TYPO3 v13.0 — The Ocean's Calling

As typical for a dot-zero release, we have upgraded some libraries and paved the way for new functions and enhancements planned for the upcoming sprint releases in TYPO3 version 13.0. Many changes have been made under the hood. We also removed functions and components marked as deprecated in TYPO3 v12 LTS per our deprecation policy, and defined new minimum system requirements for v13.

A noticeable new feature is the “right-to-left” compatibility of the TYPO3 backend user interface, which underlines TYPO3’s outstanding reputation of being a truly international open-source content management system.

Let’s have a closer look at the main changes of the new release. For more in-depth information with detailed technical insight, see the v13 Changelog.

It has always been a key objective of TYPO3 to make the user interface accessible to as many users as possible. This goal is reflected in the support of more than 60 backend languages by default. TYPO3’s capability in this area has allowed it to build a user base worldwide. TYPO3 is widely deployed by international organizations and in the public sector, where local regulatory and legal considerations play a significant role, and strict accessibility and language requirements are customary.

Beyond languages, different writing systems are also a key factor when developing localizable user interfaces. With the release of TYPO3 version 13.0, the backend now supports right-to-left (RTL) text direction. This feature impacts the layout, and the TYPO3 developers not only had to consider the content area, but also tables, menus, etc. which are now fully supported.

The screenshots show the TYPO3 backend in Arabic. Arabic is the world's most widely used writing system after the Latin script. It is the official language in almost 30 countries (states and territories) and is estimated to be spoken by well over 400 million people worldwide.

“Web accessibility is not just about language. It is about creating a digital space where everyone can feel at home, whether they are reading from left-to-right or from right-to-left — and TYPO3 supports that.” – Abdulhamid Kwieder

Read Abdulhamid’s article “Arabic CMS: Mastering Right-to-Left Content” for further details about the Arabic language support in the TYPO3 backend.

RTL is not only relevant for the Arabic language. The writing direction is also used for Hebrew, Kurdish (Sorani), and Persian/Farsi, and several South Asian languages, such as Urdu, Kashmiri, and Pashto.

The TYPO3 backend now fully supports RTL writing and enables further translations and localization. We encourage the community to step up and translate the TYPO3 backend labels into their languages. The Crowdin Tools make the process super-easy, and the TYPO3 Localization Team is happy to support anyone who gets stuck.

Two important backend modules, the Admin Tools (also known as the “Install Tool”) and the Extension Manager are now decoupled from the TYPO3 Core. The Admin Tools are used to set up, configure, and maintain the TYPO3 installation. The Extension Manager lets TYPO3 administrators and integrators download, install, and uninstall extensions.

With Composer-based installations, users can now execute all these functions on the command line—from installing the TYPO3 Core from scratch to the system configuration and maintenance of third-party extensions, including automatic dependency management.

As a result of this widespread adoption of Composer, most functions of the Admin Tools and the Extension Manager are not necessarily required. In particular, these modules don’t need to be installed in Composer-based installations.

Although these components are pre-selected by default, system operators can now choose not to install them when they set up a new TYPO3 instance. They can also delete the components from existing installations by removing the Composer packages (“typo3/cms-install” and “typo3/cms-extensionmanager”). Not having the Admin Tools and/or the Extension Manager installed in the system hardens the security by reducing the attack surface. An attacker can’t exploit low-level administrative functions that don’t exist.

Although we decoupled both modules from the TYPO3 Core, removing them is optional. The Admin Tools and the Extension Manager remain a vital part of the TYPO3 ecosystem.

We have eliminated the need for a dedicated URI such as “/typo3/” in TYPO3 version 13.0. TYPO3 always had the concept of a frontend and backend area with strictly separated entry points for HTTP requests. All requests to the system, whether they address the frontend or backend, go to one entry point.

TYPO3 installations no longer have a “typo3/” directory for accessing the backend. This change opens the door for a configurable backend URI—a long-standing feature request from the community. The backend remains accessible through the path “/typo3/” by default, but administrators can now adjust the backend URI to their needs.

Note: Consolidated entry points require system administrators to adjust the web server configuration, for example the file “.htaccess” for the Apache HTTP server.

