J•Frame
DE · EN
PHP framework

Small pieces.
Big builds.

J•Frame is a modular PHP framework: core, components, packages and themes ship as independent Composer packages. Each app takes what it needs and pins it to a compatible version range. It powers a video platform, a CMS, a company management tool, a feed service and a central sign-in.

  • PHP 8
  • 50+ Composer packages
  • SemVer per package
  • Docs with ADRs
  • continuously developed

Private & not publicly available. J•Frame is a private framework. There is no download and no public installation — it is used exclusively in my own projects on my own servers.

/**
 * Routes live on the controller — no routing file.
 *
 * @Route(path="/hello/")
 */
class HelloController extends AbstractController
{
    /** @Route(path="{name}") */
    public function index(): ResponseInterface
    {
        return $this->render('hello.phtml', [
            'name' => $this->getParam('name'),
        ]);
    }
}
One controller, one annotation, one route — the route name is derived automatically.

Principles

J•Frame has grown with real applications for years. A few rules have proven themselves along the way.

1

Packages, not a monolith

Routing, ORM, events, templating … every capability is its own package with its own release cycle. A change to one component never breaks an app pinned to a different range.

2

Seams over internals

Extensions go through events, registries and configuration — not by patching someone else's code. A new package plugs in without the core having to know about it.

3

Configuration as code

Config entries are typed PHP objects; secrets come from environment variables ([ENV:…]). The same app runs locally, on staging and in production.

4

No silent failures

Whatever goes wrong gets logged or reported. A package that swallows an error counts as a bug — even if the page still “works”.

5

Decisions are written down

Every major fork in the road gets an Architecture Decision Record. Documentation lives with the package, in two languages, in a clear place.

6

Fast, without magic

Plain PHP templates, discovery caches and OPcache: no build step for PHP, no hidden magic. What the code says is what happens.

One logic, three endpoints

The business logic lives once — in services, entities and permissions. An endpoint is just the way in: whether a person clicks in the browser, a cron job runs or another frontend fetches data, they all use the same logic.

⌂

Web

Server-rendered pages with themes, navigation, forms and an admin area that packages extend themselves — from public website to internal tool.

>_

CLI

Custom commands via bin/console, plus a scheduler for recurring jobs: imports, exports, migrations, cache warm-up, maintenance windows.

{ }

API (headless)

JSON endpoints on the same routes and controllers, secured with token or JWT authentication — for custom frontends, apps and other services.

Building blocks

Five layers, each versioned as its own package. An app enables packages in its configuration — controllers and routes are then discovered automatically.

CoreBoot, container, consolejframe/core
ComponentsRouting, ORM, events, i18n …jframe-component
PackagesDomain modules with UIjframe-package
PluginsSmall, reusable helpersjframe-plugin
ThemesLayouts and assetsjframe-theme
Annotation routingDependency injectionORM & migrations Events & hooksConsole & scheduleri18nTheming & navigation Users, groups & permissionsAdmin areaCMSMedia library Uploads with MIME checksMailerDebug barMaintenance mode CachingMulti-siteAI client

Built with J•Frame

Five applications, one foundation. They share the same packages — whatever improves one app reaches the others with their next update.

ViPla

Video platform

“Your Video Platform”: upload, transcoding and streaming, playlists and collections, ratings and statistics.

vipla.watch →

J•CMS

Content management

A CMS with themes, menus and a WYSIWYG editor — a public frontend that doesn't require JavaScript, managed through the J•Frame admin area.

jcms.eu →

J•CoMa

Company Management

Companies, customers and projects with roles, a board and tenant separation — the toolbox for everyday agency work.

In internal use

J•Feed

Feed & blog service

Publishes its own posts like a blog or pulls them from connected sources such as Facebook pages, syncs regularly and serves everything as an Atom feed and a JSON API — ready to embed in other websites.

In use for a client

J•Acc

Central sign-in

User management and sign-in as a service for my own projects: an API with JWT tokens, optionally with two-factor authentication — also for frontends that don't run on J•Frame themselves.

In internal use