# formers/former

A powerful form builder, for Laravel and other frameworks (stand-alone too)

Repository: https://github.com/formers/former
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/former
Homepage: https://formers.github.io/former/
Language: PHP
License Family: other
Topics: laravel-package, form-builder
Last push: 2026-04-12T09:05:13+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 71/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 77, release rhythm 47, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5101, "days_push": 143, "days_rel": 143, "gap_med": 198.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1333, forks 201 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:24.734809+00:00)

## What it is
Former is a PHP form builder library with a fluent API for creating and formatting HTML forms, primarily targeting Laravel but usable stand-alone. It automatically generates markup compatible with CSS frameworks like Bootstrap and Foundation, and handles field repopulation and validation error rendering.

## Use cases
- build HTML forms in Laravel with a fluent API
- generate Bootstrap-compatible form markup in PHP
- repopulate form fields after validation errors
- render validation error messages next to affected fields
- create forms in PHP without a framework
- add HTML5 validation attributes to form fields programmatically

## When to choose
- you're building server-rendered Laravel or PHP apps with lots of forms
- you want automatic Bootstrap or Foundation form markup
- you need built-in repopulation and error message handling

## When to avoid
- you build SPA or JavaScript-rendered frontends where forms are handled client-side
- you use modern Laravel form scaffolding or Livewire/Inertia instead of server-side form helpers
- you need a CSS framework other than Bootstrap or Foundation

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: form-handling, templating, ui-components
- domain: web-development, frontend, developer-tools
- platform: php
- tags: laravel-package, form-builder, bootstrap, foundation, fluent-api, web-server

## Member repositories
- formers/former (main) score 71

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:24.734809+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:44:43.433122+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/formers/former (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:24.734809+00:00, sha d02da913582d)
  - homepage: https://formers.github.io/former/ (fetched 2026-08-29T12:03:56.371927+00:00, sha 10c025852265)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.