MuRoute - A Minimalistic Routing System for PHP

MuRoute is a tiny, single-file PHP routing system designed for raw PHP projects. It provides a lightweight API-like experience without the complexity of a full-fledged framework.

With MuRoute, you can keep writing your PHP scripts the "shitty" way, no fancy controllers, no dependency injection, just pure PHP files inside a routes directory. MuRoute scans them, extracts their route definitions, caches them, and maps requests accordingly.

Features

• Super lightweight – Single-file routing system, no dependencies.
• Automatic Route Discovery – Define routes inside PHP files with //@route directives.
• Dynamic Parameters – Extract variables from the URL easily.
• Centralized Authentication – Define a global authentication handler with setAuthHandler().
• Route Caching – Routes are cached for faster execution (cache must be cleared when modifying routes).

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Installation

Just download MuRoute.php and include it in your project:

require_once 'MuRoute.php';

$router = new MuRoute([
    'apiPrefix' => '/api/',      // Default is "/api/"
    'routesPath' => __DIR__ . '/routes/',  // Default is "./routes/"
    'cacheDirPath' => __DIR__ . '/cache/'  // Default is "./cache/"
]);

$router->run();

That's it! Your routes will now be automatically detected.

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Defining Routes

MuRoute discovers routes by scanning PHP files inside the routes directory. To define a route, simply add a //@route directive at the beginning of the file:

Basic Route

<?php
//@route /hello
echo "Hello, world!";

Route with URL Parameters

MuRoute supports dynamic parameters using :param:

<?php
//@route /user/:id
echo "User ID: " . $_REQUEST['id'];

Route with Allowed HTTP Methods

Different HTTP methods can be mapped to different files, allowing clear separation of logic:

fetchUser.php

<?php
//@route /user/:id [GET]
echo "Fetching user " . $_REQUEST['id'];

updateUser.php

<?php
//@route /user/:id [POST]
echo "Updating user " . $_REQUEST['id'];

MuRoute will automatically route GET requests to fetchUser.php and POST requests to updateUser.php.

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Authentication

You can define an authentication rule inside your route file using //@auth. The rule string is passed to the custom authentication handler.

Example: Protecting a Route

<?php
//@route /admin
//@auth admin_only
echo "Welcome, Admin!";

Setting Up an Authentication Handler

Define a global authentication handler in your MuRoute instance:

$router->setAuthHandler(function($rule) {
    if ($rule === 'admin_only' && !isset($_SESSION['admin'])) {
        return false;
    }
    return true;
});

If authentication fails, the request will return a 401 Unauthorized response.

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Route Caching

To improve performance, MuRoute caches the route definitions inside a JSON file. This means:

• Routes load instantly after the first request.
• If you modify route files, clear the cache directory manually to apply changes.

Cache location can be configured in the constructor:

$router = new MuRoute([
    'cacheDirPath' => __DIR__ . '/my_cache/'
]);

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Running MuRoute

Once everything is set up, just call run():

$router->run();

If no route matches, a 404 Not Found response is sent automatically.

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License

MuRoute is released under the WTFPL. Do whatever you want with it.