Weave Code
Lock Laravel Package
symfony/lock
Symfony Lock provides a simple, reliable way to create and manage locks, giving exclusive access to shared resources across processes and servers. It supports multiple stores like files, Redis, and databases, with blocking and non-blocking lock modes.
Symfony Lock is a standalone PHP component for creating and managing locks—a mechanism that guarantees exclusive access to a shared resource across processes and machines. It prevents race conditions in concurrent applications by letting only one process hold a lock at a time, whether you're protecting a file, a database row, or a critical section of code.
Key features:
- Multiple lock stores: files, Redis, Memcached, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Semaphore, and more
- Blocking and non-blocking lock acquisition with configurable timeouts
- Shared (read) and exclusive (write) locks for fine-grained concurrency control
- Automatic lock expiration (TTL) to avoid deadlocks from crashed processes
- Clean, framework-agnostic API usable in any PHP project
Frequently asked questions about Lock
- How do I install and configure symfony/lock in a Laravel app?
- Install it with composer require symfony/lock and bind the store you need, such as Redis, PDO, Flock, or DynamoDB, in a service provider. Laravel 8+ can use the Lock facade and service container for injection, while custom stores can be registered through a LockFactory. Start with a single critical job or command before expanding to broader workflows.
- Which symfony/lock store should I use for Laravel: Redis, database, or file?
- Choose Redis when you need low-latency distributed locks across Laravel workers and Horizon. Use PDO or PostgreSQL when persistence and database-heavy workflows matter more than raw speed. Flock is fine for single-server local tasks but should be avoided on NFS or multi-server setups, and DynamoDB suits serverless or AWS-heavy deployments.
- Does symfony/lock work with Laravel queues, jobs, and Horizon?
- Yes. You can acquire locks inside a job handle method or around dispatch calls, and the TPM assessment notes integration with Laravel Jobs, Queues, Console commands, and Horizon workers. Use short TTLs for queue jobs and ensure lock keys are unique per resource or job. This prevents duplicate processing when multiple workers run concurrently.
- How do I choose the right TTL for locks in Laravel?
- Set TTL based on the maximum expected runtime of the protected work, such as 30 seconds for queue jobs or 5 minutes for batch jobs. The TTL also acts as fault tolerance when a process crashes or a network partition occurs. Review stale-lock handling and monitor failed acquisitions so a too-short TTL does not cause overlap.
- Can symfony/lock prevent race conditions in horizontally scaled Laravel applications?
- Yes, provided you use a distributed store such as Redis, PDO, DynamoDB, or MongoDB rather than a local file lock. The lock must be shared across all Laravel servers, containers, or serverless functions that touch the same resource. Normalize custom lock keys and avoid poorly configured stores like Flock on NFS to reduce edge cases.
- Is symfony/lock compatible with Laravel 8, 9, 10, and 11?
- The assessment states compatibility with Laravel 8+ and Symfony 6+, 7+, and 8+, including fixes for PostgreSQL and MySQL edge cases. Older Laravel versions below 8 may require polyfills or manual integration, possibly with symfony/lock v6.x. Check your Laravel and PHP versions against the Symfony Lock release you install.
- How should I test distributed locking in Laravel CI/CD?
- Simulate network partitions, process crashes, and concurrent workers in CI/CD using a real Redis or database service container rather than only local file locks. Assert that only one process acquires the lock, that TTL expiration releases stale locks, and that failed acquisitions follow your fallback behavior. Include tests for key normalization and lock contention under load.
- What happens if a Laravel process crashes while holding a symfony/lock lock?
- The lock expires automatically after its TTL, which is why choosing an appropriate TTL is critical for fault tolerance. Until expiration, other processes may be blocked or may fail to acquire the lock depending on your retry strategy. Monitor stale locks and consider shorter TTLs for jobs that can be safely retried.
- How can I monitor lock contention and failed acquisitions in Laravel?
- Instrument lock acquisition time, failed attempts, and contention using Laravel events, logs, Prometheus metrics, or Horizon events. Wrap the Lock facade or LockFactory with your own logging or metrics layer if you need audit trails for compliance. Track backend latency separately for Redis versus PDO so you can tune TTLs and retry policies.
- What are alternatives to symfony/lock for locking in Laravel?
- Laravel's cache locks, database advisory locks, and custom Redis SET NX commands can handle simpler locking needs. Symfony Lock is useful when you want a storage-agnostic API across Redis, PDO, Flock, DynamoDB, and MongoDB without refactoring application code. Evaluate alternatives against your need for distributed coordination, TTL fault tolerance, and multi-backend support.
Weaver
How can I help you explore Laravel packages today?