TYPO3 Batch Operations

Adapted from Boris Cherny's (Anthropic) Claude Code /batch skill for TYPO3 contexts. Target: TYPO3 v14 (primary), v13, v12.4 LTS.

Orchestrate large-scale, parallelizable changes across a TYPO3 codebase. Decompose work into 5–30 independent units, present a plan, then execute each unit with verification.

Process

1. Research: Scan codebase to find all affected files
2. Decompose: Split work into independent, non-conflicting units
3. Plan: Present numbered plan to user for approval
4. Execute: Apply each unit, run verification after each
5. Report: Summarize changes, list any failures

Execution Rules

• Each unit must be independently verifiable
• Never modify the same file in two different units
• Run composer normalize / php -l / PHPStan after PHP changes
• Run tests if available (vendor/bin/phpunit)
• Commit each unit separately with descriptive message
• Stop and report if a unit breaks tests

Common TYPO3 Batch Operations

1. Hook → PSR-14 Event Migration

Research: Find all entries in $GLOBALS['TYPO3_CONF_VARS']['SC_OPTIONS'] and $GLOBALS['TYPO3_CONF_VARS']['EXTCONF'].

Decompose: One unit per hook class.

Per unit:

1. Identify the hook interface/method
2. Find the corresponding PSR-14 event (see mapping below)
3. Create new event listener class with #[AsEventListener]
4. Move logic from hook method to __invoke()
5. Remove hook registration from ext_localconf.php
6. Add Services.yaml entry (for v12/v13 fallback)
7. Run php -l on new file

Hook → Event mapping (common):

2. TCA Modernization (v12 → v14)

Research: Scan all Configuration/TCA/ and Configuration/TCA/Overrides/ files.

Decompose: One unit per TCA file.

Per unit:

1. Replace 'eval' => 'required' → 'required' => true
2. Replace 'eval' => 'trim' → remove (default behavior)
3. Replace 'eval' => 'null' → 'nullable' => true
4. Replace 'eval' => 'int' → 'type' => 'number'
5. Replace 'renderType' => 'inputDateTime' → 'type' => 'datetime'
6. Replace 'renderType' => 'inputLink' → 'type' => 'link'
7. Replace 'renderType' => 'colorPicker' → 'type' => 'color'
8. Replace 'type' => 'input', 'eval' => 'email' → 'type' => 'email'
9. Convert items arrays: [0] => label, [1] => value → ['label' => ..., 'value' => ...]
10. Remove boilerplate columns auto-created from ctrl (v13.3+): hidden, starttime, endtime, fe_group, language fields
11. Use palettes for enablecolumns: visibility → hidden, access → starttime, endtime
12. Remove convention fields from ext_tables.sql (auto-added to database)
13. Run php -l to verify syntax

3. GeneralUtility::makeInstance → DI

Research: Find all GeneralUtility::makeInstance() calls in Classes/.

Decompose: One unit per class file.

Per unit:

1. Identify all makeInstance calls in the class
2. For each: add constructor parameter with type
3. Replace makeInstance calls with $this->propertyName
4. Add/update Services.yaml if needed
5. Use readonly promoted properties
6. Verify with php -l

4. Fluid Template Refactoring

Research: Scan Resources/Private/Templates/, Partials/, Layouts/.

Decompose: One unit per template directory or logical group.

Per unit:

1. Replace hardcoded strings with <f:translate> keys
2. Add missing XLIFF entries to locallang.xlf
3. Replace <a href="..."> with <f:link.page> or <f:link.typolink>
4. Replace <img> with <f:image>
5. Extract repeated blocks to Partials
6. Add accessibility attributes (alt, aria-label, role)

5. Namespace Rename / Extension Key Change

Research: Find all files containing old namespace/extension key.

Decompose: Group by file type (PHP, Fluid, YAML, TypoScript, SQL).

Per unit:

PHP files:
  1. Replace namespace declarations
  2. Replace use statements
  3. Replace class references in strings (DI, TCA)
  
Fluid files:
  1. Replace {namespace} declarations
  2. Replace ViewHelper references
  
Configuration files:
  1. Update composer.json autoload
  2. Update ext_emconf.php
  3. Update Services.yaml service names
  4. Update TCA table prefixes
  5. Update TypoScript paths (EXT:old → EXT:new)
  
Database:
  1. Generate SQL rename migration
  2. Update ext_tables.sql

6. ext_localconf / ext_tables Cleanup

Research: Scan ext_localconf.php and ext_tables.php for movable code.

