Claude Skills PHP & Symfony

Claude Code skills for PHP and Symfony developers. Each skill is a specialized prompt, versioned in the project, that the team can invoke with /skill-name.

Installation

Copy the skills into the target project:

# One specific skill
cp -r .claude/skills/review /path/to/project/.claude/skills/

# All skills
cp -r .claude/skills /path/to/project/.claude/

Commit the .claude/skills/ directory in the target project to make it available to the whole team.

CLAUDE.md Template

A CLAUDE.md file template is available in templates/CLAUDE.md.

It can be copied to the root of a PHP/Symfony project to document the project context, stack, useful commands, security rules, and expected workflow with Claude Code.

Recommended prompt to generate a CLAUDE.md tailored to a project:

From the `templates/CLAUDE.md` template, generate a `CLAUDE.md` file at the root of this project.

Before writing the file:
- analyze the project structure;
- read the useful configuration files: `composer.json`, `composer.lock`, `symfony.lock`, `phpunit.xml*`, `phpstan*`, `.php-cs-fixer*`, `docker-compose*`, `Dockerfile*`, `Jenkinsfile`, `.github/workflows/*` if they exist;
- identify the PHP, Symfony, Doctrine versions and the tools actually used;
- identify the available commands to install, test, analyze, and run the project;
- infer the existing conventions without inventing rules that are not visible in the repository.

Then:
- replace the template placeholders with project information;
- keep the useful sections;
- remove examples or options that do not apply;
- keep the security, Git, and sensitive data rules;
- clearly state any information you could not determine.

Before modifying, list the planned changes and wait for my validation.

Docker Reference Stack Template

A ready-to-copy Docker stack is available in templates/docker/: multi-stage PHP-FPM Dockerfile, docker-entrypoint.sh, PHP conf.d/ (Symfony tuning + Xdebug), Nginx default.conf, compose.yaml, Makefile, and .dockerignore.

This is the default structure the /docker skill scaffolds for a new environment, so every dockerized project — new or existing — ends up with the same file layout, image choices, and Makefile targets. See the /docker skill's Reference Stack and Optional Extras sections for what to adapt per project and which add-ons (centralized log shipping, DB GUI config) are opt-in only.

ADR Template

A generic Architecture Decision Record template is available in templates/adr/0000-template.md, for recording stack-level decisions (e.g. "why this Docker stack") directly in the target project, separately from the SKILL.md files that apply the decision. The /docker skill can offer to generate one from this template when creating a new environment from scratch.

Available Skills

Project Setup

Skill	Description
/new-project	Create and initialize a new Symfony project with the Symfony CLI, asking for all needed choices first.

Code Quality

Skill	Description
/review	PHP/Symfony code review: bugs, security, architecture, tests, Doctrine, migrations.
/refactor	Safe refactoring without changing observable behavior.
/phpstan	Fix PHPStan errors without ignores, baselines, or lowering the level.
/deprecations	Detect and fix PHP/Symfony deprecations, including legacy projects.
/doctrine	Doctrine ORM/DBAL audit: mappings, relations, repositories, transactions, performance.

Tests and Data

Skill	Description
/test	Generate unit, functional, or integration PHPUnit tests.
/fixtures	Generate realistic and deterministic Doctrine/Alice/Foundry fixtures.

Security, Performance, and Observability

Skill	Description
/security	Security audit based on the OWASP Top 10 for PHP/Symfony.
/performance	Performance audit: N+1, cache, Doctrine, Twig, HTTP, Messenger, batch.
/observability	Logs, traces, metrics, alerting, Sentry/APM, and protection of sensitive data.

Code Generation

Skill	Description
/crud	Symfony CRUD tailored to the project: Twig, JSON API, API Platform, DTOs, tests.
/dto	Typed readonly DTOs, validation, entity/DTO mapping through handler or factory.
/command	Symfony Console commands with arguments, options, validation, progress bar, dry-run.
/api-doc	OpenAPI/NelmioApiDocBundle documentation for Symfony endpoints.

