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[Framework](/categories/framework) 4. / 5. mikejw/empathy ActiveLibrary[Framework](/categories/framework) mikejw/empathy ============== Empathy MVC v4.3.3(3mo ago)32.0k1MITPHPPHP >=8.4.0CI failing Since Nov 6Pushed 1mo ago1 watchersCompare [ Source](https://github.com/mikejw/empathy)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/mikejw/empathy)[ Docs](https://empathy.sh)[ RSS](/packages/mikejw-empathy/feed)WikiDiscussions master Synced 2mo ago READMEChangelogDependencies (9)Versions (62)Used By (1) Empathy PHP Framework ===================== [](#empathy-php-framework) [![Empathy logo](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mikejw/empathy/master/eaa/public_html/img/empathy.png)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mikejw/empathy/master/eaa/public_html/img/empathy.png) [empathy.sh](https://empathy.sh) Welcome to the Empathy (micro MVC) PHP Framework project. The project has existed since 2008 and is geared towards allowing anyone to create PHP web applications, with following properties: - Strict MVC pattern - Modular compatible libraries - Lightweight - Fast - Extensible Documentation ------------- [](#documentation) See [getting-started.md](./docs/getting-started.md). Licence ------- [](#licence) Empathy and officially released extension libraries are now distributed under an MIT license. See [LICENSE](./LICENSE). Versioning & stability policy --------------------------------- [](#versioning--stability-policy) Empathy follows semantic versioning. Early releases (v1.x → v4.x) reflect a fast-evolving design phase of the framework. Particularly the interplay beteen models and the ORM as it was security hardened. Plus the changes required for PHP 8.4 support. As the API matured, each breaking change was given its own major release. With this history, major version bumps should not be seen as instability or sloppy development — but as honest signposts of sound, considered evolution. Going forward (from v5.0.0 onward): - Breaking changes will be batched into less-frequent major releases. - Where possible, functionality will first be deprecated in a release, and only removed in the next major. - Minor and patch versions will avoid breaking existing public APIs. - Each major release will include a clear upgrade guide (e.g. a file like UPGRADING-5.0.md) with before/after code examples for users. - Users who prefer stability over latest features can safely pin to a major version (e.g. "vendor/empathy": "^4.0") and skip new majors until explicitly ready. Testing the code itself ----------------------- [](#testing-the-code-itself) If you want to run tests from a version of Empathy that has been checked out in [base-docker](/docs/base-docker/)connect to the app container first, change to the empathy vendor directory and run composer install: ``` docker exec -it -u www-data app /bin/bash cd ./vendor/mikejw/empathy/ php ../../../composer.phar install --prefer-source ``` Within the 'Empathy Architype Application' config file (`/eaa/config.yml`), set: `doc_root` to the full location of the `eaa` directory, (which is used for dummy configuration) e.g: ``` --- doc_root: /var/www/project/vendor/mikejw/empathy/eaa ``` For the `elibs` plugin configuration (within `/eaa/config.yml`), set testing mode to 1. (This makes sure that the elibs repo containing Smarty can be found.) i.e: ``` plugins: - name: ELibs version: 1.0 config: '{ "testing": 1 }' ``` Change to the `t` directory from the root of the empathy repo and run phpunit: ``` cd /var/www/project/vendor/mikejw/empathy/t php ../vendor/bin/phpunit . ``` ### Health Score 58 — FairBetter than 98% of packages Maintenance85 Actively maintained with recent releases Popularity22 Limited adoption so far Community13 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity95 Battle-tested with a long release history Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 99.9% 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 ~99 days Recently: every ~15 days Total 48 Last Release 119d ago Major Versions v0.10.0 → v1.0.02025-04-22 v1.4.1 → v2.0.02025-05-16 v2.1.2 → v3.0.02025-05-23 v3.1.1 → v4.0.02025-05-28 PHP version history (5 changes)0.9.5PHP >=5.3.2 0.9.7PHP >=5.3.0 v1.0.0PHP >=8.1.0 v3.1.1PHP ^8.1.0 <8.2 v4.0.0PHP >=8.4.0 ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/715d4159043b7e1e6daa0f1717d396c480616e1db9aee2d1c4738d69217cbd37?d=identicon)[mikejw](/maintainers/mikejw) --- Top Contributors [![mikejw](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/115110?v=4)](https://github.com/mikejw "mikejw (836 commits)")[![gitter-badger](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/8518239?v=4)](https://github.com/gitter-badger "gitter-badger (1 commits)") --- Tags frameworkmvc ### Code Quality TestsPHPUnit Code StylePHP\_CodeSniffer ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/mikejw-empathy/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/mikejw-empathy/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/mikejw-empathy) ``` ### Alternatives [openpsa/midcom Content-oriented Model-View-Controller framework for PHP 293.2k1](/packages/openpsa-midcom) PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)