--- title: "Bootstrapping a Frameworkless PHP Application #" url: https://daily.dev/posts/bootstrapping-a-frameworkless-php-application--3rihpy6af source_url: https://maximegosselin.com/posts/bootstrapping-a-frameworkless-php-application type: article source: "Maxime Gosselin" published: 2026-05-05T02:18:37.985Z updated: 2026-05-05T02:19:01.026Z tags: ["php", "dependency-injection"] reading_time: 5 upvotes: 24 comments: 1 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Bootstrapping a Frameworkless PHP Application # **[Maxime Gosselin](https://daily.dev/sources/maximegosselin)** · 5 min read · 24 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary A guide to bootstrapping a PHP application without a full-stack framework like Laravel or Symfony. Using a single bootstrap.php file, Composer autoloading, vlucas/phpdotenv for configuration, and a PSR-11 compliant league/container with autowiring, the approach wires services together cleanly. The same bootstrap is shared across four entry points: web (Slim), CLI (Symfony Console), standalone scripts, and PHPUnit tests. The author argues this gives developers full ownership of dependencies, easier upgrades, and no coupling to a framework's release cycle. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@rucaua** · 0 upvotes > frameworkless !== using Slim Framework ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Writing Your Own Framework in PHP: Part One](https://daily.dev/posts/writing-your-own-framework-in-php-part-one-fjnnbzvvh) · Dominik Chrástecký · 4 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#php](https://daily.dev/tags/php), [#dependency-injection](https://daily.dev/tags/dependency-injection) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/bootstrapping-a-frameworkless-php-application--3rihpy6af)