Forge

Forge is a PHP framework for builders, not followers.

It's not trying to be the next Symfony, CodeIgniter, Laravel, etc. It's not here to please everyone. It's here because I wanted a fast, simple, no-magic framework that puts me in control. That's what Forge is. If that works for you too, welcome.

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Philosophy

Forge is not here to be everything for everyone.
It’s not here to mimic other frameworks.
It’s here to give you a strong, minimal foundation you can own.

You’re not a user. You’re a builder.

• If you use Forge, it belongs to you now. Your rules. Your way.
• You get a solid base, and updates if you want them.
• If my direction doesn’t fit yours — fork it, and forge your own path.
• I’ll keep publishing modules and improvements that help me build real-world apps. You’re free to take what helps, ignore what doesn’t.

This isn’t a product. This is a toolbox.

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What’s In The Box

• Simple, fast dependency injection container
• Native PHP view engine with layouts and components
• Modular structure (install only what you need)
• Zero dependencies, zero magic
• Built-in router, database, orm, configuration manager, and more
• Module system with life cycle hooks
• CLI for installing modules, project, scaffold commands etc.

Everything is structured for clarity. No magic files. No guesswork.

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Install

With the Installer (Recommended)

bash <(curl -Ls https://raw.githubusercontent.com/forge-engine/installer/main/installer.sh)

Manually

git clone https://github.com/forge-engine/forge-starter
cd forge-starter
cp env-example .env
php install.php
php forge.php key:generate
php forge.php package:install-project

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Modules

Forge starts minimal (under 400KB), and you add modules as needed.

php forge.php package:install-module forge-auth
php forge.php package:install-module forge-storage

Or clone from github.com/forge-engine/modules and drop them in /modules.

I publish modules that help me build real-world projects. If something’s too specific, I won’t. Or I’ll release a simplified version.

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Want to Make Your Own Framework?

Do it. I’ll even show you how.
See: FORGING-YOUR-OWN.md

You can rename the CLI, change the bootstrap flow, use your own registry — everything is yours now. That’s the point.

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License

MIT — take it, use it, change it.
Just don’t whine if it’s not what you expected.
Nobody owes you anything. Build your own vision.