summercms/docs/setup/coming-from-wintercms.md

---
title: Coming from WinterCMS
description: Map WinterCMS plugins, models, backend controllers, routes, events and commands to their SummerCMS equivalents, and see what is not provided.
section: setup
order: 40
---
# Coming from WinterCMS

SummerCMS keeps the parts of WinterCMS that make a plugin developer productive. Plugins still declare what they add to the application and extend each other through events and shared services. Backend lists and forms are still described in `fields.yaml` and `columns.yaml`. Models, migrations, console commands and scaffolding keep their WinterCMS shape, so a plugin ports file by file.

What changes is everything that depends on PHP at runtime. Plugins are Go packages compiled into one binary, so there is no plugin directory scanned at boot and no runtime autoloading. Magic methods, dynamic properties and behaviours give way to Go interfaces and composition. SummerCMS is headless: it serves a JSON API and the admin SPA, and the frontend is a separate application that calls that API.

This page maps the concepts. To see them applied to one plugin from start to finish, follow [Porting a plugin](porting-a-plugin.md), which takes an `acme/blog` plugin with a model, migrations, a route, a backend controller and a console command to SummerCMS.

## Concept map

Each row names the WinterCMS concept, the SummerCMS identifiers that replace it, and where to read more: the guide page first, then the module reference.

| WinterCMS | SummerCMS | Where |
|-----------|-----------|-------|
| `Plugin.php` with `pluginDetails`, `register` and `boot` | A type implementing `party.Plugin` (`party.Plugin.ID`, `party.Plugin.Requires`, `party.Plugin.Register`, `party.Plugin.Boot`), registered from `init` with `party.Register` | [Plugin registration](../plugins/registration.md), [party](../../modules/party/README.md) |
| `$require` plugin dependencies | `party.Plugin.Requires`; `party.Activate` orders plugins so each comes after the ones it requires | [Plugin registration](../plugins/registration.md), [party](../../modules/party/README.md) |
| `registerPermissions`, `registerNavigation` | `pact.HasPermissions` returning `pact.Permission` values, `pact.HasNavigation` returning `pact.NavigationItem` values | [Users and permissions](../backend/users-and-permissions.md), [pact](../../modules/pact/README.md) |
| `version.yaml` and the `updates/` directory | `pact.HasMigrations` returning an ordered gormigrate set; `lagoon.Migrate` runs every plugin's set and `lagoon.RollbackLast` undoes the last one | [Migrations](../database/migrations.md), [lagoon](../../modules/lagoon/README.md) |
| Eloquent models | GORM structs with lagoon helpers: `lagoon.Fill` for mass assignment, `lagoon.Validate` for rules, `lagoon.Jsonable` for JSON columns, `lagoon.Page` for pagination | [Models](../database/models.md), [Casts and validation](../database/casts-and-validation.md), [lagoon](../../modules/lagoon/README.md) |
| `fields.yaml` and `columns.yaml` | The same YAML, embedded in the plugin through `pact.AdminAssets` and compiled at boot into a `cabana.CompiledController` | [Forms](../backend/forms.md), [Lists and filters](../backend/lists-and-filters.md), [cabana](../../modules/cabana/README.md) |
| Backend controllers with the Form, List and Relation behaviours | A `pact.AdminController` returned from `pact.HasAdminControllers`; the generic admin API replaces the behaviours, and hooks such as `pact.FormBeforeCreate` and `pact.ListExtendQuery` replace behaviour overrides | [Admin controllers](../backend/admin-controllers.md), [cabana](../../modules/cabana/README.md) |
| `routes.php` | `pact.HasRoutes`, declaring routes on a `pact.Router` with groups, middleware names and `pact.Router.Where` constraints | [Routing](../services/routing.md), [surf](../../modules/surf/README.md) |
| Route middleware | Named middleware of type `pact.Middleware`, registered through `pact.HasMiddleware` | [Routing](../services/routing.md), [surf](../../modules/surf/README.md) |
| `config/*.php`, `.env` and `Config::get` | `compass.Config` with per-environment directories and `SUMMER_` overrides; plugin defaults through `pact.HasConfig` | [Configuration](../services/configuration.md), [compass](../../modules/compass/README.md) |
| `lang/` files and `Lang::get` | `pact.HasLang` for plugin catalogs, read through `phrasebook.Translator.Get` and `phrasebook.Translator.Choice` | [Localization](../services/localization.md), [phrasebook](../../modules/phrasebook/README.md) |
| `Event::listen` and `Event::fire` | `festival.Bus.Listen` and `festival.Bus.Fire` on `backpack.App.Events`, keyed by the event's Go type | [Events](../services/events.md), [festival](../../modules/festival/README.md) |
| `App::make` and singleton bindings | `backpack.App.Publish` and `backpack.App.Lookup`, keyed by type | [Extending plugins](../plugins/extending.md), [backpack](../../modules/backpack/README.md) |
| Artisan commands and `registerConsoleCommand` | `bonfire.Command` values returned from `pact.HasCommands` | [Writing commands](../console/writing-commands.md), [bonfire](../../modules/bonfire/README.md) |
| Queued jobs | `pact.HasJobs` with jobs built by `conga.Job`, dispatched with `conga.Manager.Dispatch` inside the caller's transaction | [Queued jobs](../services/jobs.md), [conga](../../modules/conga/README.md) |
| `registerSchedule` and the scheduler | `pact.HasSchedule` returning `pact.ScheduledCommand` entries with a `pact.Cadence` | [Task scheduling](../plugins/scheduling.md), [pact](../../modules/pact/README.md) |
| Mail templates in `views/mail` | `pact.HasMailTemplates`, sent through `postcard.Mailer` | [Mail](../services/mail.md), [postcard](../../modules/postcard/README.md) |
| Settings models and `registerSettings` | `pact.HasSettings` returning `pact.SettingsItem` entries | [Settings](../backend/settings.md), [cabana](../../modules/cabana/README.md) |
| Laravel broadcasting | `lighthouse.Publisher` drivers and models that implement `lighthouse.Broadcastable` | [Realtime](../services/realtime.md), [lighthouse](../../modules/lighthouse/README.md) |
| Laravel Scout search | Models that implement `beachcomber.Searchable`, synced after commit | [Search](../services/search.md), [beachcomber](../../modules/beachcomber/README.md) |
| The Laravel HTTP client | `fetchguard.Fetch` with a `fetchguard.Policy` that blocks private addresses and limits size and time | [Outbound HTTP](../services/outbound-http.md), [fetchguard](../../modules/fetchguard/README.md) |

