anwargazi / ci-laravel-support

3.0.1 2026-09-29 11:32 UTC

Requires

• php: ~7.3.0
• cweagans/composer-patches: 1.7.3
• laravel/framework: 8.83.29
• league/commonmark: 1.4.3

Requires (Dev)

• phpunit/phpunit: ^9.5.8

proprietary

• Minhajul Anwar

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-09-29 14:22 UTC

README

anwargazi/ci-laravel-support lets a legacy CodeIgniter 3 application and a real Laravel 8 application share one public front controller. It is designed for route-by-route migrations where running a second PHP service or moving the whole application at once is not practical.

Laravel-owned requests run Laravel's native HTTP kernel. Requests that are not owned by Laravel return to the original CodeIgniter bootstrap unchanged. Only one framework is booted for any request.

This is a bounded migration runtime. PHP 7.3, Laravel 8, and SwiftMailer are end-of-life. Read the security policy before production use.

Start here

If you need to...	Read...
Understand the design and request flow	Architecture
Install the bridge in a CI3/Laravel host	Installation
Look up every configuration option	Configuration reference
Move an endpoint from CI3 to Laravel	Route migration guide
Develop or test this package	Development guide
Release, deploy, verify, or roll back	Deployment and operations
Diagnose a failure	Troubleshooting
Maintain the older CI-side helper layer	Legacy compatibility API
Review security exceptions	Security policy
Review release history	Changelog

The documentation index provides role-based reading paths.

Runtime contract

• PHP: exactly 7.3.x; dependency resolution and tests target 7.3.33.
• Laravel Framework: exactly 8.83.29.
• league/commonmark: exactly 1.4.3, with the supplied resource-limit patch.
• One public front controller, virtual host, and PHP-FPM service.
• One framework booted per request.
• Separate Composer dependency trees for CI3 and Laravel are strongly recommended.

The service provider checks this contract whenever Laravel boots. A version change or missing patch marker fails closed.

How routing works

HTTP request
    |
legacy index.php
    |
dependency-free dispatcher
    |
    +-- checksummed manifest owns route --> Laravel HTTP kernel --> response
    |
    +-- route is not owned --------------> existing CI3 bootstrap

The dispatcher does not load Composer or either framework until it has matched the request against a cached manifest. The manifest comes from Laravel's real route collection, preserving path constraints, domains, schemes, methods, and Laravel's 405 Method Not Allowed ownership behavior.

Minimal installation outline

1. Place a standard Laravel 8 application beside the legacy CI3 application.
2. Merge the host Composer fragment into Laravel's composer.json and copy both files from patches/.
3. Resolve dependencies and verify the pinned runtime.
4. Publish the bridge config and front-controller example.
5. Add the dispatcher block at the very top of CI's index.php.
6. Add native Laravel routes and compile the ownership manifest.

composer update --with-all-dependencies --no-interaction
php artisan ci-bridge:verify-runtime
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=ci-laravel-bridge-config
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=ci-laravel-bridge-dispatcher
php artisan route:clear
php artisan ci-bridge:cache-routes

Follow the full installation guide before deployment.

Commands

Command	Purpose
php artisan ci-bridge:verify-runtime	Verifies exact dependency versions and security patch markers.
php artisan ci-bridge:cache-routes	Atomically regenerates route ownership.
php artisan ci-bridge:cache-routes --path=/absolute/file.php	Uses a controlled alternate manifest path.
composer test	Runs PHPUnit and the dependency-free legacy regression suite.

Important boundaries

• Laravel and CI3 do not automatically share containers, sessions, authentication, CSRF tokens, configuration, exception handling, or logs.
• Keep Laravel fallback routes disabled while CI3 owns any route.
• Regenerate the manifest after every route or route-provider change. A missing or invalid manifest returns 503; the bridge never guesses.
• The bridge does not provide cross-framework authentication. Build and test an application-specific handoff when Laravel must recognize a CI login.
• The legacy compatibility API is retained for old CI-side integrations; it is not part of the native Laravel request path.

Recommended layout

legacy-project/
|-- index.php                 # existing CI front controller + bridge prelude
|-- application/             # existing CI3 application
|-- system/                  # existing CI3 framework
|-- vendor/                  # legacy dependencies, if any
+-- laravel/                 # standard Laravel 8 application
    |-- artisan
    |-- bootstrap/app.php
    |-- bootstrap/cache/ci-laravel-owned-routes.php
    |-- composer.json
    |-- routes/routes_laravel.php
    +-- vendor/

The web root remains the legacy application's entrypoint. The Laravel directory is not a second site and does not require artisan serve.

Quick verification

composer install --no-interaction
composer test
composer check-platform-reqs
composer audit --locked

In a host application, test a Laravel route, a representative CI route, and an unsupported method on the Laravel URI. See the complete deployment checklist.

License

This project is source-available, not open-source software. The custom Personal and Non-Profit License permits personal use and modification, and non-profit redistribution under the same unmodified license. Every redistribution must provide prominent, publicly visible credit to the original developer. Professional or for-profit use requires prior written permission from Minhajul Anwar at [e-mail].

Developer contact

• Name: Minhajul Anwar
• Email: [e-mail]
• Location: Bangladesh