create-php-starter

Unified PHP + Laravel project scaffolding CLI. Scaffold raw PHP (Vanilla / MVC / API) or a full Laravel app with optional React frontend, auth, Docker, CI, and testing — in seconds.

Install & Quick Start

npx create-php-starter

Or install globally:

npm install -g create-php-starter
create-php-starter

Startup Experience

Every run opens with an animated ASCII bat character that draws itself line-by-line, followed by the Wayne Manor banner — showing your saved presets and quick-tip panel alongside a greeting. Then the interactive prompt flow begins.

Animation is skipped automatically in non-TTY environments (pipes, CI).

Modes

The CLI opens with a mode selector:

• Custom PHP — Vanilla SPA, MVC, or API-only (raw PHP, no framework)
• Laravel — Framework-based app with optional React/Inertia frontend, Sanctum/Passport auth, Docker, CI, and testing

Usage

create-php-starter [project-name] [options]
create-php-starter add <feature>

Core Options

| Flag | Values | Description | |------|--------|-------------| | --mode | php | laravel | Project mode (default: interactive prompt) | | --stack | vanilla | mvc | api (php) | PHP stack | | | api | web | full | minimal (laravel) | Laravel app type | | --frontend | none | react-vite | inertia | Frontend setup (Laravel only) | | --auth | sanctum | passport | none (laravel) | Auth driver | | | yes | no (php) | Include auth scaffolding | | --db | mysql | pgsql | mongodb | sqlite | Database driver (default: mysql) |

Extra Flags

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | --docker | Add Docker setup (docker-compose.yml, Dockerfile) | | --ci | Add GitHub Actions CI/CD workflow | | --testing | Add testing setup (Pest / PHPUnit / Vitest) | | --ts | Use TypeScript for the React frontend | | --preset <name> | Load a saved preset from ~/.webstarterrc.json | | --no-git | Skip git initialization | | --yes | Accept all defaults, skip optional prompts | | --dry-run | Show what would be created without writing anything | | --verbose | Print every shell command as it runs |

add Subcommand

Retrofit features into an existing project:

create-php-starter add sanctum
create-php-starter add docker
create-php-starter add github-actions
create-php-starter add pest

Examples

# Fully interactive
create-php-starter

# Laravel API with PostgreSQL + Sanctum
create-php-starter my-api --mode=laravel --stack=api --db=pgsql --auth=sanctum

# Laravel full stack with Inertia + React (TypeScript) + Docker + CI
create-php-starter my-app --mode=laravel --frontend=inertia --ts --docker --ci

# PHP MVC project
create-php-starter my-app --mode=php --stack=mvc --db=mysql

# Load a saved preset
create-php-starter my-app --preset=my-api

# Preview without writing files
create-php-starter my-app --mode=laravel --dry-run

PHP Mode — Project Structures

Vanilla

Full SPA-ready structure with HTML shell, CSS layers, modular JS, and optional PHP backend.

project-name/
├── assets/
│   ├── css/          main, layout, components, animations
│   ├── js/           app.js, router.js, components/, pages/public|user|admin/
│   ├── fonts/
│   └── images/
├── api/              PHP endpoints
├── config/           env.php, constants.php, response.php
├── includes/         header.php, helpers.php, rate-limiter.php
├── pages/
│   ├── public/       login.php, forgot-password.php, reset-password.php
│   ├── user/         dashboard.php
│   └── admin/        dashboard.php
├── database/         schema.sql (Complex only)
├── index.php
├── .env
├── .env.example
├── .htaccess
├── composer.json
├── README.md
└── ARCHITECTURE.md

Complexity scaling:

• Simple — base folders only
• Medium — adds utils/, auth pages, admin panel option
• Complex — adds database/, auth + admin always included, full SPA page set

MVC

PHP MVC structure routed through a single front controller.

project-name/
├── app/
│   ├── Controllers/  BaseController.php stub
│   ├── Models/       BaseModel.php stub
│   └── Views/
├── routes/
│   └── web.php
├── public/
│   └── index.php     Front controller
├── config/
└── includes/

API

PHP-only backend with no frontend assets.

project-name/
├── api/
├── config/           env.php, constants.php, response.php
├── includes/         helpers.php, rate-limiter.php
├── database/         schema.sql (if selected)
├── uploads/
├── index.php         JSON health-check endpoint
├── .env
└── .env.example

Laravel Mode — What Gets Scaffolded

Depending on your selected options, the Laravel scaffold can include:

• Fresh Laravel installation via Composer
• React (Vite) or Inertia.js frontend
• TypeScript support
• Sanctum or Passport authentication
• MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or SQLite configuration
• Docker setup (docker-compose.yml, Dockerfile)
• GitHub Actions CI/CD workflow
• Pest or PHPUnit testing setup

Presets

Save your answers on first run and reuse them:

create-php-starter my-app --preset=my-api

Presets are stored in ~/.webstarterrc.json. Your author name is also saved on first run — you won't be asked again.

Requirements

| Requirement | Version | |-------------|---------| | Node.js | >= 16 | | PHP (optional) | >= 7.4 | | Composer (optional) | Any | | Git (optional) | Any |

PHP, Composer, and Git are only required when scaffolding features that use them. The CLI checks for these at startup and will guide you if anything is missing.

License

MIT — mrwayne-dev