Quickstart

This guide will help you create your first Lyger application. We’ll build a simple API with a “Hello World” endpoint and explore the core concepts of the framework.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

Completed the Installation guide
Lyger framework installed and running
Basic knowledge of PHP

Your First Route

Lyger makes it easy to define routes. Routes are defined in the routes/web.php file.

Understand the Default Route

When you first install Lyger, routes/web.php contains a default route:

routes/web.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use Lyger\Routing\Route;
use Lyger\Http\Response;

Route::get('/', function () {
    return Response::json([
        'name' => 'Lyger Framework v0.1',
        'status' => 'running',
        'message' => 'Welcome to Lyger - PHP on steroids with Rust FFI'
    ]);
});

Start your server and test it:

php rawr serve

Visit http://localhost:8000 - you should see the JSON response.

Add a Simple Route

Let’s add a new route. Open routes/web.php and add:

routes/web.php

Route::get('/hello', function () {
    return Response::json([
        'message' => 'Hello, World!'
    ]);
});

Visit http://localhost:8000/hello to see your new route in action!

Add Route Parameters

Routes can accept parameters using curly braces:

routes/web.php

Route::get('/greet/{name}', function ($request, $name) {
    return Response::json([
        'message' => "Hello, {$name}!"
    ]);
});

Try it: http://localhost:8000/greet/Alice

HTTP Methods

Lyger supports all standard HTTP methods:

routes/web.php

use Lyger\Routing\Route;
use Lyger\Http\Response;

// GET request
Route::get('/users', function () {
    return Response::json(['users' => []]);
});

// POST request
Route::post('/users', function ($request) {
    $data = $request->all();
    return Response::json(['created' => $data], 201);
});

// PUT request
Route::put('/users/{id}', function ($request, $id) {
    return Response::json(['updated' => $id]);
});

// DELETE request
Route::delete('/users/{id}', function ($request, $id) {
    return Response::json(['deleted' => $id]);
});

Creating Your First Controller

Controllers help organize your application logic. Let’s create one using the Rawr CLI.

Generate a Controller

Use the make:controller command:

php rawr make:controller UserController

This creates App/Controllers/UserController.php:

App/Controllers/UserController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Controllers;

use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;

class UserController
{
    public function index(): Response
    {
        return Response::json(['message' => 'UserController controller']);
    }
}

Add Controller Methods

Edit the controller to add more methods:

App/Controllers/UserController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Controllers;

use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;

class UserController
{
    public function index(): Response
    {
        return Response::json([
            'users' => [
                ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice'],
                ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob'],
            ]
        ]);
    }

    public function show(Request $request, string $id): Response
    {
        return Response::json([
            'user' => ['id' => $id, 'name' => 'Alice']
        ]);
    }

    public function store(Request $request): Response
    {
        $data = $request->all();
        
        return Response::json([
            'message' => 'User created',
            'user' => $data
        ], 201);
    }
}

Update routes/web.php to use the controller:

routes/web.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use Lyger\Routing\Route;
use App\Controllers\UserController;

Route::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
Route::get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show']);
Route::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);

Controllers are automatically resolved from the container. The first parameter is always the Request object, followed by route parameters.

Working with Requests

The Request object provides access to all request data:

use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;

Route::post('/api/data', function (Request $request) {
    // Get all input data
    $all = $request->all();
    
    // Get specific input
    $name = $request->input('name');
    
    // Get request method
    $method = $request->method(); // POST
    
    // Get request URI
    $uri = $request->uri(); // /api/data
    
    return Response::json(['received' => $all]);
});

Response Types

Lyger provides several response types:

use Lyger\Http\Response;

Route::get('/api/users', function () {
    return Response::json([
        'users' => ['Alice', 'Bob']
    ]);
});

Building a Complete Example

Let’s build a simple task management API to demonstrate Lyger’s capabilities.

