README

Quick start skeleton for the SKIM PHP 8.5+ micro-framework.

This repository is the starting point for every new SKIM project. It contains the minimal scaffold — controllers, config, routes, and Docker services — so you can go from composer create-project to a working "Hello World" in under a minute.

Installation

Via Composer (recommended — when published on Packagist)

composer create-project skim/skeleton myapp && cd myapp

Via Git

git clone https://github.com/skimphp/skeleton.git myapp && cd myapp
composer install

Via Composer with VCS repositories (no Packagist needed)

composer create-project skim/skeleton myapp \
  --repository='{"type":"vcs","url":"https://github.com/skimphp/skeleton.git"}' \
  --repository='{"type":"vcs","url":"https://github.com/skimphp/framework"}' \
  --stability=dev

Note: During composer create-project or composer install, the post-root-package-install script automatically copies .env.example to .env if .env does not exist. No manual cp is needed.

Zero-dependency Hello World

After installation, point your web server to public/ or use the Docker setup below. The default .env uses the file driver for cache and session, so the app works immediately without Redis, MySQL, or any external service.

PHP built-in server (simplest, no Docker)

cd myapp
php -S localhost:8080 -t public/

Open http://localhost:8080 — you will see the Hello World page.

Nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name myapp.local;
    root /var/www/myapp/public;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Apache

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^ index.php [L]

Docker (optional)

The skeleton ships with a complete Docker Compose stack — PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Redis. Use it when you are ready to add database, cache, or queue workers.

cd myapp
docker compose up -d --build

# Run migrations inside the container
docker compose exec app php skim migrate

# Open in browser
open http://localhost:8080

Service	Image	Port	Purpose
`app`	PHP 8.5 Alpine	8080	Application
`mysql`	MySQL 8.0	3306	Primary database
`pgsql`	PostgreSQL 16	5432	Analytics database
`redis`	Redis 7	—	Cache + Queue + Sessions

When using Docker, edit .env to match the service names:

DB_DRIVER=mysql
DB_HOST=mysql
DB_NAME=skim_dev
DB_USER=skim
DB_PASS=secret

CACHE_DRIVER=redis
REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PORT=6379

SESSION_DRIVER=redis

Project structure

myapp/
├── skim                      ← CLI entry point (stable proxy, never changes)
├── app/
│   ├── controllers/           ← your controllers (namespace app\controllers)
│   ├── models/                ← your models     (namespace app\models)
│   ├── views/                 ← PHP templates
│   └── commands/              ← CLI command classes
├── config/
│   ├── app.php                ← name, debug, env, timezone, log, commands
│   ├── db.php                 ← database connections (commented out by default)
│   └── cache.php              ← cache driver, Redis, file path
├── docker/
│   ├── Dockerfile             ← PHP 8.5 image
│   └── php.ini                ← development PHP settings
├── docker-compose.yml         ← app + mysql + pgsql + redis
├── migrations/                ← SQL migration files
├── public/
│   └── index.php              ← single HTTP entry point
├── .skim/
│   ├── cache/                 ← runtime file cache (not committed)
│   ├── config_cache/          ← compiled env + config (not committed)
│   ├── ide-helper.php         ← auto-generated IDE hints (not committed)
│   ├── logs/                  ← application logs (not committed)
│   ├── sessions/              ← session files (not committed)
│   └── temp/                  ← temporary files (not committed)
├── tests/                     ← Pest tests
├── .env                       ← local secrets, auto-copied from .env.example
├── .env.example               ← zero-dependency defaults + commented extras
├── routes.php                 ← HTTP routes
└── README.md

CLI commands

php skim install              # interactive .env wizard
php skim serve                # PHP dev server
php skim migrate              # run pending migrations
php skim migrate:down         # rollback last batch
php skim migrate:fresh        # drop all + re-run (dev only)
php skim cache:build          # pre-compile env + config for production
php skim cache:clear          # flush cache by prefix
php skim ide:generate         # generate .ide-helper.php from DB schema
php skim list --agent         # compact command list for agents/scripts

Enabling external services

The skeleton starts with zero external dependencies. When you are ready to add services, uncomment the relevant blocks in .env and config/db.php:

Database (SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL)

Edit config/db.php — uncomment the connection block for your driver.
Edit .env — uncomment and set DB_DRIVER, DB_HOST, DB_NAME, etc.
Run php skim migrate.

Redis cache / sessions

Edit .env — set CACHE_DRIVER=redis and SESSION_DRIVER=redis.
Uncomment the REDIS_* block in .env.
Ensure Redis is running (e.g. docker compose up -d redis).

Updating the framework

composer update skim/framework

The skim CLI proxy in your project root never changes — it simply delegates to the framework's binary. You only need to update it manually if a new major version of the framework changes the entry-point contract (this will be documented in the upgrade guide).

Manual testing without Packagist

Since skim/framework is not yet on Packagist, use one of these methods:

Method 1 — Git clone (fastest):

git clone https://github.com/skimphp/skeleton.git test-project
cd test-project
composer install
php -S localhost:8080 -t public/
# open http://localhost:8080

Method 2 — Composer create-project with VCS:

composer create-project skim/skeleton test-project \
  --repository='{"type":"vcs","url":"https://github.com/skimphp/skeleton.git"}' \
  --repository='{"type":"vcs","url":"https://github.com/skimphp/framework"}' \
  --stability=dev
cd test-project
php -S localhost:8080 -t public/

License

MIT

skim / skeleton

Package info

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