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alamellama/carapace
===================

Framework-agnostic DTOs for PHP

v2.0.2(4mo ago)133.6k↓43.9%[7 issues](https://github.com/ALameLlama/carapace/issues)MITPHPPHP ^8.2CI passing

Since Aug 5Pushed 4mo agoCompare

[ Source](https://github.com/ALameLlama/carapace)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/alamellama/carapace)[ GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/alamellama)[ RSS](/packages/alamellama-carapace/feed)WikiDiscussions master Synced 1mo ago

READMEChangelog (7)Dependencies (5)Versions (11)Used By (0)

 [![Carapace Logo](.art/logo.webp)](.art/logo.webp)

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Carapace is a lightweight PHP library for building immutable, strictly typed Data Transfer Objects (DTOs). It leverages PHP attributes for casting, property mapping, and serialization, while providing a simple, expressive API.

Features
--------

[](#features)

- **Mutable + Immutable DTOs**: Define data objects by extending the Data base class, or use ImmutableData for readonly DTOs.
- **Attribute-Driven Mapping**: Use PHP attributes like CastWith, MapFrom, MapTo, and Hidden to control how data is hydrated, transformed, and serialized with minimal boilerplate.
- **Strictly Typed**: Leverage PHP's type system for predictable data structures.
- **Framework-Agnostic**: Works in Laravel, Symfony, or plain PHP projects.
- **Simple API**: Create, hydrate, and transform DTOs with minimal boilerplate.

Installation
------------

[](#installation)

```
composer require alamellama/carapace
```

Usage
-----

[](#usage)

```
use Alamellama\Carapace\Data;
use Alamellama\Carapace\Attributes\CastWith;
use Alamellama\Carapace\Attributes\Hidden;
use Alamellama\Carapace\Attributes\MapFrom;

class User extends Data
{
    public function __construct(
        public string $name,
        #[MapFrom('email_address')]
        public string $email,

        #[Hidden]
        public string $password,

        #[CastWith(Address::class)]
        public Address $address,
    ) {}
}

// Create from an array
$user = User::from([
    'name' => 'John Doe',
    'email_address' => 'john@example.com',
    'password' => 'secret',
    'address' => [
        'street' => '123 Main St',
        'city' => 'Anytown',
    ],
]);

// Create a modified copy
$updatedUser = $user->with(name: 'Jane Doe');

// Serialize
$array = $user->toArray(); // Password will be excluded
$json = $user->toJson();
```

Documentation
-------------

[](#documentation)

For detailed documentation, visit our [documentation site](https://alamellama.github.io/carapace/).

Code Quality
------------

[](#code-quality)

Carapace follows PSR-12 coding standards with Laravel-style modifications. We use Laravel Pint for code style enforcement and Rector for automated refactoring. PHPStan is configured at a high strictness level.

```
# Apply automated fixes (Pint + Rector)
composer fix

# Run tests and quality checks
composer test
```

Testing
-------

[](#testing)

Carapace uses Pest PHP for testing and aims for 100% test coverage.

```
# Run all tests
composer test
```

Acknowledgements & Inspirations
-----------------------------------

[](#acknowledgements--inspirations)

In particular, we drew inspiration and ideas from:

- Spatie's data libraries, including [spatie/data-transfer-object](https://github.com/spatie/data-transfer-object) and [spatie/laravel-data](https://github.com/spatie/laravel-data)
- [CuyZ/Valinor](https://github.com/CuyZ/Valinor)
- [Symfony Serializer](https://symfony.com/doc/current/components/serializer.html)

We also rely on fantastic tooling that keeps this project reliable and maintainable:

- [Pest PHP](https://pestphp.com/) for testing
- [PHPStan](https://phpstan.org/) for static analysis
- [Laravel Pint](https://laravel.com/docs/pint) for code style
- [Rector](https://github.com/rectorphp/rector) for automated refactoring

License
-------

[](#license)

Carapace is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license. See the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.

###  Health Score

43

—

FairBetter than 91% of packages

Maintenance66

Regular maintenance activity

Popularity30

Limited adoption so far

Community6

Small or concentrated contributor base

Maturity55

Maturing project, gaining track record

 Bus Factor1

Top contributor holds 100% of commits — single point of failure

How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window.

**Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores.

**Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement.

**Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability.

###  Release Activity

Cadence

Every ~23 days

Recently: every ~37 days

Total

8

Last Release

123d ago

Major Versions

v1.2.1 → v2.0.02025-09-30

### Community

Maintainers

![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/55490546?v=4)[Nicholas Ciechanowski](/maintainers/ALameLlama)[@ALameLlama](https://github.com/ALameLlama)

---

Top Contributors

[![ALameLlama](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/55490546?v=4)](https://github.com/ALameLlama "ALameLlama (42 commits)")

---

Tags

dtophp

###  Code Quality

TestsPest

Static AnalysisPHPStan, Rector

Code StyleLaravel Pint

Type Coverage Yes

### Embed Badge

![Health badge](/badges/alamellama-carapace/health.svg)

```
[![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/alamellama-carapace/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/alamellama-carapace)
```

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