This document is for CakePHP's development version, which can be significantly different from previous releases.
You may want to read current stable release documentation instead.

Welcome

CakePHP 4 is a web development framework running on PHP 8.2 (min. PHP 7.4). Read CakePHP at a Glance to get an introduction to the fundamentals of CakePHP.

The CakePHP cookbook is an openly developed and community editable documentation project. Notice the pencil icon button fixated against the right wall; it will direct you to the GitHub online editor of the active page, allowing you to contribute any additions, deletions, or corrections to the documentation.

Read the Book Anywhere

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Enjoy the CakePHP cookbook almost anywhere. Available as both a PDF and EPUB, you can now read it on more devices, as well as offline.

Getting Help

If you’re stuck, there are a number of places you can get help.

First Steps

Learning a new framework can be intimidating and exciting at the same time. To help you along, we have created a cookbook packed with examples and recipes to get the common tasks completed. If you are new, you should start off with the Quick Start Guide as it will give you a quick tour of what CakePHP has to offer and how it works.

After you’ve finished the Quickstart tutorial, you can brush up on the key elements in a CakePHP application:

  • The CakePHP request cycle

  • The conventions that CakePHP uses.

  • Controllers handle requests and co-ordinate your models and the responses your application creates.

  • Views are the presentation layer in your application. They give you powerful tools to create HTML, JSON and the other outputs your application needs.

  • Models are the key ingredient in any application. They handle validation, and domain logic within your application.