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Example: PHP (single-origin)

A browser-only walkthrough that instantiates the environment pattern for a server-rendered PHP app — the single-origin model, where one process serves both the page and the API on one port. No front-end dev server, no proxy, no CORS, and no build step: editing a .php file and refreshing is all it takes to see a change.

This is the counterpart to the two-process Node.js + Angular and .NET + Angular examples. Two-process is the better loop when you're iterating on a single-page-app front end (the browser live-reloads); single-origin is the simpler shape when the backend renders the UI itself, or when you want one process and one port to mirror a single-host deploy. PHP is the natural fit because it has no front-end build to begin with.

What you'll need​

  • Permission to create environments in the CoderFlow Web UI. For background, see Core Concepts and the Environments reference.
  • Network access from CoderFlow to GitHub — the reference repo is public, so no credentials or Git provider setup are required.

The reference app​

The code lives in php-html/ of the reference-apps repo. One PHP process serves everything:

  • router.php — the router for PHP's built-in server. /api/hello returns JSON; every other path renders the page:

    $path = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], PHP_URL_PATH);

    if ($path === '/api/hello') {
        header('Content-Type: application/json');
        echo json_encode(['message' => 'Hello from the PHP API!']);
        return true;
    }

    require __DIR__ . '/index.php';  // everything else: the page

  • index.php — the server-rendered HTML page. Its script fetches /api/hello from the same origin it was served from, so there's no proxy and no CORS:

    fetch("/api/hello")
      .then((r) => r.json())
      .then((d) => { document.getElementById("message").textContent = d.message; });

One port serves both the page and the API. Everything below happens in the CoderFlow Web UI.

Create the CoderFlow environment​

This follows the environment pattern; the steps fill in the PHP values. It's the shortest of the examples — there's no front-end build and nothing to install per repo.

1. Create the environment​

Go to Environments → New Environment. On the Overview tab set a Description, a Default Agent, a Docker Image name (e.g. php-html), and a Timezone.

2. Add the repository​

On the Repositories tab, click Add Repository → Manual Entry and paste the public URL https://github.com/ProfoundLogic/coderflow-reference-apps. Set Branch main and a Path (the steps below assume /workspace/coderflow-reference-apps); no credentials are needed for a public repo.

Leave the Post-clone Action empty — this app has no dependencies to install. (A real PHP app using Composer would run composer install here.)

3. Install PHP (pre-clone script)​

The base image includes Node.js, Git, curl, and Python, but not PHP. You don't edit a Dockerfile — CoderFlow generates it. Open the Build tab, expand the Scripts card, select the pre-clone tab, and add (raw Dockerfile lines, injected before any repo is cloned):

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y php-cli && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

That's all this app needs. For a framework like Laravel, also install Composer and the extensions it requires — see the Stack reference.

Build Scripts expanded on pre-clone with a PHP installation hook and the four script tabs

4. Configure the application server​

On the Application Server tab:

  • Start Command — one process, serving the page and the API on one port: 
    cd /workspace/coderflow-reference-apps/php-html && php -S 0.0.0.0:8000 router.php
  • Ports — add 8000 (name like web).
  • Launch URLs — add one with Path / on port 8000, and mark it primary.

There's a single port, no proxy, and no second process. Bind to 0.0.0.0 so CoderFlow's task proxy can reach the server.

Single-origin Harbor Books App Server runs PHP on port 8000 with router.php

This example shows the PHP app copied into /workspace/harbor-books. When running the reference repository directly, use the php-html path in the command above. Both use port 8000 and router.php.

5. (Optional) Agent testing and tests​

On the Agent Instructions tab, under Standard Instructions, enable Screenshot Guidelines so the agent can screenshot the running app. On the Tests tab, you can add a syntax check like php -l router.php (from php-html). See Test Definitions.

6. Build the environment​

On the Build tab, click Build Now. When it succeeds, click Save, then Commit & Push.

Run and test it​

  1. Create a task in this environment. CoderFlow starts a container from the built image (PHP is installed); there's nothing to build, so no setup.sh is needed.
  2. Open the task → Testing menu → Start Server (or Start Server & Launch). See The Testing Menu.
  3. Click the Launch URL. The page opens through CoderFlow's task proxy and shows "Hello from the PHP API!", fetched same-origin from the one process that served the page.
  4. Use the in-app feedback widget to screenshot and annotate, and run any Tests you defined.

Notes​

  • No rebuild friction. This is single-origin's payoff with a server-rendered backend: there's no compiled front end to rebuild, so an edit to index.php shows on the next refresh. (When single-origin serves a compiled SPA instead — e.g. ASP.NET Core serving Angular from wwwroot — front-end edits do need a rebuild; that trade-off is why two-process is preferred for active SPA work.)
  • One process, one port. No proxy and no CORS to configure, and the shape matches deploying to a single host. The cost is no live reload — you refresh to see changes.
  • Calling internal APIs over HTTPS. If your real app calls internal services with certificates from a private CA, load your corporate root CA so the container trusts them — see CA Certificates — and keep base URLs and credentials on the Secrets tab rather than in source (Secrets).