PHP OpenAPI Generator

Generate strongly typed PHP 8.2+ models, server contracts, and API clients directly from OpenAPI 3.x specs.

This package is designed for teams that want generated code to feel like hand-written application code: explicit types, predictable method signatures, and minimal runtime magic.

Why This Project

• PHP-native workflow: no npm toolchain required for day-to-day generation
• Lightweight by design: generate plain PHP classes/interfaces you can read and own
• Framework-friendly: Symfony and Laravel server glue, plus multiple client adapters
• Great for contract-first teams: keep OpenAPI as source of truth and regenerate safely

Features

• Typed model generation from components/schemas (classes, enums, nested objects)
• Server contract generation from paths with selectable framework target (None, Symfony, Laravel)
• Client generation with pluggable HTTP adapters (Symfony HttpClient, Guzzle, PSR-18)
• Optional framework and adapter version flags for version-specific code generation when upstream APIs change
• DTO hydration/serialization helpers (fromArray() and toArray())
• Operation filtering by tags, operation IDs, and path patterns
• Extension plugin system for x-* vendor extensions (for example x-trim)

Requirements

• PHP >=8.2
• Composer >=2.0

Installation

composer require --dev maxbeckers/php-openapi-generator

Because this package is a Composer plugin, allow it in composer.json:

{
  "config": {
	"allow-plugins": {
	  "maxbeckers/php-openapi-generator": true
	}
  }
}

The CLI binary is available at vendor/bin/openapi-gen.

Quick Start

1) Create php-openapi-generator.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use MaxBeckers\OpenApiGenerator\Config\FrameworkTarget;
use MaxBeckers\OpenApiGenerator\Config\GenerationTarget;
use MaxBeckers\OpenApiGenerator\Config\GeneratorConfig;
use MaxBeckers\OpenApiGenerator\Config\HttpClientAdapter;

$config = new GeneratorConfig();

$config->specFile = 'openapi.yaml';
$config->outputDir = 'generated';

$config->modelNamespace = 'App\\Model';
$config->modelOutputDir = 'Model';

$config->apiNamespace = 'App\\Api';
$config->apiOutputDir = 'Api';

$config->generationTarget = GenerationTarget::Server;
$config->frameworkTarget = FrameworkTarget::None;

// Optional version-aware generation knobs:
// $config->frameworkVersion = '8.0';
// $config->httpClient = HttpClientAdapter::Guzzle;
// $config->httpClientVersion = '7.8';

$config->phpReadonly = true;
$config->generateFromArray = true;
$config->generateToArray = true;

return $config;

2) Generate code

vendor/bin/openapi-gen

3) Choose a practical quickstart path

Server quickstart (Symfony or Laravel)

$config->generationTarget = GenerationTarget::Server;
$config->frameworkTarget = FrameworkTarget::Symfony; // or FrameworkTarget::Laravel

Then:

1. Generate code with vendor/bin/openapi-gen
2. Implement generated *ApiInterface methods
3. Keep generated controllers/routes as thin transport glue

Client quickstart (typed API consumers)

$config->generationTarget = GenerationTarget::Client;
$config->httpClient = HttpClientAdapter::SymfonyHttpClient; // or Guzzle / Psr18

Then:

1. Generate code with vendor/bin/openapi-gen
2. Inject *ApiClient into your services
3. Use generated DTOs for request/response mapping

4) Optional overrides from CLI

vendor/bin/openapi-gen --target=server --framework=symfony
vendor/bin/openapi-gen --target=server --framework=laravel
vendor/bin/openapi-gen --target=client --http-client=psr18

What Gets Generated

Models are always generated.

Server target (GenerationTarget::Server)

• FrameworkTarget::None: *ApiInterface only (pure contract)
• FrameworkTarget::Symfony: *ApiInterface + generated *ApiController actions with #[Route]
• FrameworkTarget::Laravel: *ApiInterface + generated *ApiController + *ApiRoutes helper

Optional: set $config->frameworkVersion when server framework major versions require different generated glue.

Client target (GenerationTarget::Client)

• *ApiClientInterface
• *ApiClient

Adapters:

• HttpClientAdapter::SymfonyHttpClient
• HttpClientAdapter::Guzzle
• HttpClientAdapter::Psr18

Optional: set $config->httpClientVersion when adapter major versions require different generated transport code.

Recommended Workflow

1. Keep your OpenAPI spec in source control.
2. Regenerate code when the spec changes.
3. Implement generated server interfaces or inject generated clients.
4. Decide as a team whether to commit generated code or regenerate in CI.

Examples

• examples/petstore-client-symfony
• examples/petstore-server-symfony

Documentation

• Docs Index
• Getting Started
• Server Quickstart
• Client Quickstart
• Configuration Reference
• Framework Targets (Server)
• Client Generation
• HTTP Client Adapters
• Validation Strategies
• Extension Plugins (x-*)

Development

composer test
composer cs

License

MIT - see LICENSE.

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Issues and feedback: github.com/maxbeckers/php-openapi-generator/issues

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