Migrating from FOSUserBundle to Symfony Security Bundle (with ResetPasswordBundle & VerifyEmailBundle)

June 6, 2025

If you’re still using FOSUserBundle in your Symfony project, it’s time to upgrade. FOSUserBundle was once the standard solution for user authentication and management in Symfony, but it is now deprecated and unsupported in Symfony 6 and beyond.

The good news? Symfony’s modern Security system, combined with official bundles like ResetPasswordBundle and VerifyEmailBundle, provides a more powerful, flexible, and future-proof way to manage user authentication.

1. Why You Should Stop Using FOSUserBundle

FOSUserBundle is Deprecated

• No longer maintained.
• Not compatible with Symfony 6+.
• Depends on outdated practices.
• Lacks support for new authentication and password reset standards.

Symfony Native Security is Better Because

2. Replace FOSUserBundle with Symfony Security Bundle

Install Symfony’s Security Bundle
If it’s not already installed:

composer require symfony/security-bundle

 
This brings in core components like:

• Authenticator system
• UserInterface
• Password hasher
• Firewall/access control support

Remove FOSUserBundle

composer remove friendsofsymfony/user-bundle

3. Deep Dive: security.yaml Migration

FOSUserBundle came with its opinionated configuration. In modern Symfony (5.3+), everything is handled through security.yaml with full control and clarity.

Let’s walk through the new config step-by-step.

Full Example: config/packages/security.yaml

security:
    enable_authenticator_manager: true

    password_hashers:
        Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\PasswordAuthenticatedUserInterface: 'auto'


    providers:
        app_user_provider:
            entity:
                class: App\Entity\User
                property: email

    firewalls:
        dev:
            pattern: ^/(_(profiler|wdt)|css|images|js)/
            security: false

        main:
            lazy: true
            provider: app_user_provider
            custom_authenticator: App\Security\LoginFormAuthenticator
            logout:
                path: app_logout
                target: app_login
            remember_me:
                secret: '%kernel.secret%'
                lifetime: 604800 # 1 week in seconds
                path: /
                always_remember_me: false

    access_control:
        - { path: ^/admin, roles: ROLE_ADMIN }
        - { path: ^/profile, roles: ROLE_USER }
        - { path: ^/login, roles: PUBLIC_ACCESS }
        - { path: ^/register, roles: PUBLIC_ACCESS }
        - { path: ^/verify/email, roles: PUBLIC_ACCESS }
        - { path: ^/reset-password, roles: PUBLIC_ACCESS }

    role_hierarchy:
        ROLE_ADMIN: ROLE_USER

 
Explanation

• enable_authenticator_manager: true: Enables the new security system based on custom authenticators.
• password_hashers: Replaces the old encoders section. Automatically picks the best hashing algorithm.
• providers: Configures the user entity source (usually from Doctrine).
• firewalls.main: The main firewall uses a custom authenticator class.
• logout: Defines how and where users are logged out.
• remember_me: Optional; for persistent login cookies.
• access_control: Protects routes based on user roles.
• role_hierarchy: Let’s admin roles inherit user permissions.

Use php bin/console make: Auth to generate the LoginFormAuthenticator and starter templates.

4. Update the User Entity

FOSUserBundle provided a base class for the user. Now, you need to implement it yourself with the interfaces required by Symfony.

The easiest way to generate a user class is to use the make :user command from the MakerBundle:

php bin/console make:user
 The name of the security user class (e.g. User) [User]:
 > User

 Do you want to store user data in the database (via Doctrine)? (yes/no) [yes]:
 > yes

 Enter a property name that will be the unique "display" name for the user (e.g. email, username, uuid) [email]:
 > email

 Will this app need to hash/check user passwords? Choose No if passwords are not needed or will be checked/hashed by some other system (e.g. a single sign-on server).

 Does this app need to hash/check user passwords? (yes/no) [yes]:
 > yes

 created: src/Entity/User.php
 created: src/Repository/UserRepository.php
 updated: src/Entity/User.php
 updated: config/packages/security.yaml

 
Here’s a clean, modern version of your User entity:

namespace App\Entity;

use App\Repository\UserRepository;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\PasswordAuthenticatedUserInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\UserInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints as Assert;

#[ORM\Entity(repositoryClass: UserRepository::class)]
class User implements UserInterface, PasswordAuthenticatedUserInterface
{
    #[ORM\Id]
    #[ORM\GeneratedValue]
    #[ORM\Column(type: 'integer')]
    private ?int $id = null;

    #[ORM\Column(type: 'string', length: 180, unique: true)]
    #[Assert\NotBlank]
    #[Assert\Email]
    private string $email;

    #[ORM\Column(type: 'json')]
    private array $roles = [];

    #[ORM\Column(type: 'string')]
    private string $password;

