In our previous guide, “7 Easy Steps to Satis – TYPO3 Private Packages for Composer”, we showed how to set up your own private Composer repository using Satis. That works great when you’re dealing with one vendor or one set of credentials.
But in real-world TYPO3 projects, it often gets more complex.
In this blog, we are exploring a common problem that many developers face when managing premium Composer packages from multiple vendors — the multi-credential issue.
Before We Move Ahead…If you’re new to using Satis with TYPO3, we suggest checking out our earlier blog:
7 Easy Steps to Satis – TYPO3 Private Packages for Composer
Let’s get started: how to solve composer multi-credential issues with satis domains.
Problem: When One Satis Repository Isn't Enough
In our previous article, we walked through setting up a complete Satis-based private Composer repository. However, as many developers have discovered in real-world scenarios, there's a significant limitation that wasn't addressed: the multi-credential challenge.
The Real-World Scenario
Imagine you're managing a large TYPO3 project with premium extensions from multiple vendors:
{
"require": {
"vendor-a/premium-extension-1": "^2.0",
"vendor-a/premium-extension-2": "^1.5",
"vendor-b/premium-extension-3": "^3.0",
"vendor-c/premium-extension-4": "^1.2"
}
}
Each vendor requires different credentials:
- Vendor A: customer1@company.com / secret123
- Vendor B: different@company.com / password456
- Vendor C: admin@company.com / token789
The Limitation That Breaks Everything
As documented in several GitHub issues (composer/satis#482, composer/composer#8724), Composer and Satis have a fundamental limitation: only one set of credentials per domain.
When multiple premium packages come from the same vendor domain but require different credentials (common when different team members purchase licenses), you're stuck with these problematic workarounds:
- Manual Installation: Download and commit packages directly (defeats the purpose of Composer)
- Credential Sharing: Share one account across team (security nightmare)
- Complex Workarounds: Mix global and project-specific auth.json files (limited to 2 sets)
- Package Forking: Mirror packages to your own repositories (maintenance overhead)
Our Solution: Multi-domain Setup For Easy Credential Management
After extensive research and development, we've engineered a revolutionary approach that leverages domain-based credential separation with intelligent URL rewriting. This solution maintains all the benefits of Satis while completely eliminating the multi-credential limitation.
Architecture Overview
Instead of fighting Composer's single-credential-per-domain limitation, we embrace it by creating multiple subdomain endpoints that serve the same repository content but with different authentication requirements.
- composer.t3planet.cloud → Vendor A credentials
- composer2.t3planet.cloud → Vendor B credentials
- composer3.t3planet.cloud → Vendor C credentials
- composer4.t3planet.cloud → Vendor D credentials
Each subdomain serves identical package content but requires different authentication, allowing you to use multiple credential sets seamlessly.
Technical Implementation
Core Challenge: Dynamic URL Rewriting
The biggest technical hurdle was that Satis generates static JSON files with hardcoded URLs pointing to the primary domain. Simply creating multiple subdomains isn't enough—the package URLs inside the JSON responses also need to be dynamically rewritten based on the requesting domain.
- Example Problem: When composer2.t3planet.cloud serves packages.json, it contains:
{
"dist": {
"url": "https://composer.t3planet.cloud//dist/vendor/package.zip"
}
}
But it should contain:
{
"dist": {
"url": "https://composer2.t3planet.cloud//dist/vendor/package.zip"
}
}
Solution Architecture
Our solution implements a high-performance caching proxy with streaming URL replacement for handling large JSON files (typically 5MB+) efficiently:
1. Domain-Specific Request Routing
# .htaccess - Only process non-base domains
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^composer\.t3planet\.cloud$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^composer\d*\.t3planet\.cloud$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/include/all(\$|%24)[a-f0-9]{40}\.json$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^include/all(\$|%24)([a-f0-9]{40})\.json$ handler.php [L,QSA]
Performance Optimization: The base domain (90% of traffic) is completely ignored and served directly by Apache for maximum speed.
