Composer Patches
in Shopware 6

Why You Shouldn’t Modify Core Code

Direct edits inside vendor/ are risky. When you update Shopware or dependencies, those changes will be overwritten, and since these changes are not written to git, it will never work correctly in a proper set up CI/CD project. Making direct changes in the vendor files complicates maintenance and increases the chance of bugs during upgrades. A maintainable alternative is to apply patches in a structured way using a Composer plugin.

Why Use Composer Patches

Composer patches allow you to apply changes to third-party packages in a maintainable way. They are applied automatically during composer install or composer update, keeping your changes intact while still allowing updates from Shopware or other dependencies.

Setting Up Composer Patches

The recommended plugin for applying patches is cweagans/composer-patches. It integrates with Composer and ensures that your patches are applied consistently across all environments.

Setting Up Composer Patches

In Shopware 6, core files should never be modified directly. Instead, you can use Composer patches to apply fixes or adjustments to third-party packages in a safe and upgrade-proof way.

Installing the Patch Plugin

The recommended plugin for managing patches is cweagans/composer-patches. It integrates with Composer and ensures your patches are applied consistently across all environments.

Declaring Patches

In your composer.json, add an extra.patches section mapping the package to your patch file:

{
    "extra": {
        "patches": {
            "shopware/storefront": {
                "Fix storefront template issue": "custom/patches/storefront-fix.patch"
            }
        }
    }
}

Composer will apply the patch automatically whenever the package is installed or updated.

Creating Patch Files

To create a patch:

• Copy the original file from vendor/ or create a branch from the relevant repository.
• Make your modifications.
• Generate a diff file, for example:
  git diff path/to/original/file > custom/patches/mypatch.patch
• Commit the patch file to your repository.

Alternatively the Local History function in PHPStorm can also be used to generate your patch file.

Applying and Maintaining Patches

Run composer install to apply patches automatically.

This workflow allows you to safely modify third-party packages while keeping your Shopware project upgrade-safe.

• X (@runelaenen)
• the Shopware Community Slack (@Rune Laenen)
• the Shopware Community Hub (@rune)
• Or come say "Hi 👋" if you see me at a Shopware event!