/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