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yiisoft/yii2

★ 14,305PHPAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

TLDR

Full-featured PHP web framework that handles requests, database access, and page rendering so you can build web applications without writing the common plumbing from scratch.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Yii 2))
    What it does
      Request handling
      Database access
      Page rendering
    Learning
      Definitive Guide
      Class Reference
      Upgrade from 1.1
    Community
      Forums
      Slack
      Contributions
    Setup
      PHP 7.4 minimum
      Composer install
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Code map

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Build a complete PHP web application with database models, routing, and templating using one framework.

USE CASE 2

Follow the Definitive Guide to learn Yii 2 from setup through advanced features without piecing together external tutorials.

USE CASE 3

Migrate an existing Yii 1.1 application to Yii 2 using the provided upgrade guide.

USE CASE 4

Contribute translations or bug fixes to a large open-source PHP project with an active community.

Tech stack

PHPComposer

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 1h+

Requires PHP 7.4+ (PHP 8 recommended), follow the official Yii website step-by-step guide for initial project scaffolding.

In plain English

Yii 2 is a web framework for the PHP programming language. A framework is a foundation of reusable code that takes care of the common parts of building a web application, such as handling requests, talking to a database, and producing pages, so that developers do not have to write all of that from scratch each time. The README describes Yii 2 as fast, secure, and efficient, and says it comes pre-configured with reasonable defaults while still being flexible enough to adjust to your needs. The README is short and mostly points to resources rather than explaining the framework in depth. For installation, it notes that the minimum required PHP version is 7.4 and that the framework works best with PHP 8, then directs you to the official step-by-step guide on the Yii website. For learning the framework, it links to two main documents: a Definitive Guide that walks through usage, and a Class Reference that documents the code in detail. A PDF copy of the guide is available, along with a separate page for users upgrading from the older Yii 1.1 version, which summarizes what changed. The rest of the README covers the project as a community effort. It lists places to take part, including discussion forums, a community Slack, and social media accounts. It explains how to contribute by reporting issues, translating documentation, or fixing bugs, and it gives a clear warning not to report security problems through public GitHub issues, pointing instead to a dedicated security page. It also shows the simple folder layout of the source code and offers a badge you can add to your own project to credit Yii, plus links for sponsoring the project financially.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Using Yii 2, create a REST API endpoint that reads a list of users from a MySQL database and returns them as JSON.
Prompt 2
Show me how to set up Yii 2 authentication so users can register and log in with an email and password.
Prompt 3
Build a Yii 2 ActiveRecord model for a products table with validation rules for name and price fields.
Prompt 4
How do I run database migrations in Yii 2 to add a new column to an existing table without losing data?
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