.. index:: single: Routing
Beautiful URLs are a must for any serious web application. This means leaving behind
ugly URLs like index.php?article_id=57 in favor of something like /read/intro-to-symfony.
Having flexibility is even more important. What if you need to change the
URL of a page from /blog to /news? How many links would you need to
hunt down and update to make the change? If you're using Symfony's router,
the change is simple.
.. index:: single: Routing; Basics
A route is a map from a URL path to a controller. Suppose you want one route that
matches /blog exactly and another more dynamic route that can match any URL
like /blog/my-post or /blog/all-about-symfony.
Routes can be configured in YAML, XML and PHP. All formats provide the same features and performance, so choose the one you prefer. If you choose PHP annotations, run this command once in your app to add support for them:
$ composer require annotations
Now you can configure the routes:
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/BlogController.php
namespace App\Controller;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
class BlogController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* Matches /blog exactly
*
* @Route("/blog", name="blog_list")
*/
public function list()
{
// ...
}
/**
* Matches /blog/*
*
* @Route("/blog/{slug}", name="blog_show")
*/
public function show($slug)
{
// $slug will equal the dynamic part of the URL
// e.g. at /blog/yay-routing, then $slug='yay-routing'
// ...
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
blog_list:
path: /blog
controller: App\Controller\BlogController::list
blog_show:
path: /blog/{slug}
controller: App\Controller\BlogController::show
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="blog_list" controller="App\Controller\BlogController::list" path="/blog" >
<!-- settings -->
</route>
<route id="blog_show" controller="App\Controller\BlogController::show" path="/blog/{slug}">
<!-- settings -->
</route>
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
use App\Controller\BlogController;
$routes = new RouteCollection();
$routes->add('blog_list', new Route('/blog', [
'_controller' => [BlogController::class, 'list']
]));
$routes->add('blog_show', new Route('/blog/{slug}', [
'_controller' => [BlogController::class, 'show']
]));
return $routes;
Thanks to these two routes:
- If the user goes to
/blog, the first route is matched andlist()is executed; - If the user goes to
/blog/*, the second route is matched andshow()is executed. Because the route path is/blog/{slug}, a$slugvariable is passed toshow()matching that value. For example, if the user goes to/blog/yay-routing, then$slugwill equalyay-routing.
Whenever you have a {placeholder} in your route path, that portion becomes a
wildcard: it matches any value. Your controller can now also have an argument
called $placeholder (the wildcard and argument names must match).
Each route also has an internal name: blog_list and blog_show. These can
be anything (as long as each is unique) and don't have any meaning yet. You'll
use them later to :ref:`generate URLs <routing-generate>`.
Routing in Other Formats
The @Route above each method is called an annotation. If you'd rather
configure your routes in YAML, XML or PHP, that's no problem! Create a new
routing file (e.g. routes.xml) in the config/ directory and Symfony
will automatically use it.
Routes can be localized to provide unique paths per :doc:`locale </translation/locale>`. Symfony provides a handy way to declare localized routes without duplication.
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/CompanyController.php
namespace App\Controller;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
class CompanyController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* @Route({
* "nl": "/over-ons",
* "en": "/about-us"
* }, name="about_us")
*/
public function about()
{
// ...
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
about_us:
path:
nl: /over-ons
en: /about-us
controller: App\Controller\CompanyController::about
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="about_us" controller="App\Controller\CompanyController::about">
<path locale="nl">/over-ons</path>
<path locale="en">/about-us</path>
</route>
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
namespace Symfony\Component\Routing\Loader\Configurator;
return function (RoutingConfigurator $routes) {
$routes->add('about_us', ['nl' => '/over-ons', 'en' => '/about-us'])
->controller('App\Controller\CompanyController::about');
};
When a localized route is matched Symfony automatically knows which locale should be used during the request. Defining routes this way also eliminated the need for duplicate registration of routes which minimizes the risk for any bugs caused by definition inconsistency.
Tip
If the application uses full language + territory locales (e.g. fr_FR,
fr_BE), you can use the language part only in your routes (e.g. fr).
This prevents having to define multiple paths when you want to use the same
route path for locales that share the same language.
