yarn 1.x

Requirements

PHP 7.1.3+ or 8.1 / 8.2 / 8.3 (8.3 recommended)
Required PHP extensions: curl, intl, mbstring, pdo, pdo_mysql or pdo_pgsql or pdo_sqlite, xml, zip, fileinfo, imagick or gd, xsl
A web server: Apache 2.4 or Nginx 1.18+
A database server: MySQL 5.7+, MariaDB 10.0+, PostgreSQL 9.5+, or SQLite 3.35+ (zero-config; dev / testing only — requires pdo_sqlite + sqlite3 PHP extensions)
Composer 2.x
Node.js 14 LTS (via nvm recommended)
Yarn 1.22.x

Full Requirements Summary

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
PHP	7.1.3	8.3
Composer	2.x	latest 2.x
Node.js	12	14 LTS (via nvm)
Yarn	1.x	1.22.x
MySQL	5.7	8.0+ (utf8mb4)
MariaDB	10.0	10.6+
PostgreSQL	9.5	14+
SQLite	3.35	3.39+ (dev/testing only)
Redis	4.0	6.x (optional)
Solr	6.x	7.7.x (optional)
Varnish	5.0	6.x (optional)
Apache	2.4	2.4 (event + PHP-FPM)
Nginx	1.18	1.24+

Quick Start

# 1. Create project
composer create-project se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy:2.5.0.x-dev exponential_website
cd exponential_website

# 2. Configure environment
cp app/config/parameters.yml.dist app/config/parameters.yml
# MySQL/MariaDB: edit database_host, database_name, database_user, database_password, and secret
# SQLite (zero-config — no server required): set database_driver: pdo_sqlite
#   and database_path: "%kernel.root_dir%/../var/data_%kernel.environment%.db"
#   The .db file is created automatically on first install.

# 3. Create database (MySQL / MariaDB)
mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE exponential CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci;"
# SQLite: skip this step — no server or database creation required

# 4. Install Platform database content
# MySQL/MariaDB:
php bin/console ezplatform:install clean
# SQLite (exponential-oss install type with composite PK fix):
php bin/console ezplatform:install exponential-oss

# 5. Set permissions
setfacl -R -m u:www-data:rwX -m g:www-data:rwX var web/var ezpublish_legacy/var
setfacl -dR -m u:www-data:rwX -m g:www-data:rwX var web/var ezpublish_legacy/var

# 6. Install legacy bundle assets and generate autoloads
php bin/console assets:install --symlink --relative web
php bin/console ezpublish:legacybundles:install_extensions
php bin/console ezpublish:legacy:generate-autoloads

# 7. Build frontend assets
nvm use 14 && yarn install && yarn encore production

# 8. Dump JS translations and assetic assets
php bin/console bazinga:js-translation:dump web/assets --merge-domains
php bin/console assetic:dump

# 9. Clear all caches (Symfony + Legacy kernel)
php bin/console cache:clear
php bin/console ezpublish:legacy:clear-cache

# 10. Start
symfony server:start
# → http://127.0.0.1:8000                    (site / hybrid-kernel frontend)
# → http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/             (eZ Platform 2.5 Admin UI — admin / publish)
# → http://127.0.0.1:8000/ezpublish_legacy/  (Legacy Admin — admin / publish)

See doc/INSTALL.md for the complete step-by-step guide with server configuration, Solr, Varnish, and production deployment.

Main Exponential Platform Legacy Features

User defined content classes and objects
Version control
Advanced multi-lingual support
Built-in search engine
Separation of content and presentation layer
Fine-grained role-based permissions system
Content approval and scheduled publication
Multi-site support
Multimedia support with automatic image conversion and scaling
RSS feeds
Contact forms
Built-in webshop
Flexible workflow management system
Full support for Unicode
Template engine (Legacy TPL for legacy kernel + Twig 2.x for new stack)
A headless CRUD REST API v2
Database abstraction layer supporting MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite 3.x, PostgreSQL, and Oracle
MVC architecture
Support for the latest image and video file formats (webp, webm, png, jpeg, etc.)
Support for highly available and scalable configurations (multi-server clusters)
XML handling and parsing library
SOAP communication library
Localisation and internationalisation libraries
Several other reusable libraries
SDK (software development kit) and full documentation
Plugin API with thousands of open-source extensions available, including:
- Content rating and commenting
- Advanced search engine
- WYSIWYG rich-text editor
- In-site content editing
- Content geolocation

Installation

Create a new project using Composer:

composer create-project se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy:2.5.0.x-dev exponential_website

The installation guide covers environment configuration, database setup (MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and SQLite zero-config), web server configuration, asset builds, legacy bundle setup, search indexing, cron jobs, Solr, Varnish, production deployment, and database conversion between engines.

See doc/INSTALL.md for the complete step-by-step guide.

SQLite — Zero-Config Local Development

SQLite is supported as a zero-config database backend for local development, automated testing, demo environments, and air-gapped deployments. No database server software is required — the .db file is created on disk automatically when you run the install command.

# In app/config/parameters.yml, set:
#   database_driver: pdo_sqlite
#   database_path: "%kernel.root_dir%/../var/data_%kernel.environment%.db"

php bin/console ezplatform:install exponential-oss
# The exponential-oss install type uses SqliteDbPlatform to generate the correct
# composite PRIMARY KEY(id, version) DDL — required for proper content versioning.

Both the Symfony new-stack and the Exponential (Legacy) kernel share the same .db file automatically via LegacyBridge.

