Typo3 Fractor

TYPO3 Fractor Skill

Source: https://github.com/dirnbauer/webconsulting-skills

Fractor is a generic file refactoring tool that automates non-PHP migrations for TYPO3 upgrades. It complements Rector (which handles PHP) by migrating FlexForms, TypoScript, Fluid templates, YAML, XLIFF translation files, Htaccess files, and composer.json. Fractor is stable since v1.0 (July 2026); it is maintained by Simon Schaufelberger and Andreas Wolf and partly funded through TYPO3 community budgets.

Target: TYPO3 v14.x for this skill collection. Upstream Fractor sets may still be named TYPO3_12, TYPO3_13, etc. — those are historical bundle identifiers for rules you apply while moving code toward a v14 codebase.

TYPO3 API First: Always use TYPO3's built-in APIs, core features, and established conventions before creating custom implementations. Always verify that the APIs and methods you use exist and are not deprecated in TYPO3 v14 by checking the official TYPO3 documentation.

Safety: Never run Fractor on production. Always run on a development environment with version control. Review and test changes before releasing.

Fractor vs Rector

Use both together for complete TYPO3 upgrades. See the typo3-extension-upgrade skill for the full workflow.

1. Installation

composer require --dev a9f/typo3-fractor
# or with DDEV:
ddev composer require --dev a9f/typo3-fractor

Important: Like Rector, Fractor loads the project autoloader and requires a PHP version that can parse the installed TYPO3 packages. For TYPO3 v14 targets, run Fractor with PHP 8.2+. Use DDEV or a container if your local PHP is older.

Always run Fractor, never skip it. Non-PHP files (FlexForms, TypoScript, Fluid) contain version-specific patterns that are easy to miss in manual review. Fractor rules are maintained by the TYPO3 community and cover edge cases.

This meta-package installs all TYPO3-specific file processors (set as of Fractor v1.0):

• a9f/fractor (core engine)
• a9f/fractor-extension-installer (automatic processor registration)
• a9f/fractor-xml (FlexForm/XML processing)
• a9f/fractor-fluid (Fluid template processing)
• a9f/fractor-typoscript (TypoScript/TSconfig processing)
• a9f/fractor-yaml (YAML processing)
• a9f/fractor-htaccess (Htaccess processing)
• a9f/fractor-xliff (XLIFF translation file processing — new in v1.0; pairs with the typo3-translations skill)
• a9f/fractor-composer-json (composer.json processing — still not part of the meta-package; add composer require --dev a9f/fractor-composer-json when you need it)

2. Configuration

Quick Start

Generate a default config:

vendor/bin/typo3-fractor-init

Manual Configuration

Create fractor.php in your project root:

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

use a9f\Fractor\Configuration\FractorConfiguration;
use a9f\Typo3Fractor\Set\Typo3LevelSetList;

return FractorConfiguration::configure()
    ->withPaths([
        __DIR__ . '/packages/',
    ])
    ->withSets([
        Typo3LevelSetList::UP_TO_TYPO3_14,
    ]);

Configuration for v14

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

use a9f\Fractor\Configuration\FractorConfiguration;
use a9f\Typo3Fractor\Set\Typo3LevelSetList;

return FractorConfiguration::configure()
    ->withPaths([
        __DIR__ . '/Configuration/',
        __DIR__ . '/Resources/',
    ])
    ->withSets([
        Typo3LevelSetList::UP_TO_TYPO3_14,
    ]);

Skip Rules or Files

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

use a9f\Fractor\Configuration\FractorConfiguration;
use a9f\Typo3Fractor\Set\Typo3LevelSetList;
use a9f\Typo3Fractor\TYPO3v12\FlexForm\MigrateRequiredFlagFlexFormFractor;

return FractorConfiguration::configure()
    ->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/packages/'])
    ->withSkip([
        MigrateRequiredFlagFlexFormFractor::class,
        __DIR__ . '/packages/legacy_ext/',
        __DIR__ . '/packages/my_ext/Resources/Private/Templates/Old.html' => [
            \a9f\Typo3Fractor\TYPO3v14\Fluid\ChangeLogoutHandlingInFeLoginFractor::class,
        ],
    ])
    ->withSets([
        Typo3LevelSetList::UP_TO_TYPO3_14,
    ]);

Apply Single Rules

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

use a9f\Fractor\Configuration\FractorConfiguration;
use a9f\Typo3Fractor\TYPO3v12\FlexForm\MigrateItemsIndexedKeysToAssociativeFractor;

return FractorConfiguration::configure()
    ->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/packages/'])
    ->withRules([
        MigrateItemsIndexedKeysToAssociativeFractor::class,
    ]);

3. Running Fractor

Dry Run (Preview)

vendor/bin/fractor process --dry-run

Apply Changes

vendor/bin/fractor process

Useful CLI Options (since v1.0)

vendor/bin/fractor process --dry-run --no-diffs        # summary without diff output
vendor/bin/fractor process --dry-run --rules-summary   # which rules changed which files
vendor/bin/fractor process --memory-limit=2G           # raise the limit for large projects

Breaking in v1.0: the --quiet CLI option was removed.

Run Single Rule from Set

vendor/bin/fractor process --only="a9f\Typo3Fractor\TYPO3v14\TypoScript\RemoveExternalOptionFromTypoScriptFractor"

With DDEV

ddev exec vendor/bin/fractor process --dry-run
ddev exec vendor/bin/fractor process

Reach a fixed point and recover generated registries

Use dry run → review → apply → dry run to test a fixed point. In an upgrade graph, return after one bounded repair pass and let the parent spend any remaining retry budget. Standalone, cap apply passes at three; stop earlier on two non-improving results or oscillation and report the residual diff. Fractor handles files only; it cannot see legacy TypoScript stored in sys_template, page TSconfig or group TSconfig, so query those database fields for every removed construct as a separate migration check.

If Fractor cannot boot after a Composer recovery performed with --no-plugins, first run a normal, plugin-enabled reproducible composer install and regenerate the autoloader. TYPO3's extension registry is generated by Composer integration and may be absent even though the lock and vendor tree exist. Never hand-create or patch that file in vendor/; rerun Fractor after regeneration.

4. Available Set Lists

Level Sets (Cumulative)

Apply all rules up to a target version:

Version-Specific Sets

Apply rules for a single version only:

5. Rules by File Type and Version

FlexForm Rules (v12)

TypoScript Rules (v12)

Fluid Rules (bundle id TYPO3_8)

Fluid Rules (v12)

TypoScript rules (bundle id TYPO3_13)

These rules are published under the historical set name Typo3SetList::TYPO3_13 (v13-targeted rules). They still run when you apply the cumulative Typo3LevelSetList::UP_TO_TYPO3_14 level set on a v14 codebase.

TypoScript Rules (v14)

Fluid Rules (v14)

YAML Rules (v14)

Htaccess Rules (v14)

Detailed Reference

Read the full guide when the task needs detailed examples, long templates, troubleshooting matrices, appendices, or sections not included above. Keep this file unloaded for narrow tasks so the skill follows progressive disclosure.