A common requirement for internationalized applications is to prefix all routes with a locale. This can be done by defining a different prefix for each locale (and setting an empty prefix for your default locale if you prefer it):
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes/annotations.yaml
controllers:
resource: '../../src/Controller/'
type: annotation
prefix:
en: '' # don't prefix URLs for English, the default locale
nl: '/nl'
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes/annotations.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<import resource="../src/Controller/" type="annotation">
<!-- don't prefix URLs for English, the default locale -->
<prefix locale="en"></prefix>
<prefix locale="nl">/nl</prefix>
</import>
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes/annotations.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
$routes = $loader->import('../src/Controller/', 'annotation');
// don't prefix URLs for English, the default locale
$app->addPrefix('/', ['_locale' => 'en']);
$app->addPrefix('/nl', ['_locale' => 'nl']);
return $routes;
Imagine the blog_list route will contain a paginated list of blog posts, with
URLs like /blog/2 and /blog/3 for pages 2 and 3. If you change the route's
path to /blog/{page}, you'll have a problem:
- blog_list:
/blog/{page}will match/blog/*; - blog_show:
/blog/{slug}will also match/blog/*.
When two routes match the same URL, the first route that's loaded wins. Unfortunately,
that means that /blog/yay-routing will match the blog_list. No good!
To fix this, add a requirement that the {page} wildcard can only match numbers
(digits):
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/BlogController.php
namespace App\Controller;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
class BlogController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* @Route("/blog/{page}", name="blog_list", requirements={"page"="\d+"})
*/
public function list($page)
{
// ...
}
/**
* @Route("/blog/{slug}", name="blog_show")
*/
public function show($slug)
{
// ...
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
blog_list:
path: /blog/{page}
controller: App\Controller\BlogController::list
requirements:
page: '\d+'
blog_show:
# ...
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="blog_list" path="/blog/{page}" controller="App\Controller\BlogController::list">
<requirement key="page">\d+</requirement>
</route>
<!-- ... -->
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
use App\Controller\BlogController;
$routes = new RouteCollection();
$routes->add('blog_list', new Route('/blog/{page}', [
'_controller' => [BlogController::class, 'list'],
], [
'page' => '\d+'
]));
// ...
return $routes;
The \d+ is a regular expression that matches a digit of any length. Now:
| URL | Route | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
/blog/2 |
blog_list |
$page = 2 |
/blog/yay-routing |
blog_show |
$slug = yay-routing |
If you prefer, requirements can be inlined in each placeholder using the syntax
{placeholder_name<requirements>}. This feature makes configuration more
concise, but it can decrease route readability when requirements are complex:
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/BlogController.php
namespace App\Controller;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
class BlogController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* @Route("/blog/{page<\d+>}", name="blog_list")
*/
public function list($page)
{
// ...
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
blog_list:
path: /blog/{page<\d+>}
controller: App\Controller\BlogController::list
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="blog_list" path="/blog/{page<\d+>}"
controller="App\Controller\BlogController::list" />
<!-- ... -->
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
use App\Controller\BlogController;
$routes = new RouteCollection();
$routes->add('blog_list', new Route('/blog/{page<\d+>}', [
'_controller' => [BlogController::class, 'list'],
]));
// ...
return $routes;
To learn about other route requirements - like HTTP method, hostname and dynamic expressions - see :doc:`/routing/requirements`.
In the previous example, the blog_list has a path of /blog/{page}. If
the user visits /blog/1, it will match. But if they visit /blog, it
will not match. As soon as you add a {placeholder} to a route, it
must have a value.
So how can you make blog_list once again match when the user visits
/blog? By adding a default value:
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/BlogController.php
namespace App\Controller;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
class BlogController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* @Route("/blog/{page}", name="blog_list", requirements={"page"="\d+"})
*/
public function list($page = 1)
{
// ...
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
blog_list:
path: /blog/{page}
controller: App\Controller\BlogController::list
defaults:
page: 1
requirements:
page: '\d+'
blog_show:
# ...
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="blog_list" path="/blog/{page}" controller="App\Controller\BlogController::list">
<default key="page">1</default>
<requirement key="page">\d+</requirement>
</route>
<!-- ... -->
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
use App\Controller\BlogController;
$routes = new RouteCollection();
$routes->add('blog_list', new Route(
'/blog/{page}',
[
'_controller' => [BlogController::class, 'list'],
'page' => 1,
],
[
'page' => '\d+'
]
));
// ...
return $routes;
Now, when the user visits /blog, the blog_list route will match and
$page will default to a value of 1.
If you want to always include some default value in the generated URL (for
example to force the generation of /blog/1 instead of /blog in the
previous example) add the ! character before the placeholder name: /blog/{!page}
.. versionadded:: 4.3
The feature to force the inclusion of default values in generated URLs was
introduced in Symfony 4.3.
