zebardast-dev / helix-framework

v1.2.1 2026-08-22 21:34 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.1
• illuminate/container: ^10.0 || ^11.0 || ^12.0
• illuminate/events: ^10.0 || ^11.0 || ^12.0
• illuminate/filesystem: ^10.0 || ^11.0 || ^12.0
• illuminate/support: ^10.0 || ^11.0 || ^12.0
• illuminate/view: ^10.0 || ^11.0 || ^12.0
• vlucas/phpdotenv: ^5.4

Requires (Dev)

• phpunit/phpunit: ^10.5

MIT

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-08-22 21:34 UTC

README

zebardast-dev/helix-framework

A config-driven WordPress framework for modern theme development.

Built on Laravel's Illuminate components — Blade templating, dependency injection, service architecture, console commands, and a debug inspector — without leaving the WordPress ecosystem.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• WordPress 6.0+
• Composer

Builds against Illuminate 10, 11 or 12. Composer resolves the newest set your PHP allows: 8.1 lands on Illuminate 10, 8.2 and up on Illuminate 12.

Installation

composer require zebardast-dev/helix-framework

Usage

// functions.php
require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

$app = Helix\Framework::create(__DIR__);

See helix-starter for a full working theme example.

Security

The theme directory is served over HTTP, so anything the framework reads or writes inside it must be blocked at the web server level.

Helix drops a deny rule and an empty index.php into storage/cache/ on boot, which covers Apache. .env is not covered — it holds credentials and must be denied explicitly:

# nginx
location ~ /\.env { deny all; }

# Apache — theme root .htaccess
<Files ".env">
    Require all denied
</Files>

Keeping .env outside the document root and pointing the theme at it is safer still. The Inspector is limited to users with manage_options and refuses to run when WP_DEBUG is off or the environment resolves to production/staging.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md. Version 1.1.0 fixes a stored XSS flaw present in every 1.0.x release — upgrade if you are still on one of those.

Documentation

Full documentation is still being written. The portal below carries the guides that exist so far.

Official Documentation:
https://helix.runflare.run/

Topics coming soon

• Getting Started
• Configuration
• Blade Templates
• Components
• View Composers
• Models and Queries
• Assets
• Custom Post Types
• CLI and Seeders
• Inspector
• WooCommerce
• Actions and Filters
• File Uploads

Credits

Helix Framework was developed through a human-AI collaborative workflow.

• Architecture & Product Direction: Mostafa Zebardast
• Idea & Research: Mostafa Zebardast (@zebardast-dev), Amirhossein Zebardast (@amirz-dev)
• Implementation & Coding: Mostafa Zebardast & Claude (Anthropic)
• Review & Refinement: AI-assisted

This project reflects human-led design decisions, with AI utilized as a development partner for drafting, research, and implementation.

License

MIT