Not recommended for production — SQLite does not support concurrent writes under load. Use MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL for any multi-user or public-facing deployment.

See doc/INSTALL.md — Section 4c for the full SQLite install walkthrough and Section 18 for converting between database engines.

Key CLI Commands Reference

Symfony Core

php bin/console list                                         # list all registered commands
php bin/console help <command>                               # help for a specific command
php bin/console cache:clear                                  # clear application cache
php bin/console cache:clear --env=prod                       # clear production cache
php bin/console cache:warmup --env=prod                      # warm up prod cache after deploy
php bin/console debug:router                                 # list all routes
php bin/console debug:container                              # list all service IDs
php bin/console debug:config <bundle>                        # dump resolved bundle config
php bin/console assets:install --symlink --relative web      # publish bundle assets into web/

Doctrine / Migrations

php bin/console doctrine:migration:migrate --allow-no-migration   # run pending migrations
php bin/console doctrine:migration:status                          # show migration status
php bin/console doctrine:migration:diff                            # generate a new migration
php bin/console doctrine:schema:validate                           # validate entity mappings

eZ Platform 2.5 (new stack)

php bin/console ezplatform:install clean                     # fresh install (no demo content)
php bin/console ezplatform:reindex                           # rebuild search index (full)
php bin/console ezplatform:reindex --iteration-count=50      # incremental reindex
php bin/console ezplatform:cron:run                          # run the Platform cron scheduler
php bin/console ezplatform:graphql:generate-schema           # regenerate GraphQL schema
php bin/console bazinga:js-translation:dump web/assets --merge-domains   # JS i18n
php bin/console fos:httpcache:invalidate:path / --all        # purge HTTP cache paths
php bin/console assetic:dump                                 # dump assetic assets

Exponential (Legacy) Kernel (LegacyBridge)

# Clear legacy kernel caches (template / ini / content / override)
php bin/console ezpublish:legacy:clear-cache

# Install assets from Symfony bundles into ezpublish_legacy extensions
php bin/console ezpublish:legacybundles:install_extensions

# Regenerate legacy autoload arrays (required after adding/removing extensions)
php bin/console ezpublish:legacy:generate-autoloads

# Run legacy cronjobs (use in crontab targeting legacy_admin siteaccess)
php ezpublish_legacy/runcronjobs.php --siteaccess legacy_admin

# Legacy console (direct access to legacy internals)
php ezpublish_legacy/bin/php/ezcli.php <command>

Admin & Site URLs

URL	Purpose
`/admin/`	eZ Platform 2.5 Admin UI (new stack)
`/ezpublish_legacy/`	Legacy Admin interface (classic)
`/`	Public site (hybrid-kernel Twig + Legacy TPL)
`/api/ezp/v2/`	REST API v2
`/graphql`	GraphQL endpoint

Frontend / Asset Build (Yarn / Webpack Encore)

Activate Node.js 14 LTS via nvm before running any Yarn commands:

nvm use 14              # activate Node.js 14 LTS (required)

yarn install              # install / update Node dependencies
yarn encore dev           # build all assets with source maps — dev mode
yarn encore production    # build all assets minified for production
yarn encore dev-server    # watch mode — auto-rebuild on change with HMR

Issue Tracker

Submitting bugs, improvements and stories is possible on https://github.com/se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy/issues

If you discover a security issue, please responsibly report it via email to security@exponential.one

Where to Get More Help

Resource	URL
Platform Website	platform.exponential.earth
Documentation Hub	doc.exponential.earth
Community Forums	share.exponential.earth
GitHub Organisation	github.com/se7enxweb
This Repository	github.com/se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy
Issue Tracker	Issues
Discussions	Discussions
Telegram Chat	t.me/exponentialcms
Discord	discord.gg/exponential
7x Corporate	se7enx.com
Support Subscriptions	support.exponential.earth
Sponsor 7x	sponsor.se7enx.com

How to Contribute New Features and Bugfixes into Exponential Platform Legacy

Everyone is encouraged to contribute to the development of new features and bugfixes for Exponential Platform Legacy.

Fork the repository on GitHub: github.com/se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy
Clone your fork and create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-improvement
Install the full dev stack per doc/INSTALL.md (APP_ENV=dev)
Make your changes — follow coding standards in CONTRIBUTING.md
Test with php bin/phpunit and verify no regressions
Push your branch and open a Pull Request against the master branch
Participate in the review — maintainers will give feedback promptly

Bug reports, feature requests, and discussion are all welcome via the issue tracker and GitHub Discussions.

Donate and Make a Support Subscription

Help Fund Exponential Platform Legacy!

You can support this project and its community by making a donation of whatever size you feel willing to give to the project.

If we have helped you and you would like to support the project with a subscription of financial support you may. This is what helps us deliver more new features and improvements to the software. Support Exponential Platform Legacy with a subscription today!

A wide range of donation options available at sponsor.se7enx.com, paypal.com/paypalme/7xweb and github.com/sponsors/se7enxweb

Every contribution — from a one-time thank-you donation to an ongoing support subscription — goes directly toward:

Maintaining PHP compatibility as new versions release
Patching the Exponential (Legacy) kernel for PHP 8.x and beyond
Writing documentation and tutorials
Running the community infrastructure (forums, chat, docs portal)
Triaging and fixing security vulnerabilities
Funding new features voted on by the community

COPYRIGHT

LICENSE

This source code is available separately under the following license:

GNU General Public License, version 2. Grants a copyleft open source license with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. For the full GPL license text, please see: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html

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