Understand PHPAML.
Build effectively.

Four paths, a first result in under five minutes

AML bundles PHP and Composer, creates the selected structure, and installs its dependencies automatically. Choose Classic for MVC, View for a reactive interface, API for JSON, or Console to learn and run pure PHP.

aml create my-project
cd my-project
aml serve

aml create-view my-interface
cd my-interface
aml serve

aml create-api my-api
cd my-api
aml serve

aml create-console my-program
cd my-program
aml run

For the three Web paths, then open http://127.0.0.1:8910. Use aml doctor to verify the environment.

Four readable paths, one platform

PHPAML separates responsibilities without adding empty folders. Classic and View applications use src. An API removes views and uses one route class per resource. A Console program keeps only the PHP required to run it.

src/
├── controllers/
├── models/
├── middleware/
├── routes/WebApp.php
└── views/
public/index.php

src/
├── controllers/
├── models/
├── middleware/
├── locales/
└── views/
    ├── pages/
    ├── components/
    ├── layouts/
    ├── states/
    └── stylesheets/
routes/WebApp.php

src/
├── controllers/
├── models/
├── repositories/
├── requests/
├── resources/
├── middleware/
└── routes/
    └── MovieRoute.php
public/index.php

Configuration without a configs folder

In new projects, phpaml.json stores shareable choices while .env stores secrets and machine-specific values. PHPAML builds runtime/config/app.php automatically. That generated file belongs to the runtime and must never be edited.

Request lifecycle

1. public/index.php loads phpaml.json and .env.
2. Middleware processes the request.
3. The router discovers routes/ or src/routes/.
4. The container injects controller dependencies.
5. The action returns HTML, JSON, or a redirect.

Learn and run PHP without a Web application

The Console path generates a pure, strict, object-oriented PHP program. It has no HTTP server, routes, controllers, or HTML. echo writes to the terminal, fgets() reads input, and the value returned by main() becomes the process exit code.

aml create-console hello
cd hello
aml run
aml run -- Andre
aml make:class Domain/User
aml test

final class Program
{
    /** @param list<string> $arguments */
    public static function main(array $arguments): int
    {
        $name = $arguments[0] ?? 'PHP';
        echo "Hello, {$name}!\n";
        return 0;
    }
}

Local reactivity for AML View

Engine is not a complete PHP interpreter in the browser. It receives initial state and frontend instructions produced by View, then updates only the affected nodes. Supported assignments, calculations, conditions, collections, API requests, and effects can therefore remain expressed in PHP by the author.

Button('Calculate')->onClick(function (): void {
    $subtotal = $this->price * $this->quantity;
    $this->total = $subtotal - $this->discount;
});

Create a JSON service without a view layer

create-api prepares a structure dedicated to controllers, validated requests, resources, repositories, middleware, and class-based routes. It does not install AML View: the application responds with JSON and can remain independent of a frontend.

aml create-api movies-api
cd movies-api
aml serve
aml routes
aml test

Typed persistence for MVC, View, API, or standalone PHP

PHPAML Data is optional. make:model always creates a plain PHP class; make:entity creates a persistent entity after Data is installed. SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB, and PostgreSQL are covered by the real-database test matrix. MongoDB remains available through a separate alpha adapter.

aml install data --driver sqlite
aml make:entity User
aml make:migration create_users_table
aml make:seeder UserSeeder
aml data:migrate
aml data:doctor

#[Table('users')]
final class User extends Entity
{
    #[Key]
    public int $id;
    public string $name;
    public string $email;
}

Move from aml_env to runtime

Older projects use aml_env, info.json, or app/View. The migration also renames app/View to app/UI. Always preview the conversion before applying it. AML creates a backup under runtime/storage/migrations before renaming files and updating known references.

aml migrate:structure
aml migrate:structure --apply --yes
aml doctor --offline
aml test

AML command reference

On first launch, AML asks for English or French. Output, diagnostics, and errors follow that choice. AML_LANG=en or AML_LANG=fr temporarily overrides it.

Useful options

aml create project --version 0.1.0
aml create project --offline
aml install --production
aml install --refresh
aml doctor --offline
aml doctor --port 8080
aml doctor --production --json
aml update --version 1.3.0

Routes, requests, and controllers

'GET /users/{id}' => [
    'handler' => [UserController::class, 'show'],
    'middleware' => [AuthMiddleware::class],
    'name' => 'users.show',
],

public function show(Request $request): Response
{
    return $this->json(['id' => $request->attribute('id')]);
}

Request provides method(), path(), query(), input(), cookie(), header(), server(), and attribute(). JSON is decoded automatically. An unknown route returns 404; an unsupported method returns 405.

return Response::html('<h1>Hello</h1>');
return Response::json(['ok' => true], 201);
return Response::redirect('/login');
return $this->view('users/show.php', ['user' => $user]);

Declarative views and assets

Classic applications may keep PHP templates and partials. An AML View application places pages, components, layouts, and states in src/views. Stylesheets are discovered automatically under src/views/stylesheets, while AML serves the JavaScript engine automatically.

src/views/pages/home/page.php
src/views/components/Navigation.php
src/views/layouts/DashboardLayout.php
src/views/stylesheets/pages/home.css
assets/images/hero.webp
public/favicon.svg

Configure .env from the command line

aml env:init
aml env:set APP_DEBUG false
aml env:get APP_DEBUG
aml env:list

env:init copies .env.example; --force replaces an existing file. env:list masks passwords, secrets, keys, and tokens. Never commit .env to Git.