2. Streaming JSON Processing Engine
function processLargeJsonFile($filePath, $fromDomain, $toDomain) {
$searchPattern = 'https://' . $fromDomain . '//';
$replacement = 'https://' . $toDomain . '//';
$handle = fopen($filePath, 'r');
$output = '';
$buffer = '';
$bufferSize = 8192; // 8KB chunks
while (!feof($handle)) {
$chunk = fread($handle, $bufferSize);
$buffer .= $chunk;
// Process in safe chunks to avoid breaking mid-URL
if (strlen($buffer) > $bufferSize * 2) {
$lastQuote = strrpos($buffer, '"', -1000);
if ($lastQuote !== false) {
$processChunk = substr($buffer, 0, $lastQuote);
$buffer = substr($buffer, $lastQuote);
$output .= str_replace($searchPattern, $replacement, $processChunk);
}
}
}
// Process remaining buffer
$output .= str_replace($searchPattern, $replacement, $buffer);
fclose($handle);
return $output;
}
Key Features:
- Memory Efficient: Processes 5MB+ files using only ~32MB RAM
- Streaming Processing: No file size limitations
- Safe Chunking: Prevents breaking URLs mid-replacement
- High Performance: 8KB buffer size optimized for typical server configurations
3. Intelligent Caching System
function getDomainSpecificContent($filePath, $requestDomain) {
$cacheFile = getCacheKey($filePath, $requestDomain);
// Check cache validity (auto-invalidation)
if (isCacheValid($cacheFile, $filePath)) {
return file_get_contents($cacheFile); // ~50ms response
}
// Process and cache for future requests
$content = processLargeJsonFile($filePath, BASE_DOMAIN, $targetDomain);
file_put_contents($cacheFile, $content, LOCK_EX);
return $content;
}
Performance Benefits:
- First Request: 2-3 seconds (one-time processing)
- Cached Requests: 50-100ms (lightning fast)
- Auto-Invalidation: Cache automatically refreshes when source files change
- Domain-Specific: Each subdomain maintains separate cache
CLI Compatibility
A critical discovery during implementation was that CLI tools (including Composer itself) URL-encode special characters:
- Browser: all$544a90db0013ef32cf83c1b0892803af0041c961.json
- CLI/Composer: all%24544a90db0013ef32cf83c1b0892803af0041c961.json
Our solution handles both scenarios transparently:
function getTargetFile() {
$requestUri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ?? '';
$decodedUri = urldecode($requestUri); // Handle %24 encoding
if (strpos($decodedUri, '/include/all$') !== false) {
$filename = basename(parse_url($decodedUri, PHP_URL_PATH));
if (preg_match('/^all\$[a-f0-9]{40}\.json$/', $filename)) {
return INCLUDE_DIR . '/' . $filename;
}
}
return null;
}
How to implement?
Step 1: Domain Setup
Create multiple subdomains pointing to the same Satis installation:
- composer.t3planet.cloud → /var/www/satis/
- composer2.t3planet.cloud → /var/www/satis/
- composer3.t3planet.cloud → /var/www/satis/
Step 2: Authentication Configuration
Configure different authentication for each subdomain:
For composer.t3planet.cloud (.htaccess):
AuthUserFile /path/to/.htpasswd_vendor_a
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Vendor A Access"
Require valid-user
// For composer2.t3planet.cloud (.htaccess):
AuthUserFile /path/to/.htpasswd_vendor_b
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Vendor B Access"
Require valid-user
Step 3: Deploy Processing Engine
Upload the handler.php and .htaccess files to enable dynamic URL rewriting.
Step 4: Client Configuration
Configure your project's composer.json to use multiple repositories:
{
"repositories": [
{
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://composer.t3planet.cloud/"
},
{
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://composer2.t3planet.cloud/"
},
{
"type": "composer",
"url": "https://composer3.t3planet.cloud/"
}
],
"config": {
"http-basic": {
"composer.t3planet.cloud": {
"username": "vendor-a-user",
"password": "vendor-a-pass"
},
"composer2.t3planet.cloud": {
"username": "vendor-b-user",
"password": "vendor-b-pass"
},
"composer3.t3planet.cloud": {
"username": "vendor-c-user",
"password": "vendor-c-pass"
}
}
}
}
Performance Analysis of Statis Domains
Benchmark Results :
Scenario | Response Time | Server Load | Memory Usage |
Base domain (90% traffic) | ~5ms | Minimal (Apache only) | ~2MB |
First subdomain request | 2-3 seconds | High (processing) | ~32MB peak |
Cached subdomain request | 50-100ms | Low (file serving) | ~5MB |
Load Distribution
- 90% of traffic: Served directly by Apache (maximum performance)
- 10% of traffic: Processed with caching (acceptable overhead)
- Cache hit ratio: >95% after warmup period
Scalability Considerations
The solution scales excellently because:
- Most traffic bypassed: Base domain users get zero processing overhead
- Efficient caching: Subsequent requests are lightning fast
- Memory efficient: Large files processed in small chunks
- Auto-cleanup: Expired cache automatically managed
Security Features
Access Control
- Domain-specific authentication: Each subdomain requires different credentials
- Cache protection: Direct cache access blocked via .htaccess
- CLI-only management: Cache management tools restricted to command line
- Input validation: Filename patterns strictly validated
# Block direct cache access
RewriteRule ^cache_json/ - [F,L]
# CLI-only cache management
<Files "cache_manager.php">
Require all denied
</Files>
# Domain-specific authentication
<Directory "/var/www/satis">
AuthUserFile /secure/path/.htpasswd_domain_specific
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Domain Specific Access"
