2 Methods to Access Controller Helper Methods in Symfony 8

Symfony controllers frequently perform common tasks such as rendering templates, returning JSON responses, or redirecting users to another route. To simplify these operations, Symfony provides a set of built-in helper methods. Depending on how the application is structured, we can access these helpers in more than one way. This tutorial provides 2 methods on how to access controller helper methods in a Symfony 8 application.

First, let's create a simple Twig template that will be rendered by our controller.

templates/test/index.html.twig

Hello world

Method 1 - AbstractController

The most common and widely used solution is to extend AbstractController. This base class gives the controller direct access to many convenience methods, such as render, redirectToRoute, etc.

src/Controller/TestController.php

<?php

namespace App\Controller;

use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\AbstractController;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Attribute\Route;

class TestController extends AbstractController
{
    #[Route('/')]
    public function index(): Response
    {
        return $this->render('test/index.html.twig');
    }
}

Method 2 - ControllerHelper

Symfony provides the ControllerHelper class, which has the same helper methods found in AbstractController, but without forcing the controller to inherit from it. Instead, the helper is injected as a service. This approach is especially useful when you want more control over inheritance or when writing unit tests that mock controller behavior.

src/Controller/TestController.php

<?php

namespace App\Controller;

use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Controller\ControllerHelper;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;
use Symfony\Component\Routing\Attribute\Route;

class TestController
{
    public function __construct(private ControllerHelper $helper)
    {
    }

    #[Route('/')]
    public function index(): Response
    {
        return $this->helper->render('test/index.html.twig');
    }
}