# Symfony

> Symfony is an open-source PHP framework, a ready-made foundation for web applications, released under the MIT licence and developed by its community to a fixed release schedule.

Original page: https://t10.de/en/glossary/symfony
Publisher: total10 GmbH, https://t10.de/en/glossary

Symfony describes itself as a set of PHP packages, a web application framework, a philosophy and a community. The project is open source and community-driven, with no roadmap set in advance.

What is fixed is the timetable in Symfony's [release process](https://symfony.com/doc/current/contributing/code/releases.html). Minor versions arrive every six months, in May and November, with bug fixes and new features but no breaking changes, meaning changes that stop existing code from working. Every two years, in November of odd-numbered years, a major version follows, and that one can contain breaking changes. One aim of this time-based approach is to give companies a strict and predictable timeline for planning their own projects.

Companies that want more stability use the long-term support (LTS) versions. The last minor version of each major version is an LTS release, and a new one is published every two years. In an LTS version, bugs are fixed for three years and security issues for four; a standard version gets both for eight months.

Symfony is the basis of our bespoke software and business applications, and of the custom solutions we develop where standard shop systems reach their limits. Once development is complete, the code and the application belong to the client, which means the client's quality assurance team (QA) can inspect all of it.

## See also

- [EOL](https://t10.de/en/glossary/eol): EOL (end of life) is the point at which a vendor or project stops supporting a software version, so that users may be exposed to unpatched security vulnerabilities.
- [Shopware](https://t10.de/en/glossary/shopware): Shopware is e-commerce software from shopware AG in Schöppingen, Germany; the vendor says its current product, Shopware 6, is a complete redevelopment of Shopware 5.
- [Business application](https://t10.de/en/glossary/business-application): In general terms, a business application is software used to perform or support business functions.

## Where the term appears

- [Bespoke software & business apps with Symfony](https://t10.de/en/symfony-development)
- [Ordering microsites for pharma](https://t10.de/en/blog/ordering-microsites-pharma)
- [Online shops: Shopify and Shopware 5](https://t10.de/en/online-shops)
- [About us: two founders, one team, two worlds](https://t10.de/en/about-us)
- [AI product copy and SEO content with RAG](https://t10.de/en/seo)
- [Custom AI agents for businesses](https://t10.de/en/ai-agents)

## Sources

1. [What is Symfony](https://symfony.com/what-is-symfony), Symfony (symfony.com), accessed 2026-11-07
2. [The Release Process (Symfony Docs, current)](https://symfony.com/doc/current/contributing/code/releases.html), Symfony (symfony.com), accessed 2026-11-07
3. [Contributing Code: License (Symfony Docs, current)](https://symfony.com/doc/current/contributing/code.html#license), Symfony (symfony.com), accessed 2026-11-07