In TYPO3 installations containing many form definitions, backend users often struggle to find the form they are looking for quickly. To ease the process, the Form Manager now features a search input field at the top of the page.

Pop in a search term such as “contact”, hit the enter key, and TYPO3 filters the list based on your keyword.

TYPO3’s system extension “felogin” offers a function to let frontend users reset their passwords. Previously, the email that TYPO3 sent to registered email addresses offered a very limited set of variables. In version 13.0, the email template offers a new variable “userData” containing a broad set of user details. This enhancement expands the customization options of the password recovery email.

Developers can now register custom keyboard shortcuts in the TYPO3 backend. We added a simple yet powerful hotkeys.js JavaScript module to TYPO3 v13 to allow for this function.

Backend users can open the LiveSearch by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + K or save the currently opened document with Ctrl/Cmd + S. Read the TYPO3 documentation for further details.

The first version of a new release cycle always means clean-up. We removed deprecated PHP classes, functions, CLI calls, etc. which were considered outdated or kept for legacy reasons. This housework mainly affects developers and is common practice for a dot-zero release such as TYPO3 version 13.0.

Refer to “Breaking: 100963 - Deprecated functionality removed” for a complete list of breaking changes due to removing of deprecated PHP classes, properties, etc.

Some notable changes include the removal of the following components from the TYPO3 backend:

• jQueryUI
• RequireJS

We also streamlined the recycler/trash bin concept in the backend, and removed one of the oldest functions in TYPO3: the recycler page type. Page records marked as “doktype=255” stood for a recycler bin. The Recycler backend module, however, offers the same functionality, is much more user-friendly and safer, and has more features.

We removed the recycler page type in TYPO3 version 13.0. An upgrade wizard ensures that you don’t lose content elements if you update from v12 to v13. The type of recycler pages is changed to a “Backend User Section” page type, so your content remains and is not accessible by default.

TYPO3 version 13.0 has new minimum system requirements. This move paves the way for enhancements planned for the upcoming sprint releases and allows us to use up-to-date dependent packages with long-term support.

TYPO3 requires PHP version 8.2, which will receive security updates for the next two years until December 2025. This PHP version is also required for Symfony version 7, which is another component of TYPO3 v13. Symfony v7 will be supported until November 2028.

We also plan to update Doctrine, the database abstraction layer (DBAL) used in TYPO3. At the time of writing, the first release candidate of Doctrine DBAL v4 is out, and we expect a final release of the library in the next few months. Developers can read more about the breaking changes in Doctrine DBAL v4 in the upgrade notes.

The Doctrine v4 upgrade also impacts the system requirements regarding the supported database engines. TYPO3 v13.x supports the following database products and versions:

• MySQL version 8.0.17 or higher
• MariaDB version 10.4.3 or higher
• PostgresSQL version 10.0 or higher
• SQLite version 3.8.3 or higher

Hint: When upgrading from TYPO3 v12 LTS to TYPO3 v13.x, update the platform first, then the TYPO3 instance. TYPO3 v12 LTS supports PHP version 8.2 and the MariaDB and MySQL database engine versions also supported by TYPO3 v13.x.

We will support each TYPO3 sprint release (v13.0 to v13.3) until the next minor version is published. The long-term support version TYPO3 v13 LTS (aka version 13.4) will receive bug fixes until 30 April 2026, and we will provide security patches for TYPO3 v13 LTS until 31 October 2027.

Read more about the requirements and dependencies on get.typo3.org.

You will find all the details about the release and how to download and install TYPO3 at get.typo3.org. Detailed installation instructions are documented in the Installation Guide. We recommend using Composer to set up your TYPO3 environment.

We want to encourage developers to look closely at changes affecting their extensions. For example, test your code against the upgraded versions of dependent packages and make sure that your extension does not use deprecated PHP classes or properties that have been removed in TYPO3 version 13.0.

TYPO3 version 13.0 is the first sprint release of the v13 series and marks the beginning of an exciting journey! The next release on our roadmap is TYPO3 version 13.1, scheduled in 12 weeks, on 23 April 2024.