Symfony Console commands

A console command is just another transport into the service layer — treat the CLI like a controller: thin, typed at the edges, delegating to services.

Never extends Command. No configure(), no execute(), no addArgument()/addOption(), no #[AsCommand(name: ..., description: ...)] named parameters. That is the legacy Symfony 6/7 boilerplate this skill exists to replace — on every supported version, including a single one-off command.

Step 1 — detect the Symfony version, then pick the form

Before writing anything, read the project's symfony/console constraint in composer.json and choose:

• Symfony 8.1 or newer → always the method-based form (#[AsCommand] on a method of a service class). This holds even for a single command — one method on one class. Do not drop to the class-based form just because there is only one command.
• Symfony 7.x → the invokable class form (#[AsCommand] on the class, an __invoke() method, no extends).

If composer.json is missing or the constraint is ambiguous, check symfony/console in composer.lock, or ask which version the project targets — don't guess. The two forms differ enough that picking the wrong one is worse than a one-line question.

Symfony 8.1+: a single command (method on a service class)

Even one command uses the method-based form on 8.1+. This is the shape to reach for first:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Service;

use App\Repository\UserRepository;
use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\Argument;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\AsCommand;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Style\SymfonyStyle;

final class UserService
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly UserRepository $users,
        private readonly EntityManagerInterface $em,
    ) {}

    #[AsCommand('app:user:delete', 'delete a user by email')]
    public function delete(SymfonyStyle $io, #[Argument('email of the user to delete')] string $email): int
    {
        $user = $this->users->findOneBy(['email' => $email]);
        if (null === $user) {
            $io->error(sprintf('No user found with email "%s".', $email));

            return Command::FAILURE;
        }

        if (!$io->confirm(sprintf('Delete user "%s"? This cannot be undone.', $email), false)) {
            $io->comment('Aborted.');

            return Command::SUCCESS;
        }

        $this->em->remove($user);
        $this->em->flush();
        $io->success(sprintf('User "%s" deleted.', $email));

        return Command::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Note what is absent: no extends Command, no configure(), no execute(), no addArgument(). The argument is declared inline with #[Argument]; dependencies are constructor-injected. When a second related command appears (app:user:create, app:user:promote), add it as another method on this same class — see the family form below.

Symfony 7.x fallback: one command per class

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Command;

use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\AsCommand;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Style\SymfonyStyle;

#[AsCommand('site:scan', 'scan monitored sites for availability')]
final class SiteScanCommand
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly SiteRepository $sites,
    ) {}

    public function __invoke(SymfonyStyle $io): int
    {
        $io->success(sprintf('%d sites scanned', \count($this->sites->findAll())));

        return Command::SUCCESS;
    }
}

• Use the invokable command (__invoke) — no extends Command, no configure()/execute() boilerplate.
• Inject dependencies through the constructor.

Symfony 8.1+: a family of commands on one service class

The single-command form above scales directly to a family: keep adding method-level #[AsCommand] to the same service class. One class exposes a whole family of related commands that share a single constructor and private helpers.

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Service;

use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\Argument;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\AsCommand;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\MapInput;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Style\SymfonyStyle;

final class SiteService
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly SiteRepository $sites,
        private readonly EntityManagerInterface $em,
        private readonly HttpClientInterface $http,
    ) {}

    #[AsCommand('site:add', 'add a site to monitor')]
    public function add(SymfonyStyle $io, #[Argument] SiteUrl $url): int
    {
        // ...
        return Command::SUCCESS;
    }

    #[AsCommand('site:scan', 'scan monitored sites for availability')]
    public function scan(SymfonyStyle $io, #[MapInput] ScanInput $input): int
    {
        // ...
        return Command::SUCCESS;
    }

    // Shared by the sibling commands above — the reason they live together.
    private function findOrFail(SiteUrl $url): Site
    {
        return $this->sites->findOneByUrl($url) ?? throw new \RuntimeException('unknown site');
    }
}

• One class holds a cohesive family of commands (site:add, site:scan, site:list) that share injected dependencies and private helpers.
• The class name reflects its identity as a service, not a command holder: SiteService, not SiteCommands. The CLI is just another transport into it.
• When a method's private helpers stop being shared with its siblings, that's the signal to split it into its own class. Don't build god-classes, and don't go back to one-class-per-command.

Rules

• Never extends Command. Import Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command only for the return constants.
• Return Command::SUCCESS / Command::FAILURE / Command::INVALID.
• #[AsCommand('name', 'description')] — positional description (second argument), not the description: named parameter.
• #[Argument('desc')] and #[Option('desc')] — same convention, positional description string. Never description:.
• First parameter is typically SymfonyStyle $io (when you want its helpers — success, table, progressBar) or OutputInterface $output (leaner). Pick per command.
• declare(strict_types=1); in every file.
• Verbose output via $io->writeln() gated on $io->isVerbose() / $io->isVeryVerbose(). No dump()/dd() in committed commands.

Typed inputs — value resolvers and DTOs

Validation, normalization, and parsing belong in value objects and their resolvers, not in command bodies. (Available with attribute-based commands.)

• Single typed atoms (URL, email, ULID, path) → a value object with a custom ValueResolverInterface. The value object's fromString() factory validates; the resolver maps the raw CLI string to the typed object. Used as #[Argument] SiteUrl $url.
• Groups of related inputs (several args/options that travel together) → #[MapInput] DTO classes. Public properties carry #[Argument] / #[Option]. Validate in property hooks (PHP 8.4) or via the Symfony Validator — not in the constructor, because #[MapInput] DTOs are hydrated without calling the constructor.
• Composition — DTOs can contain other DTOs (ApplyInput { public ScanInput $scan; /* + options */ }); Symfony merges them automatically.
• Why this matters — a description like 'url of the site to monitor' lives once on the value object or DTO, not repeated across five command methods. Same for the validation logic.

final class ScanInput
{
    #[Argument('url of the site to scan')]
    public SiteUrl $url;

    #[Option('follow redirects')]
    public bool $follow = false {
        // validate in a property hook, not the constructor
        set => $value;
    }
}

Use Symfony Validator constraints (#[Assert\Url], #[Assert\Email], …) for validation — idiomatic and consistent with the rest of Symfony.

Gotchas

• Agent writes extends Command with configure()/execute()/addArgument() boilerplate — that's legacy Symfony 6/7 style; use the attribute command on every supported version.
• Agent drops to the class-based (or extends Command) form on Symfony 8.1+ just because it's a single command — a single command on 8.1+ is still one method with #[AsCommand] on a service class. Check composer.json first.
• Agent puts #[AsCommand] on a class on Symfony 8.1+ when several related commands exist — prefer one service class with method-level #[AsCommand].
• Agent names the class *Commands — name it *Service; the CLI is a transport into the service.
• Agent uses the description: named parameter — descriptions are positional on #[AsCommand], #[Argument], and #[Option].
• Agent parses/validates CLI strings inside the command body — move it into a value object + ValueResolverInterface, or a #[MapInput] DTO.
• Agent puts validation in a #[MapInput] DTO constructor — it's never called; use property hooks (PHP 8.4) or the Validator.
• Agent splits a cohesive command family into one-class-per-command — keep them together while they share helpers; split only when they stop sharing.
• Agent returns 0/1 integers — use Command::SUCCESS / Command::FAILURE / Command::INVALID.
• Agent leaves dump()/dd() or ungated verbose output — gate on $io->isVerbose().