Distributions of Exponential #

This guide lists every distribution of Exponential that 7x publishes under the GitHub organization se7enxweb: what each one is and who it is for, the PHP versions and databases it supports, which kernel and administration it runs, what it ships (Exponential Layouts, the media site, demo content), how to install it, its newest release and how to move on from it. It closes with the site packages that the Exponential 6 installers offer, the PHP floor packages and the questions people ask most.

Everything here was read from each distribution's own repository: its composer.json, its README and its tags and releases (as of 4 November 2026). When a distribution's own documentation is more detailed, this page links it instead of repeating it. The installation you are reading this in runs Exponential 6; Installing Exponential 6.0 installs it.

Exponential and its history. Exponential continues the code of eZ Publish, a content management system that its creator discontinued; the Symfony based lines continue the free eZ Platform and Ibexa Open Source lines. 7x maintains all of them for current PHP. "Legacy" in a name means the Exponential 6 kernel running next to a Symfony platform, not old software (Who is the Exponential Foundation?).

Contents #

1. The quick start: which one should I choose?
2. All distributions at a glance
3. Exponential 6
4. Exponential Platform Legacy
5. Exponential Platform Nexus
6. Exponential Platform DXP
7. Exponential Platform 3.2.9 and Exponential Basic
8. The site packages of Exponential 6
9. The PHP floor packages
10. Moving between distributions
11. Demos and downloads
12. Questions and troubleshooting

1. The quick start: which one should I choose? #

Answer two questions: do you want to work in PHP and Exponential's templates only, or in Symfony too? And do you want a framework to build on, or a finished site with demo content to change?

If you are unsure, start with Exponential 6: it is the line this help center documents, it installs with two commands on SQLite and it runs on every database Exponential supports.

2. All distributions at a glance #

All of them are free software under the GNU GPL, version 2 or later. The DXP packages state "GPL-2.0-or-later or proprietary", the license choice of their upstream.

3. Exponential 6 #

What it is. The content management system and application framework that this help center belongs to: a fully customizable content model, versions and translations, roles and policies, multisite, a shop, workflows, a template engine, REST and GraphQL, and the administration designs. The package is se7enxweb/exponential; the repository is se7enxweb/exponential.

Who it is for. Organizations that run structured content, several sites or several languages from one installation, hosting providers and agencies, and developers who build on the framework without Symfony.

Install.

composer create-project se7enxweb/exponential exponential
cd exponential
php bin/php/console exp:install --apply --random-password --url=http://localhost:8087

That installs the default site package sevenx_multisite on SQLite. Every option, the setup wizard and the kickstarter are in Installing Exponential 6.0; the settings afterwards in Configuring Exponential 6.0.

Upgrade path. Within the 6.0 line: Updating Exponential 6.0. To add Symfony later without leaving the installation: Exponential Platform Legacy and the legacy bridge.

4. Exponential Platform Legacy #

What it is. A Symfony platform with a full Exponential 6 inside: two kernels sharing one database. Its composer.json requires se7enxweb/exponential (on the 2.5 line directly, on the newer lines through the legacy bridge), so the Exponential administration and its templates run next to the platform's Symfony administration (on the 2.5 line at /legacy_admin/ and /admin/). Repository: se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy.

Who it is for. Existing Exponential sites that want Symfony next to them and move forward step by step, and teams that need both stacks at once.

There is one line per Symfony platform generation. You choose the line; each has its own branch and tags:

• Exponential Layouts. The 4.6 line requires it (se7enxweb/layouts-core, netgen/layouts-ibexa, netgen/layouts-standard). On the 5.0 line it is suggested and added by composer create-project on PHP 8.4 and later; EXP_WITHOUT_NETGEN_LAYOUTS=1 leaves it out. The 2.5 and 3.3 lines do not ship it.
• Databases (README of the 2.5 line): MySQL 5.7 or later, MariaDB 10.0 or later, PostgreSQL 9.5 or later, and SQLite 3.35 or later for development and testing (SQLite install of the platform).
• Install (2.5 line, from its README): composer create-project --ignore-platform-req=php+ se7enxweb/exponential-platform-legacy:~2.5.0.8 exponential_website, then the steps of the README. The other lines: the README and the installation guide of their branch.

5. Exponential Platform Nexus #

What it is. A finished website project: the Symfony platform with the Netgen media site (its site bundle, designs and demo content), Exponential Layouts, Tags and the Netgen site API, and on the older lines Exponential 6 next to it. Repository: se7enxweb/exponential-platform-nexus; its own book (doc/book/) covers every line in detail, and Exponential Platform Nexus: a finished site in minutes is the overview here.

Who it is for. Agencies and teams that want a complete website with demo content, a page builder and an administration in minutes, and then change it into their own.

