https://github.com/bowphp/framework
The Bow Framework
https://github.com/bowphp/framework
bow framework php php-framework
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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The Bow Framework
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/bowphp/framework
- Owner: bowphp
- License: mit
- Created: 2018-07-07T12:55:46.000Z (over 7 years ago)
- Default Branch: 5.x
- Last Pushed: 2026-01-19T01:28:02.000Z (2 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-19T01:36:02.832Z (2 months ago)
- Topics: bow, framework, php, php-framework
- Language: PHP
- Homepage: https://bowphp.com
- Size: 3.22 MB
- Stars: 60
- Watchers: 5
- Forks: 18
- Open Issues: 7
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: readme.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE
- Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Bow Framework
[](https://github.com/bowphp/docs)
[](https://packagist.org/packages/bowphp/framework)
[](https://github.com/bowphp/framework/blob/main/LICENSE)
[](https://travis-ci.org/bowphp/framework)
> A lightweight, modern PHP framework designed for building web applications with clean architecture and modular design.
To use this package, please create an application from this package [bowphp/app](https://github.com/bowphp/app)
## Overview
Bow Framework is a lightweight PHP framework created by Franck DAKIA that emphasizes simplicity, performance, and developer experience. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for building modern web applications with clean, maintainable code.
**Requirements:**
- PHP ^8.1+
- Composer
- Extensions: ext-ftp, ext-openssl, ext-pcntl, ext-readline, ext-pdo
**Key Highlights:**
- Modern PHP 8.1+ features (union types, attributes, named arguments)
- Modular architecture with 20+ independent components
- Lightweight and fast with minimal dependencies
- Full-stack framework with everything you need
- Well-tested with 1,110+ tests and 94% success rate
- Active development with regular updates
## Core Features
### Database & ORM
- **Barry ORM**: Lightweight ActiveRecord-style ORM
- **Query Builder**: Fluent, expressive database queries
- **Multi-database**: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite support
- **Migrations**: Version control for database schema
- **Relationships**: BelongsTo, HasMany, ManyToMany
- **Pagination**: Built-in pagination support
### Routing System
- Simple, expressive routing syntax
- RESTful resource routing with automatic CRUD operations
- Route naming for easy URL generation
- Route parameters with regex constraints
- Middleware support per route or route group
- Route prefix support for grouping
### Mail System
- Multiple adapters: SMTP, AWS SES, Native PHP mail
- RFC-compliant SMTP implementation
- Email parsing with "Name " format support
- File attachments
- Queue integration for asynchronous sending
### Queue System
- Multiple backends: Beanstalkd, Redis, SQS, Database, Sync
- Object-oriented job definitions
- Event-driven job queuing
- Automatic retry logic with exponential backoff
- Mail queue support
### Storage System
- Multi-driver: Local, FTP, AWS S3
- Dynamic storage adapter selection
- File operations: upload, download, copy, move, delete
- Directory management
- Efficient stream handling for large files
### Security Features
- XSS protection with automatic filtering
- CSRF token-based validation
- Data encryption utilities
- Password hashing (Bcrypt/Argon2)
- Native authentication system with guards
### Additional Features
- **Cache**: Filesystem, Redis, Database caching
- **Events**: Event management and dispatching
- **Session**: User session management
- **Validation**: Comprehensive form and data validation
- **Console**: CLI commands and generators
- **Testing**: PHPUnit integration with test utilities
- **Translation**: Internationalization support
- **View Rendering**: Tintin template engine integration
- **Middleware**: HTTP middleware stack
- **Container**: Dependency injection with auto-resolution
## Architecture
### Request Lifecycle
```mermaid
flowchart LR
Client --> Request
Request --> Kernel
Kernel --> Router
Router --> Middleware
Middleware --> Controller
Controller --> Model[Model
Barry ORM]
Model --> Database
Database --> View
Database --> Response
View --> Response
Response --> Client
```
1. **Request arrives** at entry point
2. **Kernel loads** configurations from `config/`
3. **Router matches** URL to controller/action
4. **Middleware processes** request (auth, validation, etc.)
5. **Controller executes** business logic
6. **Model interacts** with database
7. **View renders** response (HTML/JSON)
8. **Response sent** back to client
### Design Patterns
The framework implements several design patterns:
- **Singleton**: Application, Configuration loaders
- **Factory**: Database connections, Mail adapters
- **Strategy**: Storage drivers, Queue backends
- **Observer**: Event system
- **Middleware Pattern**: HTTP request pipeline
- **Repository Pattern**: Database abstraction
- **Service Container**: Dependency injection
- **Facade Pattern**: Helper functions
## Project Structure
The project is organized into the following directories, each representing an independent module:
- **src/**: Source code for the Bow Framework.
- **Application/**: Main application logic and configuration.
