Winter Libraries: Ecosystem Overview and Selection Guide

Winter libraries are optional packages that add integrations to Winter Boot for databases, message queues, object storage, search, and distributed infrastructure. Each library is a module that registers its beans automatically: enable it in application.yml and you can #[Autowired] its templates and clients anywhere.

Choose a library

Match your use case to a library and package.

Need	Use	Package
Relational database with ORM entities	Doctrine	`suvera/winter-doctrine`
Redis client for cache or key/value work	Redis	`suvera/winter-modules`
Memcached client for lightweight caching	Memcache	`suvera/winter-modules`
Embedded in-memory DB launched with the app (Redis, Ignite, Memcached, Hazelcast)	Memdb	`suvera/winter-memdb`
Event streaming and pub/sub	Kafka	`suvera/winter-modules`
Managed AWS message queue	SQS	`suvera/winter-modules`
S3-compatible object storage	S3	`suvera/winter-modules`
Full-text search and analytics	OpenSearch	`suvera/winter-modules`
Background task orchestration across nodes	DTCE	`suvera/winter-modules`
Service discovery (Consul or Netflix Eureka)	Eureka	`suvera/winter-eureka`
Application security policies	Security (planned)	`suvera/winter-modules`

Grouped by domain

Data

Client libraries that connect to external data stores.

Doctrine ORM & DBALDoctrine entities, DBAL connections, and multi-tenant datasource routing.

Redis ClientPhpRedis templates for singles, clusters, arrays, sentinels, and Dynomite token rings.

Memcached ClientMemcached and Memcache extension clients for lightweight remote caching.

Messaging

Apache KafkaProducer and consumer integration for event streaming pipelines.

Amazon SQSSQS producer and consumer with IAM role and EKS IRSA support.

Storage & search

Amazon S3Upload, download, and manage S3-compatible object storage from any bean.

OpenSearchOpenSearch indexing and querying with basic auth or AWS SigV4 signing.

Distributed systems

Service DiscoveryRegister and discover services via Consul or Netflix Eureka.

Distributed Tasks (DTCE)Cross-node background task orchestration with pluggable queue and store backends.

Embedded in-memory servers (experimental)

Libraries where the framework launches and manages the server process as part of the app lifecycle.

Winter MemdbAuto-start Redis, Apache Ignite, Memcached, or Hazelcast alongside the application.

Planned

SecurityReserved for the upcoming security module. Not yet released; see the page for interim guidance.

Installation

Libraries ship as separate Composer packages, so you install only what you need; some also need extra PHP extensions. See Installation for the package list and the extensions each library needs.

Enabling a library

Every library plugs in through the same module system. Declare the module class in your application.yml under modules::

modules:
    - module: 'dev\winterframework\kafka\KafkaModule'
      enabled: true
      configFile: kafka-config.yml

Read The Module System for the full contract, load order, and how to build your own modules.