Host storefront with Symfony: relational catalog data

Summary

Deploy a storefront built with Symfony on Ample using the transactional workflows pattern. Compute runs the app in an isolated microVM behind a public HTTPS URL, a managed PostgreSQL 16 database is auto-provisioned and injected as DATABASE_URL. Verified on Symfony: an optimistic version check and an event row written in the same transaction, a stale update rejected, and a history query over the application-owned events (history=2 conflict=rejected). Not separately tested: your domain records, validation rules and concurrency policy; treat the storefront-specific behavior as your application code.

Infrastructure requirements

• Compute: verified (Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.)
• Postgres: verified (Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.)

Prerequisites

• A Symfony project that builds and starts with the documented commands (composer install --no-dev from composer.lock with Symfony Runtime's dotenv disabled - .env never ships, its values arrive as encrypted env).
• A PostgreSQL driver reading DATABASE_URL at runtime (auto-provisioned when omitted or supplied with --env).
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read.

Exact tested configuration

• Template: php-8.5
• Runtime: php
• Size: s-1vcpu-1gb
• Install: composer install --no-dev --prefer-dist --no-interaction --no-progress --optimize-autoloader
• Start: frankenphp php-server --listen :$PORT --root public

Steps

1. Build and start. composer install --no-dev from composer.lock with Symfony Runtime's dotenv disabled, then FrankenPHP serving public/ (php-server with the index.php fallback) reading PORT on the php-8.5 template with APP_ENV=prod. The server must bind 0.0.0.0 on PORT.

2. Implement the pattern on PostgreSQL. The fixture's module implements transactional workflows: an optimistic version check and an event row written in the same transaction, a stale update rejected, and a history query over the application-owned events (history=2 conflict=rejected). Copy the approach into your schema; keep migrations idempotent and run them with --release-command.

3. Deploy. Run the synchronous deploy once and read the result (exit 0 live, 1 failed, 2 blocked).

   ample deploy . --name <app-name> --public
   

4. Verify. Fetch the live URL and run your own checks.

   ample logs <deployment_id> --kind build
   

Tested examples

• Symfony pattern fixture (tests/deploy-canaries/symfony-patterns): Multi-pattern Symfony app whose transactional workflows module was checked live.

Success checks

• App responds on its public URL.
• Transactional-workflows self-test from the live URL.

Limitations

• Verified only with the php-8.5 template at s-1vcpu-1gb.
• The storefront-specific behavior must be treated as application code and was not tested separately.
• Regional and compliance limits are unknown.
• Apps auto-pause when idle and wake on the next request.
• Managed PostgreSQL 16 limitations apply.

Cost estimate

Estimated 10.00 USD per month.

• App server x1 s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD
• Managed PostgreSQL database x1 s-1vcpu-1gb: 5.00 USD

Verification evidence

• Canary run on 2026-09-20: Symfony pattern fixture was deployed on Ample; checks passed for transactional-workflows and configuration-secrets.