Decompose: One unit per concern (TSconfig, TypoScript, icons, modules, plugins).

Per unit:

Page TSconfig:
  1. Extract addPageTSConfig() calls
  2. Create Configuration/page.tsconfig
  3. Remove from ext_localconf.php

User TSconfig:
  1. Extract addUserTSConfig() calls  
  2. Create Configuration/user.tsconfig
  3. Remove from ext_localconf.php

Icons:
  1. Extract icon registry calls
  2. Move to Configuration/Icons.php (v14)
  3. Remove from ext_localconf.php

Backend modules:
  1. Extract registerModule() calls
  2. Move to Configuration/Backend/Modules.php
  3. Remove from ext_tables.php

7. Test Infrastructure Setup

Research: Check if Tests/ directory exists, find testable classes.

Decompose: One unit per test type.

Per unit:

Unit tests:
  1. Create Tests/Unit/ structure
  2. Generate test class per service/utility class
  3. Add phpunit.xml.dist configuration
  
Functional tests:
  1. Create Tests/Functional/ structure
  2. Add fixture files
  3. Generate test for repository/DataHandler usage

CI pipeline:
  1. Create .github/workflows/ci.yml
  2. Configure PHP matrix (8.2, 8.3, 8.4)
  3. Configure TYPO3 matrix (v13, v14)

8. PHP 8.4 Migration

Research: Scan Classes/ for PHP 8.4 migration candidates.

Decompose: One unit per class file.

Per unit:

1. Add property hooks where getter/setter pattern exists
2. Use asymmetric visibility (public private(set)) on DTOs
3. Replace array_search + if with array_find()
4. Replace array_filter + reset with array_find()
5. Replace manual array_key_exists checks with array_any/array_all
6. Add #[\Deprecated] attribute to legacy methods
7. Run php -l to verify syntax

9. Content Blocks Migration

Research: Scan TCA, ext_tables.sql, and Fluid templates for classic content elements.

Decompose: One unit per content element / record type.

Per unit:

1. Create ContentBlocks/ContentElements/<name>/config.yaml
2. Map TCA columns to YAML fields
3. Move Fluid template to ContentBlocks/ContentElements/<name>/Source/
4. Create EditorInterface.yaml
5. Remove old TCA override file
6. Remove SQL from ext_tables.sql (columns become automatic)
7. Test rendering in frontend

10. Localization / XLIFF Batch

Research: Find all hardcoded strings in Fluid, PHP flash messages, TCA labels.

Decompose: One unit per language file scope (frontend, backend, TCA).

Per unit:

1. Extract strings from templates/PHP
2. Generate XLIFF keys following convention
3. Add entries to Resources/Private/Language/locallang.xlf
4. Replace hardcoded strings with LLL: references
5. Create de.locallang.xlf with German translations (if applicable)

Plan Template

Present to user before executing:

## Batch Plan: [Description]

Target: EXT:my_extension (TYPO3 v14)
Files affected: 23
Units: 8

| # | Unit | Files | Risk |
|---|------|-------|------|
| 1 | TCA/Overrides/tt_content.php | 1 | Low |
| 2 | TCA/Overrides/pages.php | 1 | Low |
| 3 | Classes/Controller/ListController.php | 1 | Medium |
| 4 | Classes/Service/ImportService.php | 1 | Medium |
| 5 | Resources/Private/Templates/ (6 files) | 6 | Low |
| 6 | ext_localconf.php → Configuration/ | 4 | Medium |
| 7 | Tests/Unit/ (new) | 5 | Low |
| 8 | locallang.xlf updates | 3 | Low |

Estimated: ~15 minutes

Proceed? [y/n]

Verification Checklist (per unit)

• php -l passes on all modified PHP files
• composer normalize passes (if composer.json touched)
• PHPStan passes (if configured)
• Unit tests pass (if available)
• Functional tests pass (if available)
• Frontend rendering unchanged (manual spot check)
• Backend forms still work (manual spot check)

Abort Conditions

Stop the batch and report if:

• A unit breaks existing tests
• PHP syntax error in generated code
• Two units unexpectedly need the same file
• User requests stop

v14-Only Batch Migration Targets

The following batch migration patterns are v14-specific.

Common v14 Batch Operations [v14 only]

Credits & Attribution

Adapted from Boris Cherny's (Anthropic) Claude Code bundled /batch skill for TYPO3 contexts.

Copyright (c) Anthropic — Batch operation patterns (MIT License)

Thanks to Netresearch DTT GmbH for their contributions to the TYPO3 community.