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The 20-Year Timeline (2005–2025)

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2005
Oct 2005

Symfony 1.0 Released

Created by Sensio (now SensioLabs), Symfony introduces a structured approach to PHP application development.
2006 2008

2006-2008

2 years of evolution and improvement

  • Community

    Rapid community growth and the emergence of Symfony meetups and early contributors.

  • Evolution

    Symfony 1.1–1.4 bring modularity via plugins, YAML-based configs, enhanced forms, caching, and MVC refinements.

  • Blog

    Launch of “A Week of Symfony”, fostering sharing of tips and best practices.

2009
Jun 2009

First SymfonyLive conference!

SymfonyLive made its debut in Paris on June 11–12, 2009 — a landmark event that brought the Symfony community together for the first time, sparking a global movement of innovation, collaboration, and open-source excellence.
2011
Mar 2011

Twig 1.0 Released

A modern, secure template engine later adopted as Symfony’s default.
Jul 2011

Symfony 2.0 Released

Major rewrite with:

  • Components

    Complete componentization: each feature becomes a decoupled, reusable PHP package.

  • Security

    Full security audit of the framework codebase.

  • Dependency Injection Container

    Centralized DI container enables modular, testable and maintainable architecture.

2012

2012

The Rise of the Symfony Ecosystem

  • Composer

    Composer is introduced and quickly embraced by the Symfony ecosystem, changing how dependencies are installed and managed.

  • Adoption

    Symfony Components become the foundation for major PHP projects: Drupal, Laravel, phpBB, and more.

  • Bundles

    Reusable bundles grow in popularity, enabling faster, modular development.

  • BCP

    The Backward Compatibility Promise is introduced, bringing stability and confidence to long-term projects.

2013
Oct 2013

Symfony Certification Goes Global

October 2013 marks the official launch of the Symfony Certification exam through 4,000+ Pearson VUE centers worldwide, allowing developers to prove their Symfony skills at scale.
Dec 2013

First SymfonyCon in Warsaw

Held in December 2013, SymfonyCon Warsaw marked the first official global Symfony conference, bringing together hundreds of developers from around the world. A defining moment for the community.
2014

2014

Symfony Embraces Standards and Dev Experience

  • PSR Standards

    Symfony embraces PSR‑3 (logging), PSR‑4 (autoloading), and PSR‑6 (caching), making it a cornerstone of modern PHP.

  • DX Tools

    Profiler, Debug Toolbar, and the Debug component are revamped to improve the developer’s daily workflow.

  • Best Practices

    The Symfony Best Practices guide becomes the official reference for building clean, maintainable applications.

2015
Apr 2015

API Platform Released

API Platform, a set of Symfony bundles developed by Les-Tilleuls.coop dedicated to creating state-of-the-art web APIs, is introduced.
Nov 2015

Symfony 3.0 Released

  • Deprecation Policy

    Introduced a clear deprecation strategy to ensure smooth, predictable upgrades across versions.

  • Autowiring

    Automatic injection of service dependencies simplifies configuration and paves the way for a better DX.

Dec 2015

Symfony Celebrates 10 Years!

Symfony turns 10!
A decade of innovation, community, and open source leadership — and the very first Symfony elePHPant plushie is born.
2016

2016

Learning Symfony Gets Easier

  • Demo App

    A full-featured Symfony Demo app is released to help developers explore best practices in action.

  • Docs Revamp

    The documentation is fully restructured for clarity, simplicity, and accessibility.

2017
Nov 2017

Symfony 4.0: Developer Experience Revolution

  • Symfony Flex

    Composer-based automation for installing, configuring, and customizing packages with recipes.

  • Autoconfiguration

    Services are auto-registered based on class type — reducing boilerplate and config.

  • MakerBundle

    New developer tool to scaffold code quickly (controllers, entities, forms…).

  • Modular Apps

    Projects can now start minimal and grow progressively by installing only what they need.

2017

Community, UX, and Milestones

  • Symfony UX

    The foundations for Symfony UX are laid, bridging frontend and backend developer experience.

  • Diversity Initiative

    Launch of the Diversity Initiative, promoting inclusion in the community — followed by the creation of the CARE team.

  • 1B Downloads

    Symfony passes 1 billion downloads — a symbolic milestone of its widespread adoption.

