README

Display build information in the TYPO3 backend system information toolbar, including build numbers, timestamps, and Git version tags.

Table of Contents

• TYPO3 Extension: Buildinfo
  • Table of Contents
  • Features
  • Requirements
  • Installation
    • Via Composer (recommended)
  • Configuration
    • Extension Configuration
    • File Locations
  • How It Works
    • Display Logic
    • Build Information Display
  • Usage Examples
    • CI/CD Integration
      • GitLab CI Example
      • GitHub Actions Example
    • Docker Builds
      • Dockerfile Example
    • Manual Setup
    • Advanced: Custom File Locations
  • Troubleshooting
    • Information Not Showing
    • Wrong Timestamp Format
    • File Permission Errors
    • Docker Container Issues
  • Support
  • License
  • Credits
    • Development

Features

• Build Number Display: Shows current build number in the backend toolbar
• Build Timestamp: Displays when the current build was created with age indicator
• Git Version: Shows the Git tag or commit version
• Flexible Configuration: Customize file locations via extension configuration
• CI/CD Ready: Perfect for Docker-based deployments with automated builds
• Non-Intrusive: Only displays information when files are present
• Auto-Formatting: Timestamps are automatically formatted as human-readable dates with age
• Backend Integration: Seamlessly integrates with TYPO3's system information toolbar

Requirements

• TYPO3 11.0 - 14.9
• PHP 7.4 or higher

Installation

Via Composer (recommended)

composer require worlddirect/buildinfo

Configuration

Extension Configuration

Configure file locations through the TYPO3 Extension Manager or by adding to your site's configuration.

Important: All file paths are relative to your TYPO3 project root directory (Environment::getProjectPath()).

File Locations

By default, the extension looks for files in the project root:

/var/www/html/
├── buildNumber.txt
├── buildTimestamp.txt
├── gitVersion.txt
├── public/
└── vendor/

You can configure different paths:

config/build/buildNumber.txt
config/build/buildTimestamp.txt
config/build/gitVersion.txt

How It Works

Display Logic

The extension uses TYPO3's PSR-14 SystemInformationToolbarCollectorEvent to inject build information into the backend toolbar:

1. File Check: For each configured file, the extension checks if it exists
2. Content Reading: If a file exists, its content is read
3. Formatting: Timestamps are formatted as human-readable dates (e.g., "18.02.2026 14:30:00 (3 days old)")
4. Toolbar Display: Information is added to the system information dropdown
5. Missing Files: If a file doesn't exist, that information is simply not displayed

Build Information Display

The toolbar shows:

• Build Number: Arbitrary version or build identifier
• Build Date: Formatted timestamp with age calculation
• Git Version: Tag, branch, or commit hash

Usage Examples

CI/CD Integration

GitLab CI Example

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    # Generate build number
    - echo "${CI_PIPELINE_ID}" > buildNumber.txt
    
    # Generate build timestamp
    - date +%s > buildTimestamp.txt
    
    # Generate Git version
    - git describe --tags --always > gitVersion.txt
    
    # Build your project
    - docker build -t myapp:${CI_PIPELINE_ID} .

GitHub Actions Example

- name: Generate Build Information
  run: |
    echo "${{ github.run_number }}" > buildNumber.txt
    date +%s > buildTimestamp.txt
    git describe --tags --always > gitVersion.txt

Docker Builds

Dockerfile Example

FROM php:8.3-apache

# Your build steps...

# Add build information
ARG BUILD_NUMBER
ARG GIT_VERSION
RUN echo "${BUILD_NUMBER}" > /var/www/html/buildNumber.txt && \
    date +%s > /var/www/html/buildTimestamp.txt && \
    echo "${GIT_VERSION}" > /var/www/html/gitVersion.txt

COPY . /var/www/html/

Build with:

docker build \
  --build-arg BUILD_NUMBER=$(git rev-list --count HEAD) \
  --build-arg GIT_VERSION=$(git describe --tags --always) \
  -t myapp:latest .

Manual Setup

For development or manual deployments:

# Build number (e.g., incremental number or version)
echo "1.2.3" > buildNumber.txt

# Build timestamp (Unix timestamp)
date +%s > buildTimestamp.txt

# Git version (current tag or commit)
git describe --tags --always > gitVersion.txt

Advanced: Custom File Locations

Configure via extension settings to use a custom directory:

builds/current/number.txt
builds/current/timestamp.txt
builds/current/version.txt

Troubleshooting

Information Not Showing

Problem: Build information doesn't appear in the backend toolbar

Solutions:

• Verify files exist in the configured location (default: project root)
• Check file permissions (must be readable by web server)
• Ensure files contain valid content (not empty)
• Clear TYPO3 caches: Admin Tools → Flush Caches
• Check exact file paths in Extension Manager configuration

Wrong Timestamp Format

Problem: Timestamp shows incorrectly or not at all

Solutions:

• Ensure timestamp file contains a Unix timestamp (seconds since epoch)
• Generate with: date +%s > buildTimestamp.txt
• Verify file content is numeric: cat buildTimestamp.txt
• File should contain only the number, no extra whitespace or newlines

File Permission Errors

Problem: PHP can't read the build information files

Solutions:

# Set appropriate permissions
chmod 644 buildNumber.txt buildTimestamp.txt gitVersion.txt

# Ensure web server user can read
chown www-data:www-data build*.txt gitVersion.txt

Docker Container Issues

Problem: Files not present in Docker container

Solutions:

• Verify files are created during Docker build process
• Check files are in correct location within container
• Use docker exec to inspect container: docker exec -it container ls -la /var/www/html/
• Ensure files aren't excluded by .dockerignore

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Source Code: GitHub Repository
• Author: Klaus Hörmann-Engl kho@world-direct.at
• Company: World-Direct eBusiness solutions GmbH

License

This extension is licensed under GPL-2.0-only. See LICENSE file for details.

Credits

Developed and maintained by Klaus Hörmann-Engl at World-Direct eBusiness solutions GmbH.

Happy Building! 🚀