Infrastructure and CI

Skill	Description
/docker	PHP/Symfony Docker environment: PHP-FPM, web, DB, cache, queue, mail, assets.

Symfony

Skill	Description
/migration	Doctrine migration audit: data loss, up/down, locks, zero-downtime.
/messenger	Symfony Messenger audit: transports, routing, retry, handlers, workers.
/twig	Twig audit: security, accessibility, performance, forms, i18n, UX.

Planning and Onboarding

Skill	Description
/plan	Implementation plan before code: steps, files, tests, risks.
/debug	Diagnose an error, stacktrace, failing test, or unexpected behavior.
/upgrade	PHP/Symfony/Composer dependency upgrade assistance.
/onboard	Technical onboarding guide for a PHP/Symfony project.

Invocation Examples

Need	Skill	Example
Bootstrap a new project	/new-project	/new-project create a new API-only Symfony project with PostgreSQL and JWT
Review a diff before commit	/review	/review analyze the staged diff before commit
Simplify a class without changing behavior	/refactor	/refactor src/Service/InvoiceCalculator.php
Fix PHPStan	/phpstan	/phpstan fix this PHPStan error in UserRepository
Prepare an upgrade	/deprecations	/deprecations scan deprecations before Symfony 6.4
Audit Doctrine outside migrations	/doctrine	/doctrine check the mapping and relations of Order
Generate tests	/test	/test generate tests for src/Service/PriceCalculator.php
Create fixtures	/fixtures	/fixtures add a paid order scenario for functional tests
Audit security	/security	/security audit the modified controllers
Diagnose slowness	/performance	/performance analyze why this endpoint runs too many SQL queries
Improve logs	/observability	/observability add useful logs around the payment handler
Generate a CRUD	/crud	/crud create a Twig CRUD for Product with tests and migration
Create DTOs	/dto	/dto create input/output DTOs for the user creation endpoint
Create a command	/command	/command generate a CSV import command with dry-run
Document an API	/api-doc	/api-doc document the POST /api/orders endpoint
Add Docker	/docker	/docker generate a local environment with PostgreSQL, Redis, and Mailpit
Audit a migration	/migration	/migration check the latest Doctrine migration for zero-downtime
Audit Messenger	/messenger	/messenger check routing, retry, and failed transport
Audit Twig	/twig	/twig audit templates/order/show.html.twig
Plan a feature	/plan	/plan prepare the implementation of an invoice CSV export
Debug an error	/debug	/debug analyze this Symfony stacktrace
Upgrade versions	/upgrade	/upgrade prepare the move from Symfony 5.4 to 6.4
Document a project	/onboard	/onboard generate a guide for a new developer

Structure Convention

Each skill is a directory in .claude/skills/<name>/ with a required SKILL.md file.

.claude/
└── skills/
    └── skill-name/
        └── SKILL.md

The directory name and the name field must be identical.

---
name: skill-name
description: "Short and precise description of when to use this skill."
---

Recommended rules:

• Use a short lowercase name, with hyphens when needed.
• Write the skill in technical English, keeping native ecosystem terms such as DTO, handler, dry-run, readonly, failure transport.
• Start with a clear Scope section.
• Add a Current State section when the skill must inspect a project.
• Describe Severities for audit skills.
• List useful commands, but flag destructive commands to avoid without confirmation.
• Include a Do Not section for guardrails.
• End with an actionable Output Format section.
• Never ask to read .env.local.
• Never expose secrets, tokens, cookies, DSNs, passwords, or sensitive personal data.
• Respect legacy projects: do not assume PHP 8+, attributes, enums, readonly, or recent Symfony without proof.

Contribution

To add or modify a skill:

1. Create or modify .claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md.
2. Check that the front matter contains name and description.
3. Check that name matches the directory.
4. Add the skill to the README list.
5. Add at least one invocation example.
6. Reread the guardrails: secrets, .env.local, destructive commands, legacy compatibility.

A commit should ideally cover a single skill, except for a coordinated addition such as a new skill with the README.

License

MIT

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Maintained by Efficience IT - PHP & Symfony Expertise