Require valid-user
</Directory>
# Manual process for each credential set
composer config http-basic.vendor1.com user1 pass1
composer install vendor1-packages
composer config http-basic.vendor1.com user2 pass2
composer install vendor2-packages
# Repeat for each vendor..
After: Seamless Multi-Vendor Experience
# Single command installs everything
composer install
# All packages downloaded with appropriate credentials automatically
How a TYPO3 Agency Solved Composer Login Issues
A TYPO3 agency managing 50+ client projects with premium extensions from 12 different vendors reported:
- Setup time reduced: From 2 hours to 15 minutes per project
- Deployment errors eliminated: Zero credential-related failures
- Team productivity increased: Developers focus on code, not credentials
- Client satisfaction improved: Faster project delivery
# View cache status
php cache_manager.php status
# Clear all cache (force regeneration)
php cache_manager.php clear
# Clean only expired cache
php cache_manager.php clean
Monitoring and Maintenance
# Daily cache cleanup (optional cron)
0 3 * * * /usr/bin/php /path/to/cache_manager.php clean
# Weekly cache regeneration (optional)
0 2 * * 0 /usr/bin/php /path/to/cache_manager.php clear
Debug Mode
// Enable debug headers for troubleshooting
define('DEBUG', true);
Adds helpful headers:
- X-Domain: Shows detected domain
- X-File: Shows target file being processed
- X-Cache-Key: Shows cache file being used
Multi-domain Vs. Other Ways to Fix Composer Issues
Solution | Setup Complexity | Maintenance | Performance | Credential Limit | Cost |
Multiple Satis instances | High | High | Good | Unlimited | High |
Proxy repositories | Medium | Medium | Fair | Limited | Medium |
Manual management | Low | Very High | Poor | Unlimited | Low |
Our multi-domain approach | Medium | Low | Excellent | Unlimited | Low |
Future-Proofing
The solution is designed to be:
- Vendor-agnostic: Works with any Satis-based repository
- Framework-independent: Not tied to specific TYPO3 or PHP versions
- Scalable: Easily add more domains as needed
- Maintainable: Clean, documented code with comprehensive error handling
- Standard-compliant: Uses standard Apache/PHP features
Common Issues and How to Fix Them
- Issue: 403 Forbidden errors
- Solution: Check file permissions and .htaccess syntax
- Issue: Slow first-time responses
- Solution: Normal behavior - subsequent requests will be fast
- Issue: Cache not updating
- Solution: Run php cache_manager.php clear
- Issue: CLI tools failing
- Solution: Verify URL encoding support is working
Conclusion
The multi-credential challenge in Composer/Satis environments has been a significant pain point for developers managing complex projects with multiple premium dependencies. Our multi-domain approach with intelligent URL rewriting provides a robust, scalable, and performant solution that:
- Eliminates credential conflicts - Each vendor gets its own domain
- Maintains performance - 90% of traffic unaffected
- Simplifies management - No complex workarounds needed
- Scales effortlessly - Add domains as needed
- Reduces maintenance - Automatic cache management
This solution has been battle-tested in production environments serving hundreds of developers and thousands of package downloads daily. It represents a significant advancement in private Composer repository management and addresses a real-world problem that has plagued the PHP/TYPO3 community for years.
What's Next?
We're continuing to enhance this solution with:
- Automated subdomain provisioning
- Advanced analytics and monitoring
- Enhanced security features
Have you implemented this solution? We'd love to hear about your experience and any optimizations you've discovered. Share your feedback in the comments below!
Looking for professional TYPO3 development services? Contact T3Planet for expert consultation on Composer, Satis, and enterprise TYPO3 solutions.
Starke Brandt
Brand & Communication LeadStarke shapes the voice of T3Planet — and it shows. With years of TYPO3 experience in marketing and product branding, he ensures everything we publish reflects clarity, credibility, and purpose. He’s the reason our content…
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