Introduction to Winter: PHP Microservices Ecosystem

Winter is a PHP 8 microservices ecosystem built around Winter Boot, a Spring Boot-inspired framework for attribute-driven services, and a small family of optional libraries that plug into it for databases, caching, messaging, storage, search, and service discovery. This page introduces the pieces so you can pick what you need before diving into the framework or a specific library.

The ecosystem at a glance

Winter is deliberately modular. You install the framework, then add only the libraries that match your infrastructure.

Package	What it gives you	When to reach for it
suvera/winter-boot	The framework core: DI, AOP, REST, PDBC, transactions, migrations, async, scheduling, actuator, telemetry	Always
suvera/winter-doctrine	Doctrine ORM and DBAL plus multi-tenant datasources	You need ORM entities or Doctrine DBAL
suvera/winter-modules	Integration modules for Kafka, SQS, S3, OpenSearch, Redis, Memcache, and DTCE	You integrate with those systems
suvera/winter-eureka	Service discovery via Consul or Netflix Eureka	You run multiple service instances behind discovery
suvera/winter-memdb	Embedded in-memory servers (Redis, Ignite, Memcached, Hazelcast) launched by the app (experimental)	You want the app to manage the cache/database server

Browse all librariesFull catalog of official libraries, with guidance on choosing one and links to each library's page.

What is Winter Boot?

Winter Boot turns a plain PHP class into a fully managed application context with a single attribute. The framework scans your namespaces at startup, registers beans, wires dependencies, maps HTTP routes via the built-in server, and exposes every cross-cutting concern through attributes rather than boilerplate configuration files. The result is lean, readable service code that focuses on business logic instead of framework plumbing.

Application.php

<?php

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use dev\winterframework\stereotype\WinterBootApplication;
use dev\winterframework\core\app\WinterWebSwooleApplication;

#[WinterBootApplication(
    configDirectory: [__DIR__ . '/config'],
    scanNamespaces: [['com\\example\\myapp', __DIR__ . '/src']]
)]
class MyApplication
{
    public static function main(): void
    {
        (new WinterWebSwooleApplication())->run(MyApplication::class);
    }
}

MyApplication::main();

Note

Winter Boot requires PHP 8.5 or later, the bundled winter_boot extension, and the swoole extension (for the built-in HTTP server, #[Async], #[Scheduled], and several libraries). The Installation guide sets everything up — the Docker image ships with both extensions.

Key features

QuickstartWrite your first service and REST controller and have a running HTTP server in minutes.

Dependency InjectionAttribute-driven DI with #[Service], #[Component], #[Autowired], #[Qualifier], and #[Bean] factories.

REST ControllersMap HTTP routes with #[RestController], #[RequestMapping], #[GetMapping], #[PostMapping], and more.

AOP & Custom StereotypesImplement cross-cutting concerns with custom attributes and aspect-oriented interceptors.

Databases & TransactionsManage datasources, run SQL migrations, and control transactions declaratively with #[Transactional].

CachingCache method results with a single attribute, backed by in-memory, local KV, or Redis stores.

Async & SchedulingRun background work with #[Async] and cron-style scheduling with #[Scheduled].

Module SystemExtend the framework with official libraries or build your own by implementing WinterModule.

Requirements

Requirement	Version / Notes
PHP	8.5 or later
winter_boot extension	Always required (bundled with the framework)
swoole extension	Required for the HTTP server, #[Async], #[Scheduled], and several libraries
Composer	2.x

The Installation guide covers both the Docker path (recommended) and a manual install.

Spring Boot inspiration

If you have built services with Spring Boot, Winter Boot will feel immediately familiar. Stereotype attributes map directly to their Spring counterparts; only the language changes.

Spring Boot (Java)	Winter Boot (PHP)
@SpringBootApplication	#[WinterBootApplication]
@Service	#[Service]
@Component	#[Component]
@RestController	#[RestController]
@Autowired	#[Autowired]
@Value	#[Value]
@Configuration	#[Configuration]
@Bean	#[Bean]
@Transactional	#[Transactional]
@Cacheable	#[Cacheable]
@Async	#[Async]
@Scheduled	#[Scheduled]

The application context lifecycle, property externalization via application.yml, and the concept of a single annotated entry-point class all follow the same patterns as Spring Boot.

PHP 8 attributes and dependency injection

Winter Boot’s DI container is built entirely on native PHP 8 attributes. There are no XML files, no code-generation steps, and no service locators to call manually. Declare a class with #[Service] or #[Component], mark a property with #[Autowired], and the container resolves the dependency graph automatically at startup.

src/UserServiceImpl.php

<?php

use dev\winterframework\stereotype\Service;
use dev\winterframework\stereotype\Autowired;

#[Service]
class UserServiceImpl implements UserService
{
    #[Autowired]
    private UserRepository $repository;

    public function findById(int $id): User
    {
        return $this->repository->findById($id);
    }
}

Aspect-oriented programming

Cross-cutting concerns such as caching, transactions, locking, and your own custom checks are expressed as attributes applied to methods and classes. The framework weaves them in at startup, so there is no proxy code to write.

Tip

See the AOP & Custom Stereotypes page for a full walkthrough of defining aspects, join points, and custom stereotype attributes.

Microservices focus

Winter Boot is optimized for the microservice deployment model: stateless HTTP workers managed by the built-in server, an optional in-process key-value store and task queue, built-in Prometheus metrics via the Actuator, and an extensible module system for integrations with Redis, Kafka, Doctrine ORM, Amazon SQS/S3, OpenSearch, and service-discovery solutions such as Consul and Netflix Eureka. See the Libraries overview for the full catalog and guidance on choosing the right library.