# Luracast/Restler

Zero-boilerplate REST API framework for PHP 8+. Auto-generates routes, docs, validation.

Repository: https://github.com/Luracast/Restler
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/luracast-restler
Homepage: http://luracast.com/products/restler/
Language: PHP
License Family: other
Topics: restler, php, phpdoc-comments, html-format, php-fpm, composer, json-format, jsonp, async, framework, openapi, openapi3, reactphp, rest-api, swoole
Last push: 2026-08-22T00:40:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 98/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 98, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5626, "days_push": 12, "days_rel": 12, "gap_med": 3.5, "n_releases_24m": 7}
- 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 1382, forks 315 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:34.475732+00:00)

## What it is
Restler is a zero-boilerplate REST API framework for PHP 8+ that uses reflection to auto-generate routes, validation, and OpenAPI documentation from plain PHP classes. It supports multiple response formats (JSON, XML, CSV, HTML) and async runtimes like Swoole, OpenSwoole, and ReactPHP.

## Use cases
- build a REST API in PHP without writing controllers or route files
- auto-generate OpenAPI/Swagger documentation from PHP classes
- expose existing PHP class methods as REST endpoints
- serve JSON, XML, CSV, and Excel responses from one API
- run a high-throughput PHP API on Swoole or ReactPHP
- validate request parameters automatically from type hints

## When to choose
- you want minimal-boilerplate REST APIs in plain PHP classes
- you need OpenAPI docs generated automatically from your code
- you want multi-format content negotiation (JSON, XML, CSV, HTML)
- you need async PHP performance via Swoole or ReactPHP

## When to avoid
- you need a full-stack framework with ORM, templating, and queues like Laravel or Symfony
- your team prefers explicit route/controller definitions over reflection-based magic
- you need a license-guaranteed project (no license file is present)

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: api-framework, web-framework, routing, serialization, middleware, documentation
- domain: web-development, backend, apis, developer-tools
- platform: php, serverless
- tags: rest-api, openapi, swagger, zero-boilerplate, swoole, reactphp, content-negotiation, auto-validation, psr-7, web-server, docker

## Member repositories
- Luracast/Restler (main) score 98

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:34.475732+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 2026-08-30T04:40:05.556865+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/Luracast/Restler (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:34.475732+00:00, sha 570e774b2f29)
  - homepage: http://luracast.com/products/restler/ (fetched 2026-08-29T11:55:53.284220+00:00, sha f6d13b4cae83)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.