SQLite, MySQL, and migrations

SQLite is the default local database. AML creates runtime/storage/database.sqlite and records root/root by convention; SQLite does not actually use these credentials.

aml db:configure sqlite
aml db:configure sqlite --path storage/app.sqlite
aml db:show

aml db:configure mysql --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3306 \
  --database phpaml --user root --password root

Transactional migrations

aml make:migration create_users_table
aml migrate
aml migrate:rollback --steps 1

Migrations are recorded in aml_migrations. Migrations are ordered and locked. migrate:rollback runs down() in reverse order. QueryBuilder provides all() and insert(); use prepared PDO for everything else.

Validation, CSRF, and middleware

$valid = $validator->validate($request->input(), [
  'email' => ['required', 'email'],
  'name' => ['required', 'string', 'min:2', 'max:100'],
]);

Rules: required, email, string, min:n, and max:n. Protect write routes with CsrfMiddleware and add <?= $this->csrfField() ?> to forms. For an API, use X-CSRF-Token.

SecurityHeadersMiddleware adds security headers; error details are hidden when APP_DEBUG=false.

Test and prepare for production

aml test
aml install --production
aml doctor --production --json
aml routes

aml test uses AML's private PHP and runs tests/run.php. --production excludes development dependencies and optimizes the autoloader.

Solve common problems

Control SEO from AML

AML centralizes metadata, generates search-engine files, and audits the published HTML.

aml seo:init
aml seo:set base_url "https://example.com"
aml seo:set title "My website"
aml seo:set description "A clear description between 50 and 160 characters."
aml seo:disallow /admin
aml seo:allow /admin/public
aml seo:generate
aml seo:audit https://example.com --json

seo:generate creates public/sitemap.xml and public/robots.txt from static GET routes. Disallowed routes are removed from the sitemap. seo:audit checks the title, description, canonical URL, Open Graph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD, language, viewport, H1, images, and HTTPS.

Build and deploy anywhere

aml build runs the tests, checks public/.htaccess, and creates a ZIP archive, manifest, and SHA-256 checksum in output/. Secrets and non-runtime material are excluded: .env, logs, SQLite databases, tests, temporary files, output/, and deliverables/.

aml build
aml build --skip-tests

aml deploy:configure production --host example.com --user deploy \
  --path /home/deploy/site --port 22 --key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
aml deploy:check production
aml deploy production --dry-run
aml deploy:status production
aml deploy production
aml deploy:history production
aml deploy:rollback production
aml deploy:prune production --keep 5

After the first upload, AML compares SHA-256 fingerprints and transfers only added or modified files. It removes deleted files and reports transferred size, savings, and progress through activation. --dry-run and deploy:status remain strictly read-only.

[ 25%] Comparison completed
+ public/version.txt
~ src/controllers/HomeController.php
- public/obsolete.txt
Transfer: 42.3 KB of 8.40 MB — 99.5% saved
[100%] Deployment completed

Choose a strategy

aml deploy:configure hostinger --host example.com --user deploy \
  --path /home/user/domains/example.com \
  --strategy public-html \
  --public-path /home/user/domains/example.com/public_html \
  --key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

The private profile is stored in ~/.phpaml/deploy.json and history in ~/.phpaml/deploy-history.json, both with 600 permissions. History retains up to 100 results without storing the host, path, user, or secrets.

Install components independently

AML creation commands configure the correct components automatically. In an existing Composer project, declare collaborating prerelease packages together so the root project explicitly accepts their stability level.

composer require \
  phpaml/view:^0.1@beta \
  phpaml/engine:^0.1@beta

composer require \
  phpaml/data:^0.2@alpha \
  phpaml/data-mongodb:^0.1@alpha

Engine, Data, and i18n can also be installed alone. The MongoDB adapter requires the PHP mongodb extension, while SQL Data requires PDO.

Build a declarative, reactive interface

AML View is PHPAML’s optional frontend layer. PHP renders the first document, then Engine manages state, effects, collections, themes, and navigation locally.

aml create-view my-interface
cd my-interface
aml serve
# http://127.0.0.1:8910

src/
├── controllers/
├── models/
├── middleware/
└── views/
    ├── pages/{route}/page.php
    ├── components/
    ├── layouts/
    ├── states/{Loading,Error,NotFound}.php
    ├── stylesheets/
    ├── themes/
    └── assets/

src/views, src/controllers, and src/models are required. CSS is collected from src/views/stylesheets. Imported assets stay in assets; favicon, robots.txt, and sitemap.xml stay in public/.

use AML\View\{Page, State, View};
use function AML\View\{Button, Text, VStack, import};

import('pages/home.css');

final class HomePage extends Page
{
    #[State]
    private int $count = 0;

    public function body(): View
    {
        return VStack(
            Text('Count: {count}'),
            Button('Add one')->onClick(fn () => $this->count++),
        );
    }
}

#[State] properties are read and changed like ordinary PHP. View compiles supported frontend closures; Engine then runs the interaction in the browser without a server request for every click. Effects provide dependencies, debounce, throttle, latest cancellation, and loading/success/error states.

JSON internationalization

aml install i18n
aml i18n:add es
aml i18n:list
aml i18n:check
aml i18n:missing fr
aml i18n:set-default en

Organize files freely under src/locales/{locale}. Paths become dotted keys, parameters use :name, one/other plural forms use the count, and LocaleResolver selects a supported locale from the route, cookie, or Accept-Language.