As it happens with requirements, default values can also be inlined in each
placeholder using the syntax {placeholder_name?default_value}. This feature
is compatible with inlined requirements, so you can inline both in a single
placeholder:
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/BlogController.php
namespace App\Controller;
use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;
class BlogController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* @Route("/blog/{page<\d+>?1}", name="blog_list")
*/
public function list($page)
{
// ...
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
blog_list:
path: /blog/{page<\d+>?1}
controller: App\Controller\BlogController::list
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="blog_list" path="/blog/{page <\d+>?1}"
controller="App\Controller\BlogController::list" />
<!-- ... -->
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
use App\Controller\BlogController;
$routes = new RouteCollection();
$routes->add('blog_list', new Route('/blog/{page<\d+>?1}', [
'_controller' => [BlogController::class, 'list'],
]));
// ...
return $routes;
Tip
To give a null default value to any placeholder, add nothing after the
? character (e.g. /blog/{page?}).
As your app grows, you'll eventually have a lot of routes! To see them all, run:
$ php bin/console debug:router
------------------------------ -------- -------------------------------------
Name Method Path
------------------------------ -------- -------------------------------------
app_lucky_number ANY /lucky/number/{max}
...
------------------------------ -------- -------------------------------------
.. index:: single: Routing; Advanced example single: Routing; _format parameter
With all of this in mind, check out this advanced example:
.. configuration-block::
.. code-block:: php-annotations
// src/Controller/ArticleController.php
// ...
class ArticleController extends AbstractController
{
/**
* @Route(
* "/articles/{_locale}/{year}/{slug}.{_format}",
* defaults={"_format": "html"},
* requirements={
* "_locale": "en|fr",
* "_format": "html|rss",
* "year": "\d+"
* }
* )
*/
public function show($_locale, $year, $slug)
{
}
}
.. code-block:: yaml
# config/routes.yaml
article_show:
path: /articles/{_locale}/{year}/{slug}.{_format}
controller: App\Controller\ArticleController::show
defaults:
_format: html
requirements:
_locale: en|fr
_format: html|rss
year: \d+
.. code-block:: xml
<!-- config/routes.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<routes xmlns="http://symfony.com/schema/routing"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://symfony.com/schema/routing
http://symfony.com/schema/routing/routing-1.0.xsd">
<route id="article_show"
path="/articles/{_locale}/{year}/{slug}.{_format}"
controller="App\Controller\ArticleController::show">
<default key="_format">html</default>
<requirement key="_locale">en|fr</requirement>
<requirement key="_format">html|rss</requirement>
<requirement key="year">\d+</requirement>
</route>
</routes>
.. code-block:: php
// config/routes.php
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Route;
use App\Controller\ArticleController;
$routes = new RouteCollection();
$routes->add(
'article_show',
new Route('/articles/{_locale}/{year}/{slug}.{_format}', [
'_controller' => [ArticleController::class, 'show'],
'_format' => 'html',
], [
'_locale' => 'en|fr',
'_format' => 'html|rss',
'year' => '\d+',
])
);
return $routes;
As you've seen, this route will only match if the {_locale} portion of
the URL is either en or fr and if the {year} is a number. This
route also shows how you can use a dot between placeholders instead of
a slash. URLs matching this route might look like:
/articles/en/2010/my-post/articles/fr/2010/my-post.rss/articles/en/2013/my-latest-post.html
The Special _format Routing Parameter
This example also highlights the special _format routing parameter.
When using this parameter, the matched value becomes the "request format"
of the Request object.
Ultimately, the request format is used for such things as setting the
Content-Type of the response (e.g. a json request format translates
into a Content-Type of application/json).
Note
Sometimes you want to make certain parts of your routes globally configurable. Symfony provides you with a way to do this by leveraging service container parameters. Read more about this in ":doc:`/routing/service_container_parameters`".
As you've seen, each routing parameter or default value is eventually available as an argument in the controller method. Additionally, there are four parameters that are special: each adds a unique piece of functionality inside your application:
_controller- As you've seen, this parameter is used to determine which controller is executed when the route is matched.
_format- Used to set the request format (:ref:`read more <routing-format-param>`).
_fragment- Used to set the fragment identifier, the optional last part of a URL that
starts with a
#character and is used to identify a portion of a document. _locale- Used to set the locale on the request (:ref:`read more <translation-locale-url>`).
Historically, URLs have followed the UNIX convention of adding trailing slashes
for directories (e.g. https://example.com/foo/) and removing them to refer
to files (https://example.com/foo). Although serving different contents for
both URLs is OK, nowadays it's common to treat both URLs as the same URL and
redirect between them.
Symfony follows this logic to redirect between URLs with and without trailing
slashes (but only for GET and HEAD requests):