• Databases (the book, chapter 2): MySQL 8.0+, MariaDB 10.3+, PostgreSQL 14+ or SQLite 3.35+ on 1.1.0.x to 1.3.0.x; MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.2+ and PostgreSQL on the 2.5 generation, SQLite on 1.0.0.x.
• Install. Clone the branch and check out the newest tag of the line, or use composer create-project and always give a version (for example se7enxweb/exponential-platform-nexus:1.3.0.6): without one, Composer installs the upstream Netgen media site, which Packagist lists under the same name.
• Flavors.
  • CJW Exponential Platform Nexus (se7enxweb/cjw-exponential-platform-nexus, newest 1.0.0.16): the 1.0.0.x stack with the CJW demo content and the Composer vendor directory included.
  • CJW Exponential Platform Nexus Starter (se7enxweb/cjw-exponential-platform-nexus-starter, newest tag 1.0.0.7): a ready-to-run copy tuned for SQLite. Install it with git clone.
  • Exponential Platform Nexus Starter (se7enxweb/exponential-platform-nexus-starter, tag 1.0.0.0): the Platform v5 site as a repository of its own, PHP 8.4 or later, "Currently In Public Beta" in its description. Install it with git clone.

6. Exponential Platform DXP #

What it is. A Symfony-only digital experience platform: the free continuation of the eZ Platform and Ibexa Open Source line, maintained by 7x. The skeleton se7enxweb/exponential-platform-dxp-skeleton is the project you create; it requires the metapackage se7enxweb/exponential-platform-dxp. Overview here: the DXP skeleton.

Who it is for. New Symfony projects, and teams leaving eZ Platform or Ibexa Open Source who want current PHP.

• Platform v5 (the default branch). Symfony 7.4 LTS, PHP 8.3 or later (8.3 or 8.5 recommended), the admin UI at /adminui/, REST, GraphQL, the HTTP cache, Solr and core search. The skeleton's description says it provides Ibexa DXP OSS 5.0.6. Databases (README): MySQL 8.0+, MariaDB 10.3+, PostgreSQL 14+ and SQLite 3.35+ for development and testing.
• 4.6. The branch 4.6 of the skeleton and of the metapackage: PHP 7.4 to 8.5 in composer.json, Symfony 5. It stays on Flysystem 2 (se7enxweb/flysystem ^2.5), a limit of that generation.
• What it does not ship. No layouts editor, no approval workflow or scheduler, and no Exponential 6 kernel. For Exponential 6 next to Symfony choose Legacy or Nexus.
• Install. composer create-project se7enxweb/exponential-platform-dxp-skeleton exponential_website, then the steps of its README.

7. Exponential Platform 3.2.9 and Exponential Basic #

Exponential Platform 3.2.9 #

se7enxweb/exponential-platform, branch 3.2, newest release v3.2.9 (28 September 2025): a Symfony-only platform built on the last free eZ Platform 3.2 kernel (se7enxweb/ezplatform-kernel), PHP 7.3 and 8.1 to 8.4. Its description states "No Exponential 6.x Legacy Support" and points to Exponential Platform Legacy for that. For teams that run eZ Platform 3.2 and want to stay on it.

Exponential Basic #

se7enxweb/exponentialbasic, newest release v2.4.0.4: the small CMS of the 2.x line, "for everyone, educational purposes, personal use" in its description, on PHP 8.2 or later with MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite or Informix. It is a code base of its own, not a version of Exponential 6, and has its own website, basic.exponential.earth.

8. The site packages of Exponential 6 #

Exponential 6 itself ships no site; the installer installs one site package from the package server: its content classes, demo content, design and siteaccess settings. They belong to Exponential 6 only; the Symfony distributions have their own installers. Since 6.0.15 every site package only switches extensions on, and Composer installs the extensions themselves (Site packages no longer install extension packages).

All 6.0.15 site packages carry the version 6.0-15-stable. Choose one with exp:install --package=<name>, the kickstarter's Site_package= or the setup wizard's site package step (Installing). Their sources are the -ezpackage repositories (sevenx-ezpackage, cjw_multisite-ezpackage, ezwebin-ezpackage, ezflow-ezpackage, ezdemo-ezpackage), where an extension and its site package are released together.

9. The PHP floor packages #

se7enxweb/exponential-php-floor is a metapackage that Exponential 6 requires instead of listing every extension itself. Composer picks the line that fits the PHP version it runs on, so one composer.json installs on every supported PHP version:

You never require it yourself: it comes with se7enxweb/exponential. Its README (se7enxweb/exponential-php-floor) lists what every release changed.

10. Moving between distributions #

A move never happens by itself: back up the database and var/ first, and test on a copy.

11. Demos and downloads #

12. Questions and troubleshooting #

Related pages #

• Installing Exponential 6.0, Configuring Exponential 6.0, Updating Exponential 6.0
• Who is the Exponential Foundation?: every product of the family, with its sources
• Knowing the product family: one sentence per product
• The Exponential platform ecosystem
• Exponential Competition: Exponential compared with proprietary DXPs, SaaS and the systems in every language