How to create a Symfony controller

Controllers are the Symfony classes that turn matched routes into HTTP responses. Creating one with MakerBundle gives a project a route attribute, an action method, and a small response surface that can be tested before more page or endpoint logic is added.

Current Symfony Flex applications import route attributes from controller classes, so a generated class under src/Controller can become a callable URL without editing a separate route file. The --no-template option keeps the first controller response inside the PHP class instead of creating a Twig template, which keeps the initial route test focused on request-to-response behavior.

A project root that already contains bin/console and MakerBundle is the starting point. Route inspection and a local HTTP request confirm that Symfony found CatalogController::index(), mapped it to /catalog, and returned the generated response body.

1. Open a terminal in the Symfony project root that contains bin/console.
2. Generate a controller class without a template.

   $ php bin/console make:controller CatalogController --no-template
    Do you want to generate PHPUnit tests? [Experimental] (yes/no) [no]:
    > 
   
    created: src/Controller/CatalogController.php
   
    Success!
   
    Next: Open your new controller class and add some pages!

   Press Enter at the PHPUnit tests prompt to keep the default no answer unless the project needs generated test scaffolding. --no-template keeps the generated controller returning JSON directly.
   Related: How to create a Twig template in Symfony

3. Review the generated controller source.

   CatalogController.php

   <?php
    
   namespace App\Controller;
    
   use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
   use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\JsonResponse;
   use Symfony\Component\Routing\Attribute\Route;
    
   final class CatalogController extends AbstractController
   {
       #[Route('/catalog', name: 'app_catalog')]
       public function index(): JsonResponse
       {
           return $this->json([
               'message' => 'Welcome to your new controller!',
               'path' => 'src/Controller/CatalogController.php',
           ]);
       }
   }

   The route attribute names the URL path and route name. The action returns a JsonResponse through AbstractController::json(), which is enough for a first local smoke test.

4. Confirm that Symfony registered the controller route.

   $ php bin/console debug:router app_catalog
   +--------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | Property     | Value                                                   |
   +--------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | Route Name   | app_catalog                                             |
   | Path         | /catalog                                                |
   | Path Regex   | {^/catalog$}sDu                                         |
   | Host         | ANY                                                     |
   | Host Regex   |                                                         |
   | Scheme       | ANY                                                     |
   | Method       | ANY                                                     |
   | Requirements | NO CUSTOM                                               |
   | Class        | Symfony\Component\Routing\Route                         |
   | Defaults     | _controller: App\Controller\CatalogController::index()  |
   | Options      | compiler_class: Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCompiler |
   |              | utf8: true                                              |
   +--------------+---------------------------------------------------------+

   If a copied development cache does not show the new route, run php bin/console cache:clear once and rerun the route check.
   Related: How to create a Symfony route
   Related: How to clear Symfony cache

5. Start the local Symfony web server.

   $ symfony server:start --no-tls --port=8000 -d
   [OK] Web server listening
        http://127.0.0.1:8000

   Use another free port when 8000 already belongs to another local project.
   Related: How to run a Symfony project locally

6. Request the controller URL and inspect the response.

   $ curl -i -sS http://127.0.0.1:8000/catalog
   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Content-Type: application/json
   ##### snipped #####
   
   {"message":"Welcome to your new controller!","path":"src\/Controller\/CatalogController.php"}

   The status line, content type, and JSON body confirm that the generated controller route is reachable through the local web server.

7. Stop the local server after the smoke test.

   $ symfony server:stop
   [OK] Stopped the local web server