## What is not provided

SummerCMS does not port the WinterCMS frontend or the PHP helpers that Go already covers. Do not look for these when you port a plugin:

| WinterCMS | SummerCMS |
|-----------|-----------|
| CMS pages, themes, layouts and partials | Not provided. The frontend is a separate application that calls the JSON API; see [Frontend and AJAX](../services/frontend-and-ajax.md). |
| Components | Not provided. Write an HTTP handler and declare its route through `pact.HasRoutes`; see [Frontend and AJAX](../services/frontend-and-ajax.md). |
| The AJAX framework and Snowboard | Not provided. The frontend calls the JSON API and subscribes to realtime channels; see [Frontend and AJAX](../services/frontend-and-ajax.md). |
| The media manager | Not provided. Store uploads as model attachments; see [Attachments](../database/attachments.md). |
| Import and export in backend lists | Not provided. |
| Record sorting (the Reorder behaviour) | Not provided. |
| Collections | Not provided. Use Go slices and the `slices` and `maps` packages. |
| Behaviours and dynamic class extension | Not provided. Use Go interfaces and composition. |
| Cache | Not provided. Use the Go standard library or a service another plugin publishes. |
| Session | Not provided. The API is stateless and authenticates with tokens; see [Frontend and AJAX](../services/frontend-and-ajax.md). |

## Plugin.php in Go

A WinterCMS plugin registration class for `Acme\Blog` looks like this:

```php
<?php namespace Acme\Blog;

use System\Classes\PluginBase;

class Plugin extends PluginBase
{
    public $require = ['Acme.User'];

    public function pluginDetails()
    {
        return ['name' => 'Blog', 'author' => 'Acme'];
    }

    public function registerPermissions()
    {
        return [
            'acme.blog.access_posts' => ['tab' => 'Blog', 'label' => 'Manage posts'],
        ];
    }
}
```

The SummerCMS plugin is a Go type. The four `party.Plugin` methods replace the plugin details, `$require`, `register` and `boot`, and each extra capability is one more interface, here `pact.HasPermissions`:

```go src=modules/party/example_plugin_test.go
package party_test

import (
	"git.golem15.com/golem15/summercms/modules/backpack"
	"git.golem15.com/golem15/summercms/modules/pact"
)

// BlogPlugin is the acme.blog plugin: the Go form of a WinterCMS Plugin.php.
// A real plugin package also registers it from init with
// party.Register(&BlogPlugin{}).
type BlogPlugin struct{}

// The optional capabilities the plugin opts into, checked at compile time.
var _ pact.HasPermissions = (*BlogPlugin)(nil)

// ID is the plugin identifier in vendor.plugin form.
func (p *BlogPlugin) ID() string { return "acme.blog" }

// Requires lists the plugins that must register and boot first ($require).
func (p *BlogPlugin) Requires() []string { return []string{"acme.user"} }

// Register runs before any plugin boots: publish services here.
func (p *BlogPlugin) Register(app *backpack.App) error { return nil }

// Boot runs after every plugin registered: listen to events and look up
// services other plugins published.
func (p *BlogPlugin) Boot(app *backpack.App) error { return nil }

// Permissions replaces registerPermissions().
func (p *BlogPlugin) Permissions() []pact.Permission {
	return []pact.Permission{
		{Code: "acme.blog.access_posts", Tab: "Blog", Label: "Manage posts"},
	}
}
```

The type satisfies `party.Plugin`, which this example checks every time `go test ./...` runs:

```go src=modules/party/example_test.go#ExamplePlugin
var p party.Plugin = &BlogPlugin{}
fmt.Println(p.ID())
// Output: acme.blog
```

Plugin IDs are lower case in `vendor.plugin` form, so `Acme.User` becomes `acme.user`. The application does not scan for plugins: it lists their IDs in its `summer.yaml` manifest, and `summer build` compiles them in. See [Installation](installation.md) to build your first application.