Legacy bridge: run Exponential 6 inside the Symfony platform #

This page is for teams that move an Exponential 6 site to the Symfony platform, or that want Twig on the public site while editors keep the legacy admin. Reference: Legacy bridge bundle specification.

Repositories: se7enxweb/legacy-bridge (Composer package, repository legacyBridge), se7enxweb/ibexa-legacy-bridge (Platform 4 port), se7enxweb/site-legacy-bundle, se7enxweb/ngsymfonytools, se7enxweb/exponential-legacy-installer.

What it is #

The legacy bridge is a Symfony bundle that loads the Exponential 6 kernel (the system you are reading about) inside a Symfony platform installation. One web application then serves both worlds:

• the legacy admin and legacy templates (your .tpl files, your extensions, your content classes), through the siteaccess named legacy_admin;
• the new stack (Twig templates, Symfony routes, REST, GraphQL, the Platform admin interface).

Both read the same database. Content that editors create in the legacy admin shows up on the Twig front end, and the other way around.

Why you would use it #

• You have an Exponential 6 site and want to move to the Symfony platform without freezing editors out. Run both until the migration is done.
• You want Twig, Symfony routing or the Exponential Layouts page builder for the public site, but your editors keep the familiar legacy admin.
• You keep legacy extensions (for example ezjscore, eztags, ezwebin) available in a platform project.

Which version for which platform #

The package has one line per platform generation: the Platform 2.5 line is tagged on master, the later lines each have their own branch. Tags are listed in the release history.

Install (Platform 2.5 style projects) #

composer require --update-with-all-dependencies "se7enxweb/legacy-bridge"

1. Enable the bundle in app/AppKernel.php: add new eZ\Bundle\EzPublishLegacyBundle\EzPublishLegacyBundle( $this ), at the end of the $bundles array. The $this argument is required.
2. Prepare the project:

php bin/console ezpublish:legacy:init

The Platform 2.5 line (v2.1.x, on master) has only the ezpublish:* command names; the exponential:legacy:* names described under Console commands do not exist there.

The command prints what to do next: move your legacy files (extensions, settings, optionally designs) into the project, then add the legacy_admin siteaccess to the siteaccess list and site_group it points out. The legacy backoffice needs legacy_mode: true for that siteaccess, which the init step writes at the end of your platform configuration.

3. Run composer symfony-scripts once or twice so the assets are generated and symlinked.
4. Optional: allow the legacy setup wizard in app/config/security.yml:

ezpublish_setup:
    pattern: ^/ezsetup
    security: false

5. Add the legacy rewrite rules to your Apache virtual host so legacy assets are served as files (storage images, design, share/icons, the icon themes of extensions, extension designs, packages/styles, var/storage/packages); an Nginx equivalent is in the bridge's INSTALL.md.
6. Fix permissions as for any platform project.

Missing legacy extensions that older kernels bundled (ezfind, eztags, the script monitor, the system info extension) are added to the project's composer.json with composer require.

Cache behaviour #

By default the bridge also clears the platform's persistence (SPI) cache when the legacy content view cache is cleared, and bin/console cache:clear clears it too. Switch each off in the platform configuration:

Console commands #

The bridge's six commands were renamed in April 2026, on the 3.x, 4.x and 5.x lines only. The old names stay as deprecated aliases there, so scripts keep working.

Example: run a legacy script with the platform's database settings. The script path is relative to the legacy root; every further option is passed on to the legacy script, and --legacy-help shows the script's own help:

php bin/console exponential:legacy:script bin/php/ezcache.php --legacy-help
php bin/console exponential:legacy:script bin/php/ezcache.php --clear-id=content --siteaccess=legacy_admin

SQLite #

Since v4.0.0.1 (2026-04-07) a platform installation on SQLite can run the legacy kernel too. The bridge maps the Doctrine driver pdo_sqlite to the legacy DatabaseImplementation=sqlite3 setting and injects the database file path into the legacy site.ini [DatabaseSettings] Database. Before that fix the bridge stopped with "Could not map database driver". See SQLite for the platform.

What changed over time #

• 2025-08: first Exponential releases (v2.1.10): the wrapper install command accepts a quoted web directory when installed through Composer, vendor names switched to se7enxweb.
• 2026-02: admin design admin3 replaces admin2 as the default design of the legacy_admin siteaccess (v2.1.11), see the responsive admin.
• 2026-03: branch 3.x: ported to Symfony 5.4 and PHP 8: new TreeBuilder API, Symfony contracts events, RequestEvent / ResponseEvent, typed config resolver, Twig 3, DI-registered commands with constructor injection (no ContainerAwareCommand), permission resolver API of platform 3.
• 2026-04: branch 4.x: Ibexa 4.6 service aliases, session handling for Symfony 5.3+ (factory based sessions), SQLite, command rename, extra GUI chrome for legacy_admin through the ngsite extension.

Limits #

• The upstream project stated that the bridge is not supported on eZ Platform 3.x because the schema would diverge from the legacy one. The se7enxweb branches keep the legacy schema in place for the platform kernels listed above; use the branch that matches your platform.
• The ledger of the repository records the checked-out branch (4.x); branches 3.x and 5.x carry their own tags.

Related pages #

• Platform features: site bundles and Twig tools, Nexus starter, SQLite for Exponential Platform, platform administration interface, DXP skeleton, Layouts on the platform, PHP 8.5 framework forks, AdminNeo database manager
• Specifications: legacy bridge bundle, platform console command names, platform package map, platform SQLite installer
• Upgrade notes: package forks and command renames
• Changelog: platform changelog
• History: legacyBridge (49 changes, 34 releases), ibexa-legacy-bridge---7x, site-legacy-bundle, exponential-legacy-installer, ecosystem overview, ecosystem months, change ledger