    #[ORM\Column(type: 'boolean')]
    private bool $isVerified = false;

    public function getId(): ?int
    {
        return $this->id;
    }

    public function getEmail(): string
    {
        return $this->email;
    }

    public function setEmail(string $email): self
    {
        $this->email = $email;
        return $this;
    }

    public function getUserIdentifier(): string
    {
        return $this->email;
    }

    public function getUsername(): string
    {
        return $this->email;
    }

    public function getRoles(): array
    {
        $roles = $this->roles;
        if (!in_array('ROLE_USER', $roles)) {
            $roles[] = 'ROLE_USER';
        }

        return array_unique($roles);
    }

    public function setRoles(array $roles): self
    {
        $this->roles = $roles;
        return $this;
    }

    public function getPassword(): string
    {
        return $this->password;
    }

    public function setPassword(string $password): self
    {
        $this->password = $password;
        return $this;
    }

    public function eraseCredentials(): void
    {
        // Clear temporary sensitive data
    }

    public function isVerified(): bool
    {
        return $this->isVerified;
    }

    public function setIsVerified(bool $isVerified): self
    {
        $this->isVerified = $isVerified;
        return $this;
    }
}

Key Points:

• Implements UserInterface and PasswordAuthenticatedUserInterface
• Uses email as the username
• Has a boolean isVerified field for email confirmation
• Password is hashed manually using Symfony’s password hasher
• No base class magic – fully customizable

5. Template Overriding

FOSUserBundle came with its own Twig templates. Now you control everything.

Login Template Example

{# templates/security/login.html.twig #}
{% extends 'base.html.twig' %}

{% block body %}
<form method="post" action="{{ path('app_login') }}">
    {% if error %}
        <div class="alert alert-danger">{{ error.messageKey|trans(error.messageData, 'security') }}</div>
    {% endif %}

    <label>Email:</label>
    <input type="email" name="email" value="{{ last_username }}" required autofocus>

    <label>Password:</label>
    <input type="password" name="password" required>

    <input type="hidden" name="_csrf_token" value="{{ csrf_token('authenticate') }}">

    <button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>
{% endblock %}

 
You’ll also need to create templates for:

• Registration
• Reset password
• Email verification

6. Redirect After Login/Logout

In your LoginFormAuthenticator.php:

public function onAuthenticationSuccess(Request $request, TokenInterface
$token, string $firewallName): ?Response
{
    return new
RedirectResponse($this->urlGenerator->generate('dashboard'));
}

In the security.yaml for logout:

logout:
    path: app_logout
    target: app_login

7. Reset Password with ResetPasswordBundle

Install the bundle

composer require symfonycasts/reset-password-bundle

Configuration

# config/packages/reset_password.yaml

symfonycasts_reset_password:
    request_password_repository: App\Repository\ResetPasswordRequestRepository
    lifetime: 3600
    throttle_limit: 3600
    enable_garbage_collection: true

 
Run:

php bin/console make:reset-password

 
This scaffolds everything needed for:

• Token generation
• Reset password form
• Email template
• Routing

8. Email Verification with VerifyEmailBundle

Install the bundle

composer require symfonycasts/verify-email-bundle

Setup

Configuration

You can change the default configuration parameters for the bundle by creating a config/packages/verify_email.yaml config file:

symfonycasts_verify_email:
    lifetime: 3600

 
In your user entity:

#[ORM\Column(type: 'boolean')]
private bool $isVerified = false;

public function isVerified(): bool
{
    return $this->isVerified;
}

public function setIsVerified(bool $isVerified): self
{
    $this->isVerified = $isVerified;
    return $this;
}

 
During registration, trigger email verification:

$this->emailVerifier->sendEmailConfirmation('app_verify_email', $user,
    (new TemplatedEmail())
        ->from(new Address('noreply@example.com', 'Acme App'))
        ->to($user->getEmail())
        ->subject('Please Confirm your Email')
        ->htmlTemplate('registration/confirmation_email.html.twig')
);

 
Handle confirmation via VerifyEmailController:

/**
 * @Route("/verify/email", name="app_verify_email")
 */
public function verifyUserEmail(Request $request): Response
{
    $user = $this->getUser();

    try {
        $this->emailVerifier->handleEmailConfirmation($request, $user);
    } catch (VerifyEmailExceptionInterface $exception) {
        $this->addFlash('verify_email_error', $exception->getReason());
        return $this->redirectToRoute('app_register');
    }

    $this->addFlash('success', 'Your email address has been verified.');

    return $this->redirectToRoute('app_home');
}

Final Cleanup

• Remove any references to FOSUserBundle from config files.
• Remove unused templates.
• Clean up old routes or override templates.
• Test each flow: registration, login, reset, and verify.

Useful Links

• Symfony Security Guide
• ResetPasswordBundle
• VerifyEmailBundle

Ankit Radhanpura

Author

Web developer and tech lead with 9+ years of experience building scalable applications. Skilled in frontend, backend, and system design. Passionate about clean code, performance, and mentoring developers.