Home | Products | FrankenPHP

FrankenPHP

FrankenPHP is a high-performance application server for PHP, designed to leverage modern web standards while drastically reducing latency, configuration complexity, and server load.
Deploy your FrankenPHP applications Read the doc

FrankenPHP is designed to deliver high performance through persistent application execution. It is built on the Caddy web server, with which it is tightly integrated to natively support numerous extensions and advanced features, while offering configuration simplicity perfectly suited for deployments on Clever Cloud. Developed by French engineer Kévin Dunglas, creator of API Platform, FrankenPHP aims to modernize the PHP ecosystem by drawing inspiration from modern web practices.

Why use FrankenPHP on Clever Cloud?

  1. 01

    01 Persistent execution and enhanced performance

    FrankenPHP is built on the Caddy web server and can load your PHP application into memory to serve successive requests. This results in:

    • A significant reduction in response time (up to 10 to 100 times faster depending on the use case)
    • Lower CPU usage and fewer unnecessary cycles
    • Stable performance even under heavy load

    What is known as the “worker mode” in FrankenPHP allows each process to host a complete and persistent instance of the PHP application. This mode eliminates the overhead of frequent code restarts and reloads. It makes it possible to optimize connection management, store resources or states in shared memory, and reuse already loaded objects or dependencies between requests, making the PHP application behave more like a traditional backend service.
    This approach is ideal for critical applications, intensive APIs, or backends built with Symfony or Laravel.
  2. 02

    02 Full compatibility with modern PHP frameworks

    FrankenPHP is designed to integrate natively with widely used frameworks such as API Platform, Laravel, Symfony, and others. On Clever Cloud, it comes with:

    • Native Composer support
    • Many PHP extensions enabled by default
    • Configuration through the Caddyfile
    • Simplified use of your reverse proxies (Redirection.io, Varnish, etc.) thanks to the Request Flow

    No need to rewrite your application: FrankenPHP provides smooth scaling without disrupting your existing tools.
  3. 03

    03 A technology foundation built for the future of the web

    FrankenPHP integrates Caddy as its HTTP server, benefiting from excellent performance, comprehensive yet easy-to-implement configuration options, and advanced features ready to use out of the box.

    These innovations accelerate the initial rendering of your pages and deliver a better user experience with reduced loading times.
  4. 04

    04 Reliability, observability, and operational simplicity

    FrankenPHP enhances the resilience and traceability of your PHP applications through:

    • Optimized handling of fatal errors
    • Fewer process restarts, ensuring greater continuity
    • More reliable profiling of memory and CPU usage

    Alongside the Clever Cloud platform, you benefit from managed hosting, integrated monitoring, and seamless continuous deployment.
  5. 05

    05 Seamless deployment on Clever Cloud

    Deploying a FrankenPHP application on Clever Cloud takes just a few steps:

    • Create a Clever Cloud application by selecting the frankenphp runtime
    • Deploy your code via Git
    • Clever Cloud automatically detects your project’s dependencies (via composer.json) and installs them
    • Your application goes live as soon as the build is complete

    A Caddyfile and a user.ini file allow you to configure the runtime’s behavior if needed, in addition to environment variables.

Want to learn more or have a FrankenPHP project you’d like to discuss with us? Our teams are available via chat or through our contact form.

Contact-us
Discover the pricing of the FrankenPHP runtime

A question?

Our documentation is here to help you.
FrankenPHP documentation