Create the Controller

php rawr make:controller TaskController

Edit App/Controllers/TaskController.php:

App/Controllers/TaskController.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Controllers;

use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;

class TaskController
{
    private array $tasks = [];

    public function __construct()
    {
        // In a real app, this would come from a database
        $this->tasks = [
            ['id' => 1, 'title' => 'Learn Lyger', 'completed' => false],
            ['id' => 2, 'title' => 'Build an API', 'completed' => false],
        ];
    }

    public function index(): Response
    {
        return Response::json([
            'tasks' => $this->tasks,
            'count' => count($this->tasks)
        ]);
    }

    public function show(Request $request, string $id): Response
    {
        $task = null;
        foreach ($this->tasks as $t) {
            if ($t['id'] == $id) {
                $task = $t;
                break;
            }
        }

        if (!$task) {
            return Response::error('Task not found', 404);
        }

        return Response::json(['task' => $task]);
    }

    public function store(Request $request): Response
    {
        $data = $request->all();
        
        $task = [
            'id' => count($this->tasks) + 1,
            'title' => $data['title'] ?? 'Untitled',
            'completed' => false
        ];

        return Response::json([
            'message' => 'Task created successfully',
            'task' => $task
        ], 201);
    }

    public function update(Request $request, string $id): Response
    {
        $data = $request->all();
        
        return Response::json([
            'message' => 'Task updated successfully',
            'task' => [
                'id' => $id,
                'title' => $data['title'] ?? 'Updated Task',
                'completed' => $data['completed'] ?? false
            ]
        ]);
    }

    public function destroy(Request $request, string $id): Response
    {
        return Response::json([
            'message' => 'Task deleted successfully',
            'id' => $id
        ]);
    }
}

Define the Routes

Add routes to routes/web.php:

routes/web.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use Lyger\Routing\Route;
use App\Controllers\TaskController;

// Task API routes
Route::get('/api/tasks', [TaskController::class, 'index']);
Route::get('/api/tasks/{id}', [TaskController::class, 'show']);
Route::post('/api/tasks', [TaskController::class, 'store']);
Route::put('/api/tasks/{id}', [TaskController::class, 'update']);
Route::delete('/api/tasks/{id}', [TaskController::class, 'destroy']);

Test Your API

Start the server if it’s not running:

php rawr serve

Test your endpoints:

curl http://localhost:8000/api/tasks

CLI Commands Reference

Lyger includes a powerful CLI tool called rawr. Here are the essential commands:

# Start development server
php rawr serve

# Start on custom port
php rawr serve --port=3000

# Legacy PHP server
php rawr serve:php

Understanding the Request Flow

Here’s how Lyger processes requests:

Browser Request
      ↓
public/index.php (entry point)
      ↓
Router (routes/web.php)
      ↓
Controller Method
      ↓
Response
      ↓
Browser

The application bootstrap happens in public/index.php:

public/index.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

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

use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Routing\Router;
use Lyger\Container\Container;

// Create container
$container = Container::getInstance();

// Create router and load routes
$router = new Router($container);
$router->loadRoutesFromFile(__DIR__ . '/../routes/web.php');

// Capture request and dispatch
$request = Request::capture();
$response = $router->dispatch($request);
$response->send();

Next Steps

Congratulations! You’ve built your first Lyger application. Here’s what to explore next:

Database & ORM

Learn about Eloquent-style models and migrations

Middleware

Add middleware to your routes

CLI Commands

Explore scaffold commands

Authentication

Secure your application

Pro Tip: Lyger combines PHP simplicity with Rust performance. As you build, you’ll experience the framework’s high-performance features like the Rust-powered query builder and Always-Alive server mode.

Example Projects

Want to see Lyger in action? Check out these example projects:

Dental Clinic Demo - A full-featured application showcasing Lyger’s capabilities

Getting Help

GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
Documentation: Explore the rest of this documentation
Source Code: Study the framework source in the Lyger/ directory

Get Started

Core Concepts

Routing

Database

Frontend

Advanced

Prerequisites

Your First Route

HTTP Methods

Creating Your First Controller

Working with Requests

Response Types

Building a Complete Example

CLI Commands Reference

Understanding the Request Flow

Next Steps

Database & ORM

Middleware

CLI Commands

Authentication

Example Projects

Getting Help

Get Started

Core Concepts

Routing

Database

Frontend

Advanced

​Prerequisites

​Your First Route

​HTTP Methods

​Creating Your First Controller

​Working with Requests

​Response Types

​Building a Complete Example

​CLI Commands Reference

​Understanding the Request Flow

​Next Steps

Database & ORM

Middleware

CLI Commands

Authentication

​Example Projects

​Getting Help

Prerequisites

Your First Route

HTTP Methods

Creating Your First Controller

Working with Requests

Response Types

Building a Complete Example

CLI Commands Reference

Understanding the Request Flow

Next Steps

Example Projects

Getting Help