aws-lambda-php-integration

---

name: aws-lambda-php-integration description: Provides AWS Lambda integration patterns for PHP with Symfony using the Bref framework. Creates Lambda handler classes, configures runtime layers, sets up SQS/SNS event triggers, implements warm-up strategies, and optimizes cold starts. Use when deploying PHP/Symfony applications to AWS Lambda, configuring API Gateway integration, implementing serverless PHP applications, or optimizing Lambda performance with Bref. Triggers include "create lambda php", "deploy symfony lambda", "bref lambda aws", "php lambda cold start", "aws lambda php performance", "symfony serverless", "php serverless framework". allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash

AWS Lambda PHP Integration

Patterns for deploying PHP and Symfony applications on AWS Lambda using the Bref framework.

Overview

Two approaches available:

• Bref Framework - Standard PHP on Lambda with Symfony support, built-in routing, cold start < 2s
• Raw PHP - Minimal overhead, maximum control, cold start < 500ms

Both support API Gateway integration with production-ready configurations.

When to Use

• Creating new Lambda functions in PHP
• Migrating existing Symfony applications to Lambda
• Optimizing cold start performance
• Configuring API Gateway or SQS/SNS event triggers
• Setting up deployment pipelines for PHP Lambda

Instructions

1. Choose Your Approach

Approach	Cold Start	Best For	Complexity
Bref	< 2s	Symfony apps, full-featured APIs	Medium
Raw PHP	< 500ms	Simple handlers, maximum control	Low

2. Project Structure

Symfony with Bref Structure

my-symfony-lambda/
├── composer.json
├── serverless.yml
├── public/
│   └── index.php         # Lambda entry point
├── src/
│   └── Kernel.php        # Symfony Kernel
├── config/
│   ├── bundles.php
│   ├── routes.yaml
│   └── services.yaml
└── templates/

Raw PHP Structure

my-lambda-function/
├── public/
│   └── index.php         # Handler entry point
├── composer.json
├── serverless.yml
└── src/
    └── Services/

3. Implementation

Symfony with Bref:

// public/index.php
use Bref\Symfony\Bref;
use App\Kernel;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;

require __DIR__.'/../vendor/autoload.php';

$kernel = new Kernel($_SERVER['APP_ENV'] ?? 'dev', $_SERVER['APP_DEBUG'] ?? true);
$kernel->boot();

$bref = new Bref($kernel);
return $bref->run($event, $context);

Raw PHP Handler:

// public/index.php
use function Bref\Lambda\main;

main(function ($event) {
    $path = $event['path'] ?? '/';
    $method = $event['httpMethod'] ?? 'GET';

    return [
        'statusCode' => 200,
        'body' => json_encode(['message' => 'Hello from PHP Lambda!'])
    ];
});

4. Cold Start Optimization

1. Lazy loading - Defer heavy services until needed
2. Disable unused Symfony features - Turn off validation, annotations
3. Optimize composer autoload - Use classmap for production
4. Use Bref optimized runtime - Leverage PHP 8.x optimizations

5. Connection Management

// Cache AWS clients at function level
use Aws\DynamoDb\DynamoDbClient;

class DatabaseService
{
    private static ?DynamoDbClient $client = null;

    public static function getClient(): DynamoDbClient
    {
        if (self::$client === null) {
            self::$client = new DynamoDbClient([
                'region' => getenv('AWS_REGION'),
                'version' => 'latest'
            ]);
        }
        return self::$client;
    }
}

Best Practices

Memory and Timeout

• Memory: Start with 512MB for Symfony, 256MB for raw PHP
• Timeout: Symfony 10-30s for cold start buffer, Raw PHP 3-10s typically sufficient

Dependencies

{
    "require": {
        "php": "^8.2",
        "bref/bref": "^2.0",
        "symfony/framework-bundle": "^6.0"
    },
    "config": {
        "optimize-autoloader": true,
        "preferred-install": "dist"
    }
}

Error Handling

try {
    $result = processRequest($event);
    return [
        'statusCode' => 200,
        'body' => json_encode($result)
    ];
} catch (ValidationException $e) {
    return [
        'statusCode' => 400,
        'body' => json_encode(['error' => $e->getMessage()])
    ];
} catch (Exception $e) {
    error_log($e->getMessage());
    return [
        'statusCode' => 500,
        'body' => json_encode(['error' => 'Internal error'])
    ];
}

