Rebooting our free software community software distribution of this Very Powerful Symfony CMS Framework with Full Legacy Bridge Support!
7x is happy to announce that we are now releasing the newly rebranded and improved Exponential Platform Legacy 5.0.2 (Based upon Platform v5.x + Legacy Bundle) available now for download, installation, upgrade.
This release is our third as Exponential Platform Legacy. The software is exactly the same as before as you expect it to be, with a simple text change to the software to replace the product name and remove the trademarked term.
Upgrade process for existing installations has not changed at all. New installations work as expected. Freedom for the Exponential Community is retained and stable for general use! No slowdowns here, full speed ahead! Try out the new features today by downloading the software package now available (tar.gz or zip)!
Introducing Exponential Platform Legacy 5.x — Symfony 7.4 LTS, SQLite Zero-Config, Ibexa 5 Namespace Compatibility, and the Complete Legacy Bridge on the Latest Stack Through v5.0.2
April 2026 — 7x (se7enxweb), North American stewards of Exponential Platform
We are pleased to announce the first public announcement of the Exponential Platform Legacy 5.x release line — the recommended starting point for all new Exponential Platform projects. The 5.x series is the open-source DXP skeleton that ships the complete eZ Publish legacy kernel running inside Symfony 7.4 LTS, active by default, zero post-install setup required. This announcement covers all three releases from the initial tag at v5.0.0 through the current stable at v5.0.2, released April 2026.
The 5.x branch is available now on GitHub and SourceForge. Start a new project in under 5 minutes:
"
composer create-project se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy my-project
"
"
cd my-project && php bin/console exponential:install exponential-oss
"
What Is Exponential Platform Legacy 5.x?
Exponential Platform Legacy v5 is the open-source DXP skeleton that ships the complete eZ Publish legacy kernel running inside Ibexa DXP 5 on Symfony 7.4 LTS via the se7enxweb/legacy-bridge package — active by default, zero post-install setup required. Out of the box you get:
- A fully working classic legacy site at /legacy_site/
- A fully working classic legacy admin at /legacy_admin/
- The modern Platform v5 Admin UI at /adminui/
- REST API v2 and GraphQL on Symfony 7.4 LTS
- Multi-database legacy kernel support (MySQL 8.0, MariaDB 10.6, PostgreSQL 14+, SQLite 3.35+) via the sevenx_exponential_platform_v5_database_translator legacy extension
The 5.x series is the latest generation of Exponential Platform — the culmination of the platform's migration across Symfony 3.4 (2.5.x), Symfony 5 (3.3.x), and Symfony 6.4 (4.6.x) generations — now landing on Symfony 7.4 LTS with full PHP 8.3+ support.
Technology stack (5.x):
- Ibexa DXP 5 / Symfony 7.4 LTS
- PHP 8.3+ (required)
- MySQL 8.0, MariaDB 10.6, PostgreSQL 14+, SQLite 3.35+ (zero-config local development)
- se7enxweb/legacy-bridge v5.0.9 — full eZ Publish legacy kernel integration for Symfony 7
- se7enxweb/ngsymfonytools v5.0.x — Twig integration with Ibexa 5 namespace compatibility
- se7enxweb/site-legacy-bundle 5.0.x — legacy siteaccess + design bundle
- se7enxweb/site-bundle 5.0.x — platform site bundle for Ibexa 5
- sevenx_exponential_platform_v5_database_translator — multi-database legacy kernel support
- Webpack Encore + Symfony UX Stimulus (scaffolded)
Default access points after install:
- https://127.0.0.1:8000/legacy_site/ — Legacy site frontend (eZ Publish)
- https://127.0.0.1:8000/legacy_admin/ — Legacy admin interface (admin / publish)
- https://127.0.0.1:8000/adminui/ — Ibexa DXP 5 Platform Admin UI
- https://127.0.0.1:8000/api/ezp/v2/ — REST API v2
- https://127.0.0.1:8000/graphql — GraphQL
Release History: v5.0.0 through v5.0.2
The 5.x line has shipped three releases in April 2026. Each is described below in chronological order.
