README

A lightweight template engine for PHP. The syntax of Jinja. The power of native PHP. None of the weight.

PurePlate parses templates with PHP's native token_get_all() lexer and compiles them to plain, cached PHP. No runtime overhead. No bloat. No magic.

{% extends "layout.tpl" %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>Hello, {{ user.name|upper }}!</h1>

    {% if items is not empty %}
        <ul>
        {% foreach items as item %}
            <li>{{ item.title }} — {{ item.price|number_format(2, ',', ' ') }} €</li>
        {% endforeach %}
        </ul>
    {% endif %}
{% endblock %}

Why PurePlate

1. Any PHP function works as a filter — out of the box

In Twig, every filter must be registered:

// Twig: you have to declare each function as a filter
$twig->addFilter(new TwigFilter('upper', 'strtoupper'));
$twig->addFilter(new TwigFilter('format', 'number_format'));

In PurePlate, every PHP function is already a filter:

{{ name|strtoupper }}
{{ price|number_format(2, ',', ' ') }}
{{ text|substr(0, 100) }}
{{ items|count }}
{{ date|date("Y-m-d") }}

No registration. No wrappers. The entire PHP standard library is available immediately.

2. Lexer-based, not regex-based

Templates are tokenized with PHP's own token_get_all() — the same lexer PHP uses to parse its own source code. This means:

Correct handling of strings, escapes, nested quotes
No regex edge-cases that break on unusual input
Predictable, deterministic parsing

3. Compile-time validation

Generated PHP is validated with TOKEN_PARSE before being cached. If the compilation produces invalid PHP, you know immediately — not at runtime, not in production.

4. Source-mapped errors

Every compiled line carries a comment pointing back to the original template:

<?php /*L:14;F:templates/page.tpl*/ echo htmlspecialchars(...); ?>

When an error happens, PurePlate rewrites the exception to point at the template file and line, not the cached PHP file.

PurePlate Error: Undefined variable $username [At: templates/page.tpl:14]

5. Auto-escaping by default

{{ var }} is always passed through htmlspecialchars(..., ENT_QUOTES). Output is safe by default.

Comparison

	Twig 3	PurePlate
Syntax	Twig	Twig-like
PHP function as filter	❌ Must register	✅ Native
Compile-time syntax check	❌	✅
Source-mapped errors	⚠️ Complex	✅ Inline
PHP 7.4 support	⚠️ Twig 3.x only	✅
Dependencies	Several	Zero
Auto-escape	✅	✅

Installation

composer require michel/pure-plate

PHP 7.4 or higher. No other runtime dependencies.

Quick Start

use Michel\PurePlate\Engine;

$plate = new Engine(__DIR__ . '/templates');

echo $plate->render('page.tpl', [
    'user'  => ['name' => 'fady'],
    'items' => [
        ['title' => 'Item A', 'price' => 19.90],
        ['title' => 'Item B', 'price' => 42.00],
    ],
]);

Syntax

Output

{{ variable }}                       {# auto-escaped #}
{{ user.name }}                      {# same as user->name #}
{{ user.getName() }}                 {# method call #}
{{ value|filter }}                   {# any PHP function #}
{{ value|filter(arg1, arg2) }}       {# with arguments #}

Control structures

{% if condition %} ... {% elseif other %} ... {% else %} ... {% endif %}
{% foreach items as item %} ... {% endforeach %}
{% for i = 0; i < 10; i++ %} ... {% endfor %}
{% while condition %} ... {% endwhile %}

Tests

{% if list is empty %} ... {% endif %}
{% if list is not empty %} ... {% endif %}
{% if not active %} ... {% endif %}

Variable assignment

{% set total = price * quantity %}

Template inheritance

{# layout.tpl #}
<html>
<body>
    {% block content %}{% endblock %}
</body>
</html>

{# page.tpl #}
{% extends "layout.tpl" %}
{% block content %}
    <h1>Hello</h1>
{% endblock %}

Includes

{% include "partials/header.tpl" %}

Comments

{# This will not appear in the output #}

Dev mode

In dev mode, templates are recompiled on every request:

$plate = new Engine(__DIR__ . '/templates', devMode: true);

In production (default), templates are compiled once and cached. The cache is invalidated automatically when the template source changes.

Cache directory

By default, compiled templates are stored in the system temp directory. To customize:

$plate = new Engine(
    templateDir: __DIR__ . '/templates',
    devMode: false,
    cacheDir: __DIR__ . '/var/cache/plate'
);

Globals

Variables passed as globals are available in every template without being re-passed at each render:

$plate = new Engine(__DIR__ . '/templates', globals: [
    'siteTitle' => 'My Site',
    'version'   => '1.0',
]);

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0

michel / pure-plate

Maintainers

Package info

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