DXP Developers: start here #

This section of the help is for developers who build on Exponential Platform DXP: Symfony developers starting a new project, teams moving from eZ Platform or Ibexa OSS, and Exponential 6 developers who want to know whether the DXP, Legacy or Nexus distribution fits their next project. It explains what the DXP ships, how a project is installed, configured, built, deployed and updated, and where each part is documented in depth.

Every statement about the DXP on these pages was checked against the metapackage se7enxweb/exponential-platform-dxp (its composer.json), the skeleton's installation guide (INSTALL.md of se7enxweb/exponential-platform-dxp-skeleton), the documentation in this repository, or the installed packages of a Platform v5 installation. Where a fact comes from an upstream package, the page says so.

Contents #

1. What the DXP is, in five lines
2. What you find here
3. Your first hour with the DXP
4. The rules for this section
5. Pages from other audiences you will use
6. Finding these pages again

What the DXP is, in five lines #

• Exponential Platform DXP is "a free, open-source Digital Experience Platform built on the Symfony framework, the community continuation of the eZ Platform and Ibexa OSS line maintained by 7x" (Who is the Exponential Foundation?).
• It runs on PHP 8.3 or newer and Symfony 7.4, with one kernel and one web entry point.
• It ships the administration interface at /adminui/, the REST API v2, GraphQL at /graphql, Twig rendering with the design engine, core and Solr search, HTTP cache, cron and messenger.
• It does not ship a layouts editor, an approval workflow, a scheduler or the Exponential 6 kernel (What the DXP ships and what it does not).
• You start a project with composer create-project se7enxweb/exponential-platform-dxp-skeleton (Installing with the skeleton).

What you find here #

Your first hour with the DXP #

1. Read what it is and is not (10 minutes): What Exponential Platform DXP is and What the DXP ships and what it does not.
2. Check your machine (5 minutes): PHP 8.3 or newer, Composer 2, Node.js 20 and Yarn 1.22 (Versions you need).
3. Install on SQLite (30 minutes): no database server needed (Installing with the skeleton, SQLite for development).
4. Look around (15 minutes): open /adminui/, create a content item, read it back through the REST API and /graphql (The admin UI, The REST API).

The rules for this section #

1. Describe the DXP from its package list. The skeleton's README carries a long, general feature list; only what the metapackage requires is installed. Check composer.json before you promise a feature (Claims to avoid).
2. Use the exponential: command names in everything new; the ibexa: names are aliases (Console commands).
3. Never commit .env.local, JWT keys or passwords. The installer's default administrator account is publicly documented: change its password right after the install.
4. Never install an upstream package next to its fork (The se7enxweb forks and replace).
5. Use the right names. The product is Exponential Platform DXP; 7x is the company that leads it; the Exponential Foundation is the nonprofit. It is not associated with eZ Systems or Ibexa AS (Who is 7x?).

Pages from other audiences you will use #

Finding these pages again #

• In the Help center, use the audience filter DXP Developers, or open All pages and the folder dxp-developers.
• Every page has Edit on GitHub: if a command changed or a fact is out of date, fix it for every developer after you.

Related pages #

• What Exponential Platform DXP is
• DXP skeleton: create-project and a documented install
• Platform package map
• Who is 7x? and Who is the Exponential Foundation?
• Exponential migrations for Doctrine users
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.