What is PurePHP?

Start here if you are new to PurePHP. No prior template language is required; you only need PHP 8.1 or newer and Composer. The pages are ordered so each step builds on the vocabulary introduced by the previous one.

PurePHP is a PHP template engine inspired by ReactJS functional components. You describe UI as native PHP objects that look like HTML, and PurePHP renders an HTML string. There is no separate template syntax to learn.

Choose a learning path

Step	Read	You will learn
1	Quick Start	Install the package and render a first tag tree.
2	Basic Usage	Compose HTML-like elements, attributes, children, and output.
3	Core Concepts	Name tags, shapes, slots, and renderers.
4	Props and Slots	Bind scalar text, raw markup, child scopes, lists, and conditionals.
5	Components	Wrap a shape in a call function with typed props and children.
6	Compiled Rendering	Compile a shape once and render it with request data.
7	Artifacts & Deployment	Ship *.pure.php and *.plain.php outputs safely.

After the core path, choose the integrations and examples that match your app: Events, SVG and XML, Utility Functions, HTMX, TailwindCSS, and the runnable Examples.

Two rendering paths

PurePHP keeps two paths deliberately separate:

Path	What you write	Best for
Immediate rendering	A tag tree containing real values, printed with render() or print().	Snippets, prototypes, CLI tools, and debugging.
Compiled rendering	A data-free shape with Slot placeholders, compiled once per worker or loaded from a fresh artifact.	Reusable components and production pages.

A shape is not a second template language. It is a PHP tag tree whose dynamic values are replaced by placeholders. See Core Concepts before mixing the two paths.

Hello, PurePHP

The smallest useful program is still ordinary PHP:

<?php

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

use function Pure\HTML\{div, h1, p};

div(
    h1('Hello PurePHP'),
    p('This renders immediately.')
)->class('container')->print();

For a reusable component, a call function returns a Pure\Component\Call and a lazy factory supplies its shape:

use Pure\Component\Call;
use Pure\Core\Slot;

use function Pure\Component\{component, register};
use function Pure\HTML\{div, h2, p};

function Card(): Call
{
    return component(__FUNCTION__);
}

register(Card(...), static fn () => div(
    h2(Slot::value('title')),
    p(Slot::value('content'))
)->class('card'));

echo Card()->title('Title')->content('Content');

prepare() can add the typed prop contract; pure compile can then precompile the unit into a *.pure.php artifact. Read Components for children, list slots, pages, and the contract checker.

Why PurePHP?

• Native PHP: the view layer is PHP, not a new template language.
• HTML-like composition: helper functions and fluent setters read like tags.
• Reusable units: a component is a shape plus a typed call contract.
• Repeatable rendering: compiled shapes move static work out of the request path while preserving the same escaping and output semantics.

When something goes wrong

Use the Troubleshooting page by symptom rather than searching through implementation details. If you are moving from another version or a source checkout, read Upgrading first and rebuild artifacts deliberately.

Next steps

• Quick Start — install, autoload, and run the first page
• Examples — compare pure, plain, static /cover, counter, and XML routes
• Component API — public component helpers and PHPStan integration
• Compile API — Slot, Shape, Renderer, cache, and artifact reference
• Troubleshooting — fixes for common runtime and build symptoms