magdev
5e8db0980e
The Makefile's appimage target ran composer install with the path repo configured as `"symlink": true`. Composer created a symlink at vendor/php-qml/bridge → <BUNDLE_ABS>. rsync into the AppDir preserved the symlink, whose target path doesn't exist on the user's machine. At runtime: Caddy + frankenphp boot fine, /healthz returns 200 (no bundle services touched), but every API request fails with: Warning: include(.../symfony/vendor/composer/../php-qml/bridge/src/ BridgeBundle.php): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory …and the migrations step fails identically on first launch. COMPOSER_MIRROR_PATH_REPOS=1 is the documented env-var lever, but explicit `"symlink": true` in composer.json takes precedence over it (verified the env var alone leaves the symlink in place). Dropping the env var; instead, sed the symlink option to `false` in the staging composer.json, alongside the existing URL rewrite. Composer.json source-of-truth keeps `symlink: true` so dev-mode installs are still hot-reloadable against framework/php source. Only the staging copy used for AppImage assembly is mirrored. Verified locally: `vendor/php-qml/bridge` is now a real directory after composer install; `BridgeBundle.php` exists as a regular file. Note for follow-up (out of scope here): perfsmoke didn't catch this because /healthz doesn't touch any BridgeBundle services. Worth extending perfsmoke to also exercise an actual API endpoint so packaging regressions of this shape fail loudly in CI. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
php-qml
A framework for native desktop applications with a Symfony / FrankenPHP backend and a Qt / QML frontend, packaged as a single distributable per OS.
Status: Phase 5 / pre-v0.1.0. Phases 0–4a are merged (working framework, real POC, Linux AppImage, auto-update, release CI). macOS and Windows packaging are deferred to 4b/4c. See CHANGELOG.md.
What it is
php-qml lets a PHP developer write a desktop app using ordinary Symfony on the backend and ordinary QML on the frontend. The two halves run as a process pair inside one bundled binary:
- A Qt/QML host owns the window, input, and rendering.
- A bundled FrankenPHP child runs a Symfony app in worker mode.
- They communicate over a local socket — HTTP for commands and queries, Mercure SSE for state push.
It is not a PHP↔Qt language binding — the languages run in separate processes; the bridge is a wire protocol, not an FFI layer. That deliberately avoids the failure mode that left php-gtk and php-qt unmaintained.
60-second tour
git clone https://src.bundespruefstelle.ch/magdev/php-qml && cd php-qml
# Scaffold a fresh app
./bin/php-qml-init my-app
# Run it
cd my-app
make doctor # readiness check
make dev # FrankenPHP --watch + Qt host
Add a reactive resource (entity + REST controller + QML snippet) with one maker:
cd my-app/symfony
bin/console make:bridge:resource Todo
bin/console make:migration && bin/console doctrine:migrations:migrate -n
make dev opens the Qt window, connection state flips to Online, and the generated TodoList.qml shows a list whose ReactiveListModel is auto-subscribed to app://model/todo over Mercure. There is no handwritten cross-side glue.
For a non-trivial app with a multi-window test, crash-recovery test, and AppImage packaging, see examples/todo/.
Documentation
The full developer documentation lives under docs/:
- Getting started — prerequisites by distro, first project, troubleshooting.
- Architecture — process pair, transport, dev vs bundled mode.
- Update semantics — connection state machine, optimistic mutations, idempotency.
- Reactive models —
ReactiveListModel,ReactiveObject, Mercure dual-publish. - Makers —
make:bridge:resource/command/window. - Dev workflow — hot reload, dev console, editor setup,
bridge:doctor. - Bundled mode — supervisor, per-session secret rotation, first-launch migrations.
- Linux packaging —
make appimage, auto-update, performance budgets. - Configuration reference — env vars, CLI flags.
- QML API reference / PHP API reference — singletons, components, attributes, services.
Design rationale and roadmap live in PLAN.md. User-facing changes per release are in CHANGELOG.md.
Tech stack
PHP 8.4+ · Symfony 8 · Doctrine ORM 3 · FrankenPHP 1.12+ (worker mode) · Mercure · Qt 6.5+ · CMake · Composer · Gitea Actions
Roadmap
- Phase 0 ✅ throwaway transport spike.
- Phase 1 ✅ framework skeleton, dev mode, single-instance lock, CI quality gate.
- Phase 2 ✅ reactive models, update semantics, headline maker.
- Phase 3 ✅ POC todo app, integration + snapshot tests.
- Phase 4a ✅ bundled mode, Linux AppImage, release CI, AppImageUpdate.
- Phase 4b/4c ⏳ macOS / Windows packaging.
- Phase 5 🚧 DX polish — dev console, init script, hot-reload docs, v0.1.0 prep.
Contributing
Active development happens on the dev branch; main only carries release commits. Pull requests target dev.
cd framework/php && composer quality # PHPStan + cs-fixer + PHPUnit
cd examples/todo && make quality # adds qmllint + integration test
A dedicated CONTRIBUTING.md arrives with Phase 5's wrap-up.
Versioning
Semantic Versioning — MAJOR.MINOR.BUGFIX. Pre-v1.0.0, minor bumps may break public API.
License
To be decided before v0.1.0 is tagged. The framework's own code will be permissively licensed; Qt is shipped under LGPL with relinkability obligations — see PLAN.md §12.