Welcome to StackCTL

Welcome to StackCTL

StackCTL is a lightweight, modern PHP framework built for developers who want full control without the complexity of larger frameworks. No magic, no hidden behavior — just clean, readable, and traceable code from top to bottom.

Whether you're building a simple web app or a full-featured platform, StackCTL gives you everything you need to get started fast and scale confidently.

🚀 What Makes StackCTL Different?

Most frameworks do too much. They abstract away so much that debugging becomes a treasure hunt. StackCTL takes a different approach:

• Explicit over magic — every step is readable and traceable
• Lightweight by design — no unnecessary dependencies
• Built to teach — perfect for junior developers learning real-world PHP
• CLI powered — scaffold resources, manage migrations, and more with php stack
• Your stack, your rules — extend it, break it, learn from it

📦 What's Included

Out of the box, StackCTL ships with everything you need to build a production-ready application:

• Router — clean route registration with middleware, groups, named routes, and redirects
• Query Builder — fluent database layer with relationships, pagination, and transactions
• Authentication — login, register, email verification, OTP/MFA support
• Roles & Permissions — built-in role middleware and can() helper
• Validator — simple, extensible validation with unique rule support
• CLI Tools — php stack commands for migrations, scaffolding, and more
• Theme System — light, dark, and system theme support out of the box

🛠️ Getting Started

Setting up a new StackCTL project takes minutes. Start by cloning the framework and running the setup wizard:

git clone https://github.com/ZeroCtl-Agent0/StackCTL.git my-project
cd my-project
php stack init

The setup wizard will walk you through configuring your app name, database connection, authentication settings, and more. Once complete, you're ready to build.

📚 How These Docs Are Organized

The documentation is organized into sections, each covering a core part of the framework:

• Getting Started — installation, configuration, and your first route
• Routing — registering routes, middleware, groups, and redirects
• Database — the Query builder, migrations, and transactions
• Authentication — login, registration, MFA, and email verification
• CLI — all php stack commands explained
• Frontend — theme system, TinyMCE integration, and Tailwind tips

💡 A Note on Philosophy

StackCTL was built with one goal in mind — to be a framework you can actually read and understand. Every file is documented, every decision is intentional, and every rough edge found in real-world use becomes a framework improvement and a doc entry.

If you find a bug, hit a rough edge, or have an idea — that's not a problem, that's a contribution waiting to happen.

Welcome to the stack. Let's build something. 🚀