v5.0.0 — Initial Composer Skeleton Tag (April 2026)
The first tag of the 5.x line. Established the initial Composer skeleton targeting Ibexa DXP 5 / Symfony 7 and wired in the first v5.0.x branches of the site-bundle and site-legacy-bundle ecosystem:
- se7enxweb/site-bundle switched to branch dev-5.0.x — new branch targeting ibexa/core ^5.0 / Symfony 7
- se7enxweb/site-legacy-bundle switched to branch dev-5.0.x — new branch with legacy-bridge ^4.0.0.0 and site-bundle ^5.0 dependencies
- netgen/layouts-ibexa and netgen/layouts-standard bumped from ^1.4 to ^2.0 for Ibexa DXP 5 / ibexa/core ^5.0 compatibility
- Composer DXP constraint corrected from 5.x-LB-dev to dev-5.x-LB — the correct branch-alias syntax that Composer requires for version-like branch names
v5.0.1 — Admin UI Assets Fork (April 2026)
Micro-patch replacing ibexa/admin-ui-assets with the se7enxweb/admin-ui-assets fork in the skeleton's replace block. This suppresses the re-download of the upstream Ibexa package alongside the se7enxweb fork during composer install, eliminating classmap ambiguity warnings and ensuring a clean dependency graph on the v5.0.x line.
v5.0.2 — First Stable, Fully Documented Legacy Bridge Release (April 16, 2026)
The definitive stable release of the 5.x series. This release delivers the complete Legacy Bridge integration at production quality, introduces SQLite zero-config local development for the first time in the platform's history, fixes two critical runtime bugs, cleans the Composer dependency graph, and rewrites all documentation from the ground up.
Major New Capability: SQLite Support — Zero-Config Local Development
For the first time in the platform's history, the legacy kernel runs on SQLite 3.35+ with no database server required. This is a significant quality-of-life improvement for every developer who wants to spin up a local Exponential Platform Legacy site — no MySQL, no MariaDB, no PostgreSQL server to install, configure, or manage.
SQLite works out of the box on every macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL) development machine. A fully working Platform v5 + Legacy Bridge site can be started in under 5 minutes with two lines in .env.local:
"
DATABASE_URL="sqlite:///%kernel.project_dir%/var/data_dev.db"
"
"
MESSENGER_TRANSPORT_DSN=sync://
"
Then install normally:
"
php bin/console exponential:install exponential-oss
"
The install command creates the .db file automatically and imports all demo content. No further database setup is required.
When to use SQLite vs. a production database:
- Local development (single developer) — SQLite is ideal
- Automated CI/CD test runs — SQLite is ideal
- Demo / evaluation install — SQLite is ideal
- Air-gapped / offline environments — SQLite is ideal
- Multi-user production site — use MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL
- Clustered / multi-server deployment — use MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL
Multi-database support in the legacy kernel is provided by the sevenx_exponential_platform_v5_database_translator extension, which handles MySQL 8.0, MariaDB 10.6, PostgreSQL 14+, and SQLite 3.35+.
Bug Fix: se7enxweb/ngsymfonytools v5.0 — Ibexa 5 Namespace Compatibility
Error fixed: NgSymfonyToolsApiContentConverter::__construct(): Argument #1 must be of type eZ\Publish\API\Repository\Repository, Ibexa\Core\Repository\SiteAccessAware\Repository given.
Ibexa DXP 5 moved the Repository interface from the eZ\Publish\API\Repository namespace to Ibexa\Contracts\Core\Repository. The legacy extension type-hinted against the old interface, causing a fatal TypeError at runtime on every page load.
The fix is a class_alias shim at the top of ngsymfonytoolsapicontentconverter.php that maps the old interface to the new one when running under Ibexa 5. The shim only activates when the Ibexa\Contracts\Core\Repository\Repository interface exists and the eZ\Publish\API\Repository\Repository interface does not — meaning it is a no-op on the 3.3.x and 4.6.x stacks and only takes effect on v5.
Bug Fix: se7enxweb/legacy-bridge v5.0.9 — Twig Service Visibility Fix
Error fixed: ServiceNotFoundException: The "twig" service or alias has been removed or inlined when the container was compiled.
In Symfony 5+, services default to private and are compiled into $container->privates[]. The legacy extension NgSymfonyToolsIncludeOperator called $container->get('twig') at runtime, which only checks $container->services[], causing a fatal exception on any page that renders a symfony_include legacy template tag.
