---
title: "Introduction"
manual: "Multi-channel Contexts"
version: "main"
source: "Introduction/Index.rst"
rendered: "2026-10-07T11:40:39+00:00"
---

# Introduction {#introduction}

## What does it do? {#what-does-it-do}

The Contexts extension provides a flexible system for defining contextual
conditions that control content visibility throughout your TYPO3 installation.

Instead of duplicating pages for different scenarios (mobile vs. desktop,
different countries, logged-in vs. anonymous users), you can define contexts
that automatically show or hide content based on various conditions.

## Key Features {#key-features}

-   **Multi-channel content management**

    Define contexts based on IP addresses, domains, query parameters, HTTP headers,
    session data, and more. Content visibility is automatically controlled based
    on the active context.

-   **Page and content element visibility**

    Apply contexts to pages, content elements, and records. Elements are
    automatically shown or hidden based on context matching.

-   **Extensible architecture**

    Create custom context types through a clean API. The extension provides
    built-in types and allows easy extension for project-specific needs.

-   **Performance optimized**

    Context matching is cached and optimized for production environments.
    Minimal overhead on page rendering.

## Use Cases {#use-cases}

-   **Geographic content**: Show different content based on visitor location (IP-based)
-   **Device-specific content**: Different layouts for mobile/desktop (via domain or parameter)
-   **A/B testing**: Show different content variants based on session or cookie
-   **Environment-specific**: Different behavior in staging vs. production
-   **User-based**: Content visibility based on frontend user properties

## Requirements {#requirements}

-   TYPO3 v13.4 LTS or v14.3 LTS
-   PHP 8.2 or higher

> [!TIP]
> For TYPO3 v12.4 support, use version 4.x of this extension; for TYPO3 v11,
> use version 3.x.

## Related Extensions {#related-extensions}

Additional context types are available through companion extensions by Netresearch:

-   **[contexts_geolocation](https://github.com/netresearch/t3x-contexts_geolocation)**

    Location-based contexts: continent, country, and area detection.

-   **[contexts_wurfl](https://github.com/netresearch/t3x-contexts_wurfl)**

    Device-based contexts: phone, tablet, TV detection, screen sizes, browser capabilities.