What is frankenphp?

php/frankenphp — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 11,065GoAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((frankenphp))
    What it replaces
      Nginx
      PHP-FPM
      Manual config
    Key features
      Automatic HTTPS
      HTTP2 and HTTP3
      Worker mode
    Supported frameworks
      Laravel
      Symfony
      WordPress
    Installation
      Single binary
      Docker image
      Package managers

mindmap root((frankenphp)) What it replaces Nginx PHP-FPM Manual config Key features Automatic HTTPS HTTP2 and HTTP3 Worker mode Supported frameworks Laravel Symfony WordPress Installation Single binary Docker image Package managers

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Replace a Nginx and PHP-FPM setup with one binary to simplify your server configuration.

USE CASE 2

Speed up a Laravel or Symfony app using worker mode that keeps the app in memory between requests.

USE CASE 3

Deploy WordPress or Drupal with automatic HTTPS using FrankenPHP on Linux, macOS, or Windows.

USE CASE 4

Embed PHP execution inside a Go application by using FrankenPHP as a Go library.

What is it built with?

GoPHP

How does it compare?

	php/frankenphp	blevesearch/bleve	bufbuild/buf
Stars	11,065	11,031	11,111
Language	Go	Go	Go
Setup difficulty	easy	moderate	moderate
Complexity	3/5	3/5	3/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

FrankenPHP is an application server for PHP, the programming language used to build websites like WordPress, Laravel apps, and Symfony projects. Most PHP setups require multiple separate pieces working together: a web server like Nginx, a PHP processor called PHP-FPM, and manual configuration to connect them. FrankenPHP replaces that entire stack with a single binary. It is built on top of Caddy, a web server written in Go that handles HTTPS certificates automatically. Because of this, FrankenPHP provides automatic HTTPS right out of the box, along with support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, which are newer and faster versions of the web protocol. It also supports a worker mode that keeps your PHP application loaded in memory between requests, which can significantly speed up frameworks like Laravel and Symfony that normally reload from scratch on every request. You can install FrankenPHP as a standalone binary on Linux, macOS, or Windows, and it comes bundled with PHP 8.5 and the most commonly used PHP extensions. No separate PHP installation is required on Linux. Package manager options (apt, dnf, apk, Homebrew) are available, as are Docker images. To start serving a PHP project, you run a single command in your project folder. For existing projects built on Symfony, Laravel, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or Magento, there are integration guides covering how to switch from a traditional Nginx and PHP-FPM setup. FrankenPHP can also function as a Go library, meaning developers who build applications in Go can embed PHP directly into their programs.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Migrate my Laravel app from a Nginx and PHP-FPM setup to FrankenPHP worker mode, show me the Caddyfile config and startup commands.

Prompt 2

Write a Dockerfile that uses FrankenPHP to serve a WordPress site with automatic HTTPS and PHP 8.5.

Prompt 3

How do I install FrankenPHP on Ubuntu using apt and serve a Symfony project in worker mode from day one?

Prompt 4

Show me how to embed PHP execution inside a Go program using FrankenPHP as a Go library with a minimal working example.

Frequently asked questions