Fix: TwigPass.php in se7enxweb/legacy-bridge now calls ->setPublic(true) on the twig service definition during container compilation, making it accessible from legacy extension code at runtime.
Composer Dependency Graph Cleanup
The skeleton's composer.json was simplified to eliminate duplicate dependency declarations and fix branch-alias format errors that caused Composer resolver warnings:
- se7enxweb/legacy-bridge is now declared as a single ^5.0.0.0 entry in the skeleton — ngsymfonytools, richtext-datatype-bundle, site-bundle, and site-legacy-bundle have been moved to be declared dependencies of legacy-bridge itself, removing duplication from the skeleton
- ibexa/admin-ui-assets "dev-5.0-next" entry removed from replace — now owned and declared exclusively by se7enxweb/admin-ui-assets
- se7enxweb/ngsymfonytools constraint in legacy-bridge corrected from ^4.0.0.0 → dev-v5.0 to v5.0.x-dev — the correct Composer branch-alias format for a version-like branch name
- se7enxweb/ngsymfonytools constraint in site-legacy-bundle corrected from ^4.0.0.0 to v5.0.x-dev — was conflicting with the legacy-bridge requirement and causing resolver warnings
Documentation Rewrite
Complete ground-up rewrite of both README.md and INSTALL.md for the v5.0.x release:
README.md — full Legacy Bridge advertisement and URL reference:
- New top-level section: Legacy Bridge — Architecture and Default Siteaccess URLs
- Dual-kernel architecture diagram
- Complete URL reference tables: 25+ /legacy_site/* default URLs and 30+ /legacy_admin/* default admin URLs — all documented individually
- Updated Quick Start with all 9 post-install access points and the correct legacy bridge step sequence
INSTALL.md — comprehensive installation and operations guide:
- New Section 3: Legacy Bridge — What You Get Out of the Box (9 subsections covering siteaccess config, extension management, database translator, INI override system, template and design customisation, cache management, and CLI command reference)
- Architecture overview updated: dual-kernel diagram, four-siteaccess table, complete directory tree
- Production deploy checklist extended with legacy bridge steps
- 6 new legacy bridge troubleshooting entries
Dependency versions locked in v5.0.2:
- se7enxweb/legacy-bridge v5.0.9
- se7enxweb/ngsymfonytools v5.0.x-dev
- se7enxweb/site-legacy-bundle 5.0.x-dev
- se7enxweb/site-bundle 5.0.x-dev
- Symfony ^7.4
- PHP >=8.3
The 5.x Position in the Platform Version Lines
Exponential Platform Legacy now maintains four active version lines simultaneously, each targeting a different Symfony generation. The 5.x line is the recommended starting point for all new projects:
- 2.5.x — Symfony 3.4 LTS. Classic eZ Publish 5 stack. Stable for PHP 8.3, proven and maintained
- 3.3.x — Symfony 5. eZ Platform 3.3 LTS generation with dual-kernel legacy bridge support
- 4.6.x — Symfony 6.4 LTS. Ibexa DXP 4.6 LTS with full legacy kernel integration
- 5.x — Symfony 7.4 LTS. The latest and recommended starting point. Full legacy kernel, SQLite zero-config, Ibexa 5 namespace compatibility
All four lines ship as complete, installable Composer skeletons from the se7enxweb fork ecosystem, GPL-licensed and free.
What's Coming Next in 5.x
- PHP 8.4 and 8.5 compatibility testing and fixes
- exponential:* command rebranding on the 5.x stack (matching the complete rebranding already shipped in 4.6.x)
- Further design and template improvements for a faster getting-started experience
- Oracle runtime database support evaluation
- Additional documentation passes: troubleshooting, upgrade guides, deployment runbooks
Support the Project
The 5.x release line is the work of 7x (se7enxweb), maintained as free, GPL-licensed software. If your project depends on this stack, please consider supporting it:
Download and Resources
Exponential Platform is not affiliated with eZ Systems or Ibexa. All software is GPL-licensed and free. 7x (se7enxweb) is the North American company that has maintained this platform and its ecosystem for 24+ years.