jongi-theautodidact/ntoshisoft-framework

NtoshiSoft Framework - Lightweight PHP MVC framework for rapid business application development. Built for small to medium-sized business applications, featuring a CLI tool, modular architecture, and user-centric identity model.

1.1.0 2026-07-21 01:19 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.0
• dompdf/dompdf: ^2.0
• phpmailer/phpmailer: ^6.9

GPL-3.0-or-later

• Jongi Mbodla

• framework
• php
• mvc
• php cli
• rapid development
• lightweight php framework
• PHP CRM
• NtoshiSoft
• business applications

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-07-21 01:25 UTC

README

NtoshiSoft Framework

Lightweight PHP MVC Framework for Rapid Business Application Development

Built for small to medium-sized businesses, startups, and solo developers who want to ship functional applications fast — without the overhead of enterprise frameworks.

Getting Started • CLI Tool • Documentation • Contributing

Features

• Lightweight MVC — Clean separation of concerns with Models, Views, and Controllers
• User-Centric Identity — Everyone registers as a users first; role-specific profiles (Employee, Client, etc.) link back via user_id
• CLI Generator (jongi) — Scaffold controllers, models, migrations from the terminal
• Migration System — Version-controlled database schema changes
• Built-in Auth — Session management, CSRF protection, password hashing, role-based access
• Mailer Integration — SMTP email via PHPMailer (password resets, notifications)
• Payment Gateway — Extensible payment processing (PayFast ready)
• Image Handler — Upload, resize, and manage images
• Validator — Form input validation with error feedback
• Logger — File-based logging with rotating logs
• Environment Config — .env file management via EnvLoader/EnvWriter
• Installation Wizard — 6-step web-based setup for first-time deployment

Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
PHP	8.0 or higher
PDO Extension	pdo_mysql
GD Library	Image processing
cURL	HTTP requests
Fileinfo	MIME type detection
mbstring	Multi-byte string handling
JSON	Data serialization
MySQL	5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+
Composer	Dependency management
Web Server	Apache (mod_rewrite) or Nginx

Getting Started

Option 1: Install via Composer (Recommended)

composer create-project jongi-theautodidact/ntoshisoft-framework my-app
cd my-app

Option 2: Clone from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/Jongi-TheAutodidact/ntoshisoft-framework.git
cd ntoshisoft-framework
composer install

Or download the ZIP, extract, and run composer install.

Post-Installation: Running the Setup Wizard

After installation, the framework guides you through a 6-step web-based wizard to configure your application.

1. Live Server Prerequisite

Important: On a live server, before running the install wizard, you must rename .htaccess-bkp to .htaccess in the project root. Without this, the browser will display a blank page because Apache URL rewriting will not be active.

mv .htaccess-bkp .htaccess

This step is not required on localhost (XAMPP) since the app is accessed directly via the public/ directory.

2. Copy the Environment File

cp .env.example .env

3. Open the Installer in Your Browser

Navigate to the appropriate URL for your environment:

Environment	URL
Localhost (XAMPP)	http://localhost/{project-directory}/public
Live Server	https://your-domain.com

Note: The app is served via Apache (XAMPP or production). Do not use php jongi serve or php jongi spinit — the framework is designed to run through a proper web server.

You'll be redirected to the Installation Wizard (install.php).

4. Complete the 6-Step Wizard

The wizard will walk you through:

Step	What You'll Configure
1. Welcome & Requirements	Server checks (PHP version, extensions, permissions)
2. Database	MySQL host, database name, credentials
3. Tables	Creates users and settings tables
4. Admin Account	Your super-admin login credentials
5. Site Settings	App name, logo upload
6. Mail & Finalize	SMTP settings (optional — skip to do later)

Once complete, the .env file is written automatically and you're redirected to your application.

5. Log In

Navigate to your app URL and log in using the admin credentials you created during setup.

What's Included Out of the Box

The installation wizard creates only two default tables:

Table	Purpose
users	Admin and user accounts
settings	Application configuration (site name, colors, etc.)

These are the minimum tables needed for the framework to function (authentication and basic settings).

