2.8k
Stars
14
Forks
0
Open issues
30
Contributors
AI Analysis
The Stopwatch component is a lightweight PHP profiling utility for measuring code execution time and organizing performance metrics into sections and laps. It is a specialized developer tool best suited for PHP developers building with Symfony or needing fine-grained timing instrumentation; it is not a general-purpose APM platform or suited for high-level application profiling without integration into a larger monitoring framework.
Inferred from signals mentioned in the README (tests, CI, type safety) — not a review of the actual code.
AI's overall editorial judgment — not an average of the bars above, can weigh other factors too.
Lightweight profiling library embedded in a major PHP framework, stable but modest standalone adoption
Symfony Stopwatch is a minimal, purpose-built profiling component that measures code execution time and groups events into sections. It ships as part of the Symfony framework ecosystem and is used internally by Symfony's debugging and console tools. Adoption appears concentrated within Symfony projects and debugging contexts rather than as a standalone profiling solution. The component is mature, actively maintained, and suitable for lightweight timing needs but does not attempt to compete with full profilers.
Created in 2012 as part of Symfony framework modularization. Designed for simple, low-overhead timing of code blocks during development and testing. Remains a foundational utility in Symfony's developer experience tooling, particularly in console output and web debug toolbar contexts.
Star count (2,823) suggests moderate adoption but has not grown significantly in recent years. The low fork count (14) indicates limited community customization. Growth has likely been driven by Symfony framework adoption rather than independent discovery. No recent spike in activity visible; trajectory suggests stabilization as a mature, feature-complete utility rather than active expansion.
Adoption not verified through standalone metrics. README directs users to report issues in the main Symfony repository rather than this component repo, suggesting it functions primarily as an internal Symfony tool. Real-world usage likely exists within Symfony applications, web debug toolbar, and console output, but no independent adoption data is publicly available.
Based on README, the component provides a simple event-based timing API with lap support and section grouping. Appears designed for manual instrumentation rather than automatic profiling. Likely includes StopWatch, Event, and Section classes managing start/stop/lap lifecycle. No details on thread-safety, memory overhead, or precision guarantees visible in README.
Not documented in README. Coverage level cannot be inferred from available metadata.
Last push on 2026-06-05 (27 days before analysis date) indicates active, recent maintenance. No recent star growth or fork activity suggests the component is stable rather than rapidly evolving. Issue resolution and pull review appear delegated to the main Symfony repository (as noted in README). Maintenance appears routine and reactive rather than feature-driven.
ADOPT IF: you are already in a Symfony project and need simple, low-overhead manual timing of code blocks during development or testing. The API is straightforward, maintenance is current, and it integrates cleanly with Symfony's debug tooling. AVOID IF: you need automatic profiling, production-level performance analytics, or thread-safe timing in async/parallel contexts — this is a manual instrumentation tool, not a profiler. Avoid if your project does not use Symfony and you need a general-purpose timer; consider php-timer or native microtime() instead. MONITOR IF: you require very precise timing or memory profiling — README does not document precision guarantees or overhead characteristics.
Independent dimensions
Mainstream potential
3/10
Technical importance
5/10
Adoption evidence
4/10
- No documented precision guarantees or overhead metrics; suitable for development but unclear if appropriate for benchmarking or microsecond-level timing.
- Adoption limited to Symfony ecosystem; low probability of independent community contributions or feature velocity outside framework releases.
- Issue routing to main Symfony repository may slow response times for component-specific bugs.
- Manual instrumentation requirement means incomplete visibility into code paths unless explicitly wrapped — contrast with automatic profilers.
- No evidence of production-level performance testing or thread-safety guarantees documented in README.
Stopwatch will remain a stable, slowly-maintained utility within Symfony's debugging toolkit. Unlikely to expand beyond Symfony ecosystem or gain significant independent adoption. May gradually decline relative to more comprehensive profiling solutions but will likely be maintained for backward compatibility indefinitely.
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Information
- Website
- https://symfony.com/stopwatch
- Language
- PHP
- License
- MIT
- Last updated
- 1mo ago
- Created
- 166mo ago
- Analyzed with
- anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5
Stars over time
Contributors over time
Top 100 contributors only — repos with more will plateau at 100.
Top contributors
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More specialized timer utility (7,743 stars). Appears to serve similar lightweight timing need but with different API and possibly different use cases (testing, benchmarking). Stopwatch offers section/lap grouping; php-timer may focus on simple elapsed time.
Full-featured production profiler with deep integration and visualization. Stopwatch is manual, development-focused, and much lower overhead. Different category but overlapping performance instrumentation domain.
Commercial SaaS profiler for PHP. Stopwatch is free, self-hosted, and lightweight. Blackfire targets production performance analytics; Stopwatch targets development-time code timing.
Complementary Symfony debugging tool focused on data inspection rather than timing. Both are part of Symfony's debug ecosystem.
Native PHP timing. Stopwatch adds convenience (lap support, event naming, section grouping) at minimal overhead. No external dependency but less ergonomic for complex timing scenarios.