Sylius

Sylius is a Symfony‑based, headless eCommerce framework that exposes a rich REST API and a fully configurable domain model. It is engineered for developers who need to build bespoke shopping experiences rather than shop‑for‑a‑template solutions. The core of Sylius is a set of PHP bundles that implement domain‑driven design patterns, giving you granular control over catalogs, orders, payments, and shipping while still providing a ready‑made admin UI. The framework follows BDD principles with PHPUnit and Behat, ensuring that the codebase remains testable and maintainable throughout its lifecycle.

Architecture

Sylius leverages Symfony 6+ as its foundation, adopting the latest PHP standards (8.1+). The application is split into modular bundles—SyliusShopBundle, SyliusAdminBundle, and domain‑specific bundles such as SyliusPaymentBundle—which are loosely coupled via Symfony’s service container and event dispatcher. Persistence is handled by Doctrine ORM (with optional Doctrine MongoDB ODM support), allowing developers to map entities to relational or NoSQL databases. The framework ships with a default PostgreSQL/MySQL configuration but can be swapped for any Doctrine‑compatible database. For front‑end interactions, Sylius offers a GraphQL endpoint and a fully RESTful API, enabling integration with SPA frameworks or native mobile apps.

Core Capabilities

• Domain‑driven APIs: Expose CRUD operations for products, categories, customers, orders, and more through a versioned REST API.
• Event‑driven extensibility: Custom event listeners and subscribers can hook into lifecycle events such as OrderPlacedEvent or PaymentSucceededEvent.
• Plugin system: Packages tagged as sylius-plugin can be installed via Composer, providing out‑of‑the‑box features like payment gateways (Mollie, Stripe), shipping calculators, and B2B modules.
• Headless ready: All core logic is API‑first; the admin UI is a separate Symfony bundle that can be removed for fully headless deployments.
• Rich data model: Supports multi‑store, multi‑channel, and multi‑currency out of the box, with a flexible SKU system that can be extended via custom attributes.

Deployment & Infrastructure

Sylius is designed for self‑hosting and scales horizontally behind a load balancer. Docker images are available on Docker Hub, making container orchestration with Kubernetes or Docker Compose straightforward. The framework supports stateless API servers, allowing you to run multiple instances behind a CDN or reverse proxy. For persistence, the Doctrine layer can be tuned for read replicas, and Symfony’s cache component integrates seamlessly with Redis or Memcached. The default setup includes health‑check endpoints (/health) and Prometheus metrics, easing observability in production environments.

Integration & Extensibility

Developers can extend Sylius through:

• Custom bundles that register services, routes, and Doctrine mappings.
• GraphQL resolvers for fine‑grained data fetching.
• Webhooks exposed by the API, enabling real‑time integrations with external ERP or CRM systems.
• Configuration overrides via Symfony’s YAML/INI files, allowing you to swap out payment providers or change shipping logic without touching core code.

The Sylius Store hosts thousands of community‑built plugins, and the sylius-plugin Composer type makes discovery and installation trivial. Advanced use cases such as partial order fulfillment or loyalty programs are available in the paid Sylius Plus edition, but most functionality remains open source.

Developer Experience

Sylius prioritizes a clean developer workflow: the codebase follows PSR‑12, uses Symfony’s maker bundle for boilerplate generation, and includes a comprehensive test suite. Documentation is organized around the “Book” style, with sections for installation, configuration, API reference, and contribution guidelines. The active community on Slack, Stack Overflow, and the Sylius Store ensures rapid issue resolution. Licensing under MIT gives developers freedom to commercialize their projects without license fees, while the modular architecture keeps dependencies minimal.

Use Cases

• Custom B2C storefronts that require unique checkout flows or integrations with niche payment gateways.
• Enterprise B2B portals needing multi‑store, multi‑currency support and advanced order management.
• Headless commerce where the front end is built with React, Vue, or Flutter and communicates purely via API.
• Rapid prototyping of eCommerce features for internal tools or SaaS products, leveraging Sylius’ built‑in admin UI and API.

Advantages

Sylius offers unmatched flexibility compared to monolithic platforms: you can drop the admin UI, swap out databases, or replace any bundle without touching core logic. Its Symfony foundation guarantees high performance and a mature ecosystem of bundles (Doctrine, Messenger, Security). The open‑source license removes cost barriers, while the optional Plus edition provides enterprise features without locking you into a vendor. For developers who value clean architecture, testability, and the ability to build truly custom commerce experiences, Sylius is the preferred choice.