I built a lightweight AJAX-first PHP framework for shared hosting

#php #framework #opensource #webdev

If you've ever tried to use Laravel or Symfony on a shared hosting
account, you know the pain. No terminal access, no Composer on the
server, no Docker — just FTP and cPanel.

That's exactly why I built Zieex.

What is Zieex?

Zieex is a lightweight PHP 8.2+ framework with zero runtime
dependencies. You can literally FTP the files into your public_html
folder and it works.

No terminal. No SSH. No Docker. Just PHP.

Key Features

AJAX-first by default — links, forms and buttons never reload the page unless you want them to
Zero runtime dependencies — no third-party packages required
Web-based installer — like WordPress, runs in the browser
Blade-like templating — familiar .ze.php syntax
Built-in Auth — session-based with BCRYPT hashing
JWT support — for REST APIs and mobile apps
CSRF protection — automatic on all POST requests
Rate limiting — per route, out of the box
Raw SMTP socket — sends emails without any library
MVC + REST API — separate web and API route files
Query Builder — clean database API without an ORM
PHP 8.2+ only — modern PHP, no legacy baggage

Install It

composer create-project vercy/zieex my-app

Then open your browser — the installer runs automatically.

How It Works

Routes

// routes/web/index.php
Router::get('/', [HomeController::class, 'index']);

Router::post('/login', [AuthController::class, 'login'])
    ->rateLimit(5, 60);

Router::group(['prefix' => '/admin', 'middleware' => ['auth', 'role:admin']], function () {
    Router::get('/dashboard', [AdminController::class, 'index']);
});

// Registers GET, POST, PUT, DELETE automatically
Router::resource('/api/posts', PostController::class);

Controllers

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function store(Request $request): Response
    {
        $data = $this->validate($request, [
            'title'   => 'required|max:255',
            'content' => 'required',
        ]);

        $post = Post::create($data);

        return $this->success($post, 'Post created.', 201);
    }
}

Templates (.ze.php)

@extends('layouts.app')

@section('content')
  <h1>{{ $title }}</h1>

  @foreach($posts as $post)
    <p>{{ $post['title'] }}</p>
  @endforeach

  @auth
    <a href="/dashboard">Dashboard</a>
  @endauth
@endsection

Auth

Auth::attempt($email, $password);
Auth::check();
Auth::user();
Auth::hash($password);
Auth::verify($password, $hash);

Query Builder

DB::table('posts')
    ->where('status', 'published')
    ->orderBy('created_at', 'DESC')
    ->paginate(15, $page);

DB::transaction(function () {
    // multiple queries here
});

Mail — multiple drivers

// Use Resend for auth emails
Mail::driver('resend')
    ->to($user['email'])
    ->subject('Verify your email')
    ->view('emails.verify', ['code' => $code])
    ->send();

// Use SMTP for bulk emails
Mail::driver('smtp')
    ->to($email)
    ->subject('Newsletter')
    ->html($content)
    ->send();

Logging

Log::info('User logged in', ['user_id' => $id]);
Log::error('Payment failed', ['order' => $orderId]);
Log::warning('Rate limit approaching', ['ip' => $ip]);

The AJAX Layer — interaction.js

This is one of my favourite parts of Zieex.

Every link, form and button is AJAX-enabled by default. No page
reloads. No extra code. It just works.

<!-- Normal link — no reload -->
<a href="/dashboard">Dashboard</a>

<!-- Normal form — submitted via AJAX -->
<form method="POST" action="/posts">
  <input name="title">
  <button type="submit">Save</button>
</form>

<!-- Opt out if you need a hard reload -->
<a href="/download" data-no-ajax>Download</a>

It also handles JSON responses, flash messages, form errors and
browser back/forward navigation automatically.

There's also a LiveComponent system for reactive UI without
any JavaScript framework:

LiveComponent.register('counter', {
  data: () => ({ count: 0 }),
  methods: {
    increment() { this.count++; }
  },
  render() {
    return `
      <p>${this.count}</p>
      <button data-on="click:increment">+</button>
    `;
  }
});