Ships With — But Not Auto-Migrated

The framework also includes example migrations, models, controllers, and CRUD views in the codebase. These are provided as reference implementations — ready-made examples you can study, adapt, or use as a starting point for your own project.

Do not migrate all migrations during setup. Running every included migration would create tables you may never use and clutter your database. Instead:

1. Browse app/migrations/, app/models/, app/controllers/, and app/views/ to see what's available.
2. Pick only the ones relevant to your project.
3. Create your own migrations, models, and controllers as your project dictates.

This keeps your database lean and your application tailored to your specific needs.

Web Server Configuration

Apache (with mod_rewrite)

The framework ships with a .htaccess file inside public/ that handles URL rewriting. No additional configuration needed if .htaccess is enabled.

For a cleaner setup (optional), move the rewrite rules to the root:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ public/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

Nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name my-app.local;
    root /path/to/my-app/public;

    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?url=$uri&$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

CLI Tool (jongi)

The framework includes a command-line scaffolding tool to accelerate development.

php jongi help

Available Commands

Scaffolding

Command	Description
php jongi make:controller <name>	Generate a new controller
php jongi make:model <name>	Generate a new model
php jongi make:migration <name>	Generate a new migration file
php jongi list:migrations	List all migration files

Scaffolding Examples

# Create a controller
php jongi make:controller Product

# Create a model (table name auto-pluralized: products)
php jongi make:model Product

# Create a migration
php jongi make:migration create_products_table

Directory Structure

ntoshisoft-framework/
├── app/
│   ├── config/          # Route definitions
│   ├── controllers/     # Application controllers
│   ├── core/            # Framework engine (Database, Model, Router, etc.)
│   ├── jongi/           # CLI tool classes
│   ├── middleware/       # Auth, role, rate-limit middleware
│   ├── migrations/       # Database migration files
│   └── models/          # Data models
│   └── views/           # Presentation templates (.ntoshi.php)
├── logs/                # Application logs
├── public/              # Web root (index.php entry point)
│   └── assets/          # CSS, JS, images, uploads
├── vendor/              # Composer dependencies
├── .env                 # Environment configuration (gitignored)
├── .gitignore
├── composer.json
├── index.php            # Install check & redirect to public/
├── install.php          # Setup wizard
├── jongi                # CLI entry point
└── README.md

Key Framework Files

File	Purpose
public/index.php	Application entry point — bootstraps routing
app/core/init.php	Loads Composer autoloader (delegates to vendor/autoload.php)
app/core/config.php	Defines constants from .env (DB, app, mail, security settings)
app/core/functions.php	Global helper functions
app/core/Database.php	PDO database wrapper (queries, transactions, error handling)
app/core/Model.php	Base trait for all models (CRUD, query building, pagination)
app/core/Controller.php	Base trait — view rendering, data passing
app/core/Router.php	URL dispatcher — matches routes to controllers
app/core/Middleware.php	Base middleware class
app/config/routes.php	Define your application routes here

Configuration

The .env file is created automatically during the installation wizard. Key variables:

# Database
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_NAME=my_app_db
DB_USER=root
DB_PASS=""

# Application
APP_NAME="My Application"
ROOT="http://localhost/ntoshisoft-framework/public"
APP_ENV=production
DEBUG=false

# Mail (optional)
MAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_USERNAME=[e-mail]
MAIL_PASSWORD="your-app-password"

# Security
SESSION_LIFETIME=120
CSRF_TOKEN_LENGTH=32

Note: On a live server, ROOT will be set to https://your-domain.com (without /public). On localhost (XAMPP), it will be http://localhost/{project-directory}/public.

Security: The .env file is excluded from Git via .gitignore. Never commit it to version control.

Built With

• PHPMailer — Email sending
• Dompdf — PDF generation
• Bootstrap 5 — Frontend UI (included in assets)
• Bootstrap Icons — Icon library

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 — see the LICENSE for details.

_{Built with ❤️ by Jongi Mbodla
NtoshiSoft Framework — Making business applications accessible to everyone.}