2018

2018

New Tools for Modern Symfony Development

  • Symfony CLI

    A command-line tool to manage, run, and deploy Symfony applications more efficiently.

  • SymfonyCloud

    Launch of SymfonyCloud — a PaaS tailored for Symfony, enabling seamless deployment and hosting.

2018

A Thriving Ecosystem for Learning and Growth

  • GitHub Popularity

    Symfony becomes the most starred PHP organization on GitHub — a sign of global recognition.

  • SymfonyCasts

    SymfonyCasts joins the official Symfony family, offering high-quality learning content for developers.

  • DX Culture

    Momentum builds around DX-first development — making Symfony more accessible and pleasant to use.

2019
Nov 2019

Symfony 5.0: Cleaner, Faster, Modern

  • Modern APIs

    Legacy layers removed; APIs become cleaner, smaller, and easier to use.

  • Autowiring & Autoconfiguration

    Becomes the default way to define services — no more verbose configs.

  • PHP Attributes (preview)

    Initial support for native attributes begins, anticipating PHP 8.

  • DX-First

    Focus on clear code, smart defaults, and developer happiness.

2019

Sharing Symfony: Book & Contributors

  • Symfony The Fast Track

    Fabien Potencier publishes 'Symfony The Fast Track' — a community-funded book, translated and open-sourced by the community.

  • Top Backend Framework

    Symfony becomes the backend framework with the highest number of contributors — all languages combined.

2020
Dec 2020

Symfony UX: Frontend, Reinvented

Symfony UX is launched, bridging the gap between backend and frontend. With native support for Stimulus, Turbo, and Webpack Encore, Symfony offers a developer-friendly way to build dynamic interfaces — without sacrificing structure or simplicity.
Dec 2020

SymfonyOnline: Together, Remotely

With physical events cancelled due to the pandemic, Symfony launches its first 100% online conference — SymfonyWorld Online — bringing the community together remotely for talks, workshops, and shared moments.
2021
Nov 2021

Symfony 6.0: Modern, Clean, Future-Ready

  • PHP 8.1+ Only

    Symfony 6 drops all legacy support and fully embraces modern PHP.

  • Native Attributes

    Attributes become the standard way to define routes, services, validation, and more.

  • Polished DX Tools

    MakerBundle, Web Profiler, and Debug Component are refined for a smoother experience.

  • Backers Program

    Symfony introduces the Backers Program, allowing companies to sponsor packages and releases.

2022 2023

2022-2023

Symfony 6.1–6.4: UX, Attributes & API-First

  • Flexible Attributes

    Routing and service configuration become more expressive thanks to expanded PHP attribute support.

  • UX Packages

    New Symfony UX components (modals, autocomplete, form UX) are released, and ux.symfony.com goes live.

  • API Platform Integration

    Symfony tightens its integration with API Platform and modern frontends, strengthening its API-first capabilities.

2022-2023

FrankenPHP Launches

  • Modern

    FrankenPHP is the modern PHP application server.

  • Fast

    Unmatched performance when running Symfony/PHP applications.

  • Supported

    Full Symfony integration thanks to Kévin Dunglas, from the Symfony Core Team.

2024
Nov 2024

Symfony 7.0: Clean, Lean, API-Ready

  • PHP 8.2+ Required

    Symfony drops legacy support and moves fully into modern PHP territory.

  • Leaner Defaults

    Projects start lighter and cleaner — optimized for API-first and frontend-rich use cases.

  • UX First-Class

    Symfony UX becomes fully integrated and treated as a core experience for developers.

2024

Symfony Jobs Launches

Symfony Jobs is introduced as the official platform to connect Symfony developers and companies — supporting hiring, visibility, and long-term ecosystem growth.
2025

2025

Symfony Turns 20: Two Decades of Modern PHP

  • 250+ Packages

    From HttpFoundation to Messenger, Symfony now offers over 250 reusable packages.

  • Massive Adoption

    Tens of thousands of apps, APIs, CMSs, and tools are built on top of Symfony.

  • Industry Standard

    Symfony is recognized worldwide as a benchmark for DX, stability, and clean code in PHP.

  • 30 Billion Downloads

    A symbolic milestone that reflects Symfony’s footprint in the modern web.

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Happy Birthday!

Sponsored since 20 years by Sensiolabs

Developed by passionate contributors

Celebration page designed by Les-Tilleuls.coop