PHPStaticRender

PHPStaticRender is a Python tool that converts dynamic PHP projects into static HTML websites. It recursively traverses a directory, executes PHP files using the system's interpreter, and saves the output as HTML, while directly copying static files. Ideal for performance optimization and hosting on servers without PHP.

Features

• Complete Rendering: Processes an entire PHP project recursively.
• Automatic PHP Detection: Finds the PHP executable on the system (XAMPP support on Windows).
• Link Conversion: Automatically converts internal .php links to .html in generated HTML.
• Text Replacement: Custom find-and-replace patterns via TOML configuration (URLs, placeholders, etc.).
• Static File Copying: Keeps CSS, JS, images, and other files intact.
• Ignore System: Configurable prefixes to ignore files (e.g., __header.php).
• Flexible Configurations: Customize output folders, extensions, and more via TOML file or script constants.
• Detailed Reports: Processing statistics and error handling.
• Compatibility: Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Requirements

• Python: 3.6 or higher.
• PHP: Installed on the system (CLI) with command-line execution support.
• Operating System: Windows, Linux, or macOS.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/gmasson/phpstaticrender.git
   cd phpstaticrender

   or download the ZIP file from the repository and extract it.

2. Ensure Python 3.x is installed:

   python --version  # Should show 3.6+

3. Check if PHP is installed:

   php --version

   • On Windows, install XAMPP if necessary.

Basic Usage

1. Copy the phpstaticrender.py script to the root directory of your project (e.g., index.php, about.php, etc.).

2. Run the script:

   python phpstaticrender.py

3. Done! The static site will be generated in the _PHPStaticRender folder.

Project Structure Example

my-project/
├── index.php
├── about.php
├── css/
│   └── style.css
├── js/
│   └── script.js
└── phpstaticrender.py

After execution:

my-project/
├── _PHPStaticRender/
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── about.html
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── style.css
│   └── js/
│       └── script.js
└── ...

Configurations

Option 1: Using PHPStaticRender.toml (Optional - Recommended)

Create a PHPStaticRender.toml file in your project root to customize settings per project. This file is completely optional - the script works perfectly without it using default settings.

[config]
output_folder = "_PHPStaticRender"
ignore_prefix = "__"
php_extension = ".php"
encoding = "utf-8"
safe_mode = false
manual_php_path = ""  # Auto-detect by default

ignore_system = [
    ".git", "node_modules", ".env"
]

# Replace patterns in generated HTML
[replace]
"http://localhost" = "https://example.com"
"http://127.0.0.1" = "https://example.com"
"/assets/" = "https://cdn.example.com/assets/"
"COMPANY_NAME" = "My Company Inc."

Minimal Configuration: Define only what you need:

[config]
output_folder = "dist"  # Only change output folder

[replace]
"http://localhost" = "https://mysite.com"  # Only one replacement

All other parameters use default values from the script.

Benefits:

• Project-specific configurations
• No need to edit Python code
• Easy text replacements (URLs, paths, placeholders)
• Version control friendly

Requirements: Install TOML library for Python < 3.11:

pip install toml

Option 2: Edit phpstaticrender.py

Edit the constants at the top of phpstaticrender.py:

• CONFIG_OUTPUT_FOLDER: Destination folder (default: _PHPStaticRender)
• CONFIG_IGNORE_PREFIX: Prefix to ignore files (default: __)
• CONFIG_PHP_EXTENSION: PHP extension (default: .php)
• CONFIG_IGNORE_SYSTEM: Folders/files to ignore (e.g., .git, node_modules)
• CONFIG_ENCODING: Encoding (default: utf-8)
• CONFIG_MANUAL_PHP_PATH: Manual PHP path if detection fails
• CONFIG_SAFE_MODE: Safer PHP execution (default: False)

For detailed configurations, see DOCUMENTATION.md.

Troubleshooting

• Error: "PHP executable not found": Install PHP or configure CONFIG_MANUAL_PHP_PATH
• PHP files not processed: Check if the extension is .php (case-sensitive)
• Includes don't work: Ensure relative paths are correct in PHP code
• Encoding issues: Change CONFIG_ENCODING