Related project: vite-plugin-php (native Vite integration for PHP)

[donnikitos]

Hey @mindplay-dk 👋

just wanted to share a related project I’ve been working on:
👉 vite-plugin-php

It takes a slightly different approach — instead of just parsing the manifest, it integrates directly with Vite’s dev server and build pipeline, enabling true Vite tooling during development.
We’re also experimenting with a lightweight PHP component syntax (similar to JSX) that compiles down to native PHP functions, check out this starter repo.

Might be interesting for anyone looking for tighter Vite integration or component-based workflows in PHP.

[mindplay-dk]

I saw that (and other integrations) before deciding to write this.

The main reason I built this is because I prefer simple things - what you're trying to do here is much harder, and much more complex, than just parsing a JSON file and emitting some tags, I think?

What do you get out of integrating with Vite's pipeline? Vite can't actually do anything with .php files, can it?

Component syntax in PHP does not sound like something I'd want - I prefer solving frontend problems in the frontend, and would prefer to rely on PHP for REST endpoints, etc. When it comes to rendering actual HTML pages, I prefer PHP templates in plain PHP, and with the very simple integration to Vite and the frontend by simply loading it, and not much else.

We're very much approaching the problem from two different sides - you're essentially integrating PHP into Vite, whereas my library integrates Vite into PHP.

Both approaches almost definitely have merit - I'm sure both have their pros and cons.

I just prefer the smallest possible scope and the path of least resistance. 😊