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):

Hook	PSR-14 Event
processDatamap_afterDatabaseOperations	AfterRecordOperationEvent
processDatamap_preProcessFieldArray	BeforeRecordOperationEvent
processCmdmap_postProcess	AfterRecordOperationEvent
drawHeaderHook	ModifyButtonBarEvent
drawFooterHook	ModifyButtonBarEvent
checkFlexFormValue	AfterFlexFormDataStructureParsedEvent
pageRendererRender	BeforePageIsResolvedEvent
tslib_fe->contentPostProc	AfterCacheableContentIsGeneratedEvent
BackendUtility->getPagesTSconfig	ModifyLoadedPageTsConfigEvent
generatePageTSconfig	ModifyLoadedPageTsConfigEvent

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]

Batch Operation	What to Migrate
Remove $GLOBALS['TSFE']	All PHP files referencing TypoScriptFrontendController
Annotations → Attributes	All @validate, @ignorevalidation in Extbase controllers
MailMessage->send() → Mailer	All email-sending code
ctrl.searchFields → searchable	All TCA files with searchFields in ctrl
TCA interface removal	All TCA files with interface key
Backend module parent IDs	All Modules.php with web, file, tools parents
Fluid 5.0 types	All Fluid templates with incorrect ViewHelper argument types
FlexForm pointer fields	All FlexForm XML with pointer configurations
Asset external property	All TypoScript with external = 1
configurePlugin() subtypes	All plugin registrations using switchableControllerActions

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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.