Installation 

The extension has to be installed like any other TYPO3 CMS extension.

This is the documentation of branch 1, the 1.x line of the extension. It requires typo3/cms-core ^12.4.22 || ^13.4 and PHP ^8.1 || ^8.2 || ^8.3 || ^8.4, so it installs on TYPO3 v12.4.22 up to v13.4 and PHP 8.1 up to 8.4. The v12 floor is a patch level rather than plain 12.4 - worth noting when a project pins its core version. PHP 8.1 applies to TYPO3 v12 only, because typo3/cms-core 13.4 requires PHP ^8.2. See Compatibility for the full matrix, branch main included.

Composer mode 

Seeding demo, fixture and development data is usually a development concern, so the extension normally belongs in require-dev of the project whose data is rebuilt:

composer require --dev sbuerk/data-factory
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Require it normally when a project provisions itself from a seed set — the commands then exist in the deployed installation as well:

composer require sbuerk/data-factory
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Either command resolves to the line matching the installed core, because each line constrains typo3/cms-core itself - 1.x on TYPO3 v12.4, 2.x on v13.4 and v14.3. TYPO3 v13.4 is served by both, and the 2.x line wins there unless this one is pinned - which is what a project on v13.4 staying on the 1.x line writes down; the line keeps the set descriptor, the scenario format and the two commands compatible:

composer require --dev "sbuerk/data-factory:^1.0"
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Classic mode 

  1. Get it from the Extension Manager: Switch to the module Admin Tools > Extensions, switch to Get Extensions and search for the extension key data_factory, then import the extension from the repository.
  2. Get it from typo3.org: You can always get the current version from TER by downloading the zip version. Upload the file afterwards in the Extension Manager.
  3. Get it from the repository: Every tag also publishes data_factory_<version>.zip as a GitHub release, which is the same artefact the TER receives. Upload it in the Extension Manager.

After the installation 

The extension needs no configuration of its own: it has no extension configuration, no TypoScript and no backend module. Activating it adds the two console commands, and nothing else in the installation changes until one of them is run.

vendor/bin/typo3 data-factory:list
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An installation whose extensions provide no seed set answers with No active extension provides a seed set. and exits successfully — that is the normal state of most installations. Writing a seed set is described in Configuration.

Requirements for an import 

Two conditions have to be met for data-factory:import, and both are refusals with an explanation rather than silent failures:

  • It runs on the command line, as an administrator. The TYPO3 console application authenticates the _cli_ backend user, which is an administrator by default. TYPO3 honours a declared uid only for an administrator and ignores it silently otherwise, which would write a page tree with different uids than the set declares.
  • A file storage has to exist when the set brings files. A new installation gets its fileadmin/ storage from typo3 setup; a set may also name the storage to write into.

See also