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Context API and aspects

Introduction

The Context API encapsulates various information for data retrieval (for example, inside the database) and analysis of current permissions and caching information.

Previously, various information was distributed inside globally accessible objects ($TSFE or $GLOBALS['BE_USER']) like the current workspace ID or if a frontend or backend user is authenticated. Having a global object available was also dependent on the current request type (frontend or backend), instead of having one consistent place where all this data is located.

The context is set up at the very beginning of each TYPO3 entry point, keeping track of the current time (formally known as $GLOBALS['EXEC_TIME']), if a user is logged in (formerly known as $GLOBALS['TSFE']->loginUser ), and which workspace is currently accessed.

The \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context object can be retrieved via dependency injection:

EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context;

final class MyController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Context $context,
    ) {}
}

This information is separated in so-called "aspects", each being responsible for a certain area.

Aspects

Date time aspect

Contains time, date and timezone information for the current request.

The date time aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\DateTimeAspect , accepts the following properties:

timestamp

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('date', 'timestamp');

Returns the Unix timestamp as an integer value.

timezone

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('date', 'timezone');

Returns the timezone name, for example, "Germany/Berlin".

iso

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('date', 'iso');

Returns the datetime as string in ISO 8601 format, for example, "2004-02-12T15:19:21+00:00".

full

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('date', 'full');

Returns the complete \DateTimeImmutable object.

Example

EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context;

final class MyController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Context $context,
    ) {}

    public function doSomething(): void
    {
        $currentTimestamp = $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect(
            'date',
            'timestamp'
        );

        // ... do something with $currentTimestamp
    }
}

Language aspect

Contains information about language settings for the current request, including fallback and overlay logic.

The language aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\LanguageAspect accepts the following properties:

id

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('language', 'id');

Returns the requested language of the current page as integer (uid).

contentId

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('language', 'contentId');

Returns the language ID of records to be fetched in translation scenarios as integer (uid).

fallbackChain

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('language', 'fallbackChain');

Returns the fallback steps as array.

overlayType

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('language', 'overlayType');

Returns one of

LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_OFF
LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_MIXED
LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_ON or
LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_ON_WITH_FLOATING (default)

See Overlay types for more details.

legacyLanguageMode

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('language', 'legacyLanguageMode');

Returns one of

strict
ignore or
content_fallback.

This property is kept for compatibility reasons. Do not use, if not really necessary, the option will be removed rather sooner than later.

legacyOverlayType

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('language', 'legacyOverlayType');

Returns one of

hideNonTranslated
0 or
1.

This property is kept for compatibility reasons. Do not use, if not really necessary, the option will be removed rather sooner than later.

Overlay types

LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_OFF: Just fetch records from the selected language as given by $GLOBALS['TSFE']->sys_language_content . No overlay will happen, no fetching of the records from the default language. This boils down to "free mode" language handling. Records without a default language parent are included.
LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_MIXED: Fetch records from the default language and overlay them with translations. If a record is not translated, the default language will be used.
LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_ON: Fetch records from the default language and overlay them with translations. If a record is not translated, it will not be displayed.
LanguageAspect::OVERLAYS_ON_WITH_FLOATING: Fetch records from the default language and overlay them with translations. If a record is not translated, it will not be shown. Records without a default language parent are included.

Example

EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context;

final class MyController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Context $context,
    ) {}

    public function doSomething(): void
    {
        $fallbackChain = $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect(
            'language',
            'fallbackChain'
        );

        // ... do something with $fallbackChain
    }
}

Preview aspect

The preview aspect may be used to indicate that the frontend is in preview mode (for example, in case a workspace is previewed or hidden pages or records should be shown).

The preview aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Frontend\Aspect\PreviewAspect , contains the following property:

isPreview

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('frontend.preview', 'isPreview');

Returns, whether the frontend is currently in preview mode.

TypoScript aspect

The TypoScript aspect can be used to manipulate/check whether TemplateRendering is forced.

The TypoScript aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\TypoScriptAspect contains the following property:

forcedTemplateParsing

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('typoscript', 'forcedTemplateParsing');

Returns, whether TypoScript template parsing is forced.

User aspect

Contains information about authenticated users in the current request. The aspect can be used for frontend and backend users.

The user aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\UserAspect , accepts the following properties:

id

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('frontend.user', 'id'); or $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('backend.user', 'id');

Returns the uid of the currently logged in user, 0 if no user is logged in.

username

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('frontend.user', 'username'); or $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('backend.user', 'username');

Returns the username of the currently authenticated user. Empty string, if no user is logged in.

isLoggedIn

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('frontend.user', 'isLoggedIn'); or $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('backend.user', 'isLoggedIn');

Returns, whether a user is logged in, as boolean.

isAdmin

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('backend.user', 'isAdmin');

Returns, whether the user is an administrator, as boolean. It is only useful for backend users.

groupIds

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('frontend.user', 'groupIds'); or $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('backend.user', 'groupIds');

Returns the groups the user is a member of, as array.

groupNames

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('frontend.user', 'groupNames'); or $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('backend.user', 'groupNames');

Returns the names of all groups the user belongs to, as array.

Example

EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context;

final class MyController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Context $context,
    ) {}

    public function doSomething(): void
    {
        $userIsLoggedIn = $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect(
            'frontend.user',
            'isLoggedIn'
        );

        // ... do something with $userIsLoggedIn
    }
}

Visibility aspect

The aspect contains whether to show hidden pages, records (content) or even deleted records.

The visibility aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\VisibilityAspect , accepts the following properties:

includeHiddenPages

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('visibility', 'includeHiddenPages');

Returns, whether hidden pages should be displayed, as boolean.

includeHiddenContent

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('visibility', 'includeHiddenContent');

Returns, whether hidden content should be displayed, as boolean.

includeDeletedRecords

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('visibility', 'includeDeletedRecords');

Returns, whether deleted records should be displayed, as boolean.

Example

EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context;

final class MyController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Context $context,
    ) {}

    public function doSomething(): void
    {
        $showHiddenPages = $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect(
            'visibility',
            'includeHiddenPages'
        );

        // ... do something with $showHiddenPages
    }
}

Workspace aspect

The aspect contains information about the currently accessed workspace.

The workspace aspect, \TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\WorkspaceAspect , accepts the following properties:

id

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('workspace', 'id');

Returns the UID of the currently accessed workspace, as integer.

isLive

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('workspace', 'isLive');

Returns whether the current workspace is live, or a custom offline workspace, as boolean.

isOffline

Call: $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect('workspace', 'isOffline');

Returns, whether the current workspace is offline, as boolean.

Example

EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Context\Context;

final class MyController
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly Context $context,
    ) {}

    public function doSomething(): void
    {
        $showHiddenPages = $this->context->getPropertyFromAspect(
            'workspace',
            'id'
        );

        // ... do something with $showHiddenPages
    }
}