Logging

error_log(json_encode([
    'level' => 'info',
    'message' => 'Request processed',
    'request_id' => $context->getAwsRequestId(),
    'path' => $event['path'] ?? '/'
]));

Deployment

Serverless Configuration

# serverless.yml
service: symfony-lambda-api

provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: php-82
  memorySize: 512
  timeout: 20

package:
  individually: true
  exclude:
    - '**/node_modules/**'
    - '**/.git/**'

functions:
  api:
    handler: public/index.php
    events:
      - http:
          path: /{proxy+}
          method: ANY

Deploy and Validate

# 1. Install Bref
composer require bref/bref --dev

# 2. Test locally (validate before deploy)
sam local invoke -e event.json

# 3. Deploy
vendor/bin/bref deploy

# 4. Verify deployment
aws lambda invoke --function-name symfony-lambda-api-api \
  --payload '{"path": "/", "httpMethod": "GET"}' /dev/stdout

Symfony Full Configuration

# serverless.yml for Symfony
service: symfony-lambda-api

provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: php-82
  stage: ${self:custom.stage}
  region: ${self:custom.region}
  environment:
    APP_ENV: ${self:custom.stage}
    APP_DEBUG: ${self:custom.isLocal}
  iam:
    role:
      statements:
        - Effect: Allow
          Action:
            - dynamodb:GetItem
            - dynamodb:PutItem
          Resource: '*'

functions:
  web:
    handler: public/index.php
    timeout: 30
    memorySize: 1024
    events:
      - http:
          path: /{proxy+}
          method: ANY

  console:
    handler: bin/console
    timeout: 300
    events:
      - schedule: rate(1 day)

plugins:
  - ./vendor/bref/bref

custom:
  stage: dev
  region: us-east-1
  isLocal: false

Constraints and Warnings

Lambda Limits

• Deployment package: 250MB unzipped maximum (50MB zipped)
• Memory: 128MB to 10GB
• Timeout: 29 seconds (API Gateway), 15 minutes for async
• Concurrent executions: 1000 default

PHP-Specific Considerations

• Cold start: PHP has moderate cold start; use Bref for optimized runtimes
• Dependencies: Keep composer.json minimal; use Lambda Layers for shared deps
• PHP version: Use PHP 8.2+ for best Lambda performance
• No local storage: Lambda containers are ephemeral; use S3/DynamoDB for persistence

Common Pitfalls

1. Large vendor folder - Exclude dev dependencies; use --no-dev
2. Session storage - Don't use local file storage; use DynamoDB
3. Long-running processes - Not suitable for Lambda; use ECS instead
4. Websockets - Use API Gateway WebSockets or AppSync instead

Security Considerations

• Never hardcode credentials; use IAM roles and SSM Parameter Store
• Validate all input data
• Use least privilege IAM policies
• Enable CloudTrail for audit logging
• Set proper CORS headers

Examples

Example 1: Create a Symfony Lambda API

Input: "Create a Symfony Lambda REST API using Bref for a todo application"

Process:

1. Initialize Symfony project with composer create-project
2. Install Bref: composer require bref/bref
3. Configure serverless.yml
4. Set up routes in config/routes.yaml
5. Test locally: sam local invoke
6. Deploy: vendor/bin/bref deploy
7. Verify: aws lambda invoke --function-name <name> --payload '{}'

Output: Complete Symfony project structure with REST API, DynamoDB integration, deployment configuration

Example 2: Optimize Cold Start for Symfony

Input: "My Symfony Lambda has 5 second cold start, how do I optimize it?"

Process:

1. Analyze services loaded at startup
2. Disable unused Symfony features (validation, annotations)
3. Use lazy loading for heavy services
4. Optimize composer autoload
5. Measure: Deploy and invoke to verify cold start < 2s

Output: Refactored Symfony configuration with cold start < 2s

Example 3: Deploy with GitHub Actions

Input: "Configure CI/CD for Symfony Lambda with Serverless Framework"

Process:

1. Create GitHub Actions workflow
2. Set up PHP environment with composer
3. Run PHPUnit tests
4. Deploy with Serverless Framework
5. Validate: Check Lambda function exists and responds

Output: Complete .github/workflows/deploy.yml with multi-stage pipeline and test automation

References

• Bref Lambda - Complete Bref setup, Symfony integration, routing
• Raw PHP Lambda - Minimal handler patterns, caching, packaging
• Serverless Deployment - Serverless Framework, SAM, CI/CD pipelines
• Testing Lambda - PHPUnit, SAM Local, integration testing