- **Auth/**: Authentication and authorization management.
- **Cache/**: Caching mechanisms.
- **Configuration/**: Configuration settings management.
- **Console/**: Console commands and utilities.
- **Container/**: Dependency injection and service container.
- **Contracts/**: Interfaces and contracts for various components.
- **Database/**: Database connections and ORM.
- **Event/**: Event management and dispatching.
- **Http/**: HTTP requests and responses management.
- **Mail/**: Email sending and configuration.
- **Notifier/**: Notifications.
- **Middleware/**: Middleware classes for request handling.
- **Queue/**: Job queues and background processing.
- **Router/**: HTTP request routing.
- **Security/**: Security features like encryption and hashing.
- **Session/**: User session management.
- **Storage/**: File storage and retrieval.
- **Support/**: Utility classes and helper functions.
- **Testing/**: Unit testing classes and utilities.
- **Translate/**: Translation and localization.
- **Validation/**: Data validation.
- **View/**: View rendering and templating.
- **tests/**: Unit tests for the project.
## Quick Start
### Installation
```bash
# Create a new Bow application
composer create-project bowphp/app my-app
# Navigate to the project
cd my-app
# Start the development server
php bow serve
```
### Basic Usage
**Define Routes:**
```php
// routes/app.php
$route->get('/', function () {
return 'Hello World!';
});
$route->get('/users/:id', function ($id) {
return "User ID: $id";
});
// RESTful resource routing
$route->rest('/api/posts', PostController::class);
```
**Create a Controller:**
```php
namespace App\Controllers;
use Bow\Http\Request;
use App\Models\Post;
class PostController
{
public function index()
{
return Post::all();
}
public function store(Request $request)
{
return Post::create($request->all());
}
}
```
**Work with Database:**
```php
use App\Models\User;
// Using Barry ORM
$user = User::find(1);
$users = User::where('active', true)->get();
// Using Query Builder
$users = Database::table('users')
->where('role', 'admin')
->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
->paginate(10);
```
## Code Quality & Testing
### Current Status (v5.1.7)
- **Test Suite**: 1,110+ tests with 2,498+ assertions
- **Success Rate**: 94% (remaining failures are external service dependencies)
- **Code Style**: PSR-12 compliant
- **PHP Version**: 8.1+ with modern features
### Recent Improvements
The framework is actively maintained with recent major refactoring:
- **SMTP Adapter**: Complete rewrite (8 → 21 methods, RFC-compliant)
- **FTP Service**: Enhanced with retry logic and better error handling
- **Queue System**: Graceful logger fallback
- **Test Quality**: 39% fewer errors, 70% fewer failures
- **PHP 8.x**: Modernized code style (arrow functions, union types)
See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for full details.
## Use Cases
**Ideal For:**
- REST APIs and microservices
- Web applications with complex database requirements
- Applications requiring file storage (S3, FTP)
- Projects needing queue/job processing
- Multi-tenant applications
- Internationalized applications
## Ecosystem
The Bow ecosystem includes several packages:
- **[bowphp/app](https://github.com/bowphp/app)**: Application skeleton
- **[bowphp/tintin](https://github.com/bowphp/tintin)**: Template engine
- **[bowphp/policier](https://github.com/bowphp/policier)**: Authentication & authorization
- **[bowphp/payment](https://github.com/bowphp/payment)**: Payment gateway integration
## Contributing
Thank you for considering contributing to Bow Framework! The contribution guide is in the framework documentation.
- [Franck DAKIA](https://github.com/papac)
- [Thank's collaborators](https://github.com/bowphp/framework/graphs/contributors)
### Contribution Guidelines
We welcome contributions from the community! To contribute to the project, please follow these steps:
1. Fork the project and clone it to your local machine.
2. Create a new branch for your changes.
3. Make your changes and commit them.
4. Push your changes to your fork and create a pull request.
For more detailed information, refer to the `CONTRIBUTING.md` file.
## Documentation
- [Official Documentation](https://bowphp.com)
- [API Reference](https://bowphp.com/api)
- [Tutorials & Guides](https://bowphp.com/docs)
## Support & Community
### Get Help
- **Documentation**: [https://bowphp.com](https://bowphp.com)
- **Issues**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/bowphp/framework/issues)
- **Discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/bowphp/framework/discussions)
### Stay Updated
- **Twitter**: [@papacdev](https://twitter.com/papacdev)
- **GitHub**: [bowphp](https://github.com/bowphp)
## License
The Bow Framework is open-source software licensed under the [MIT license](LICENSE).
## Contact
- Email: [papac@bowphp.com](mailto:papac@bowphp.com)
- Twitter: [@papacdev](https://twitter.com/papacdev)
For bug reports, please use [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/bowphp/framework/issues).
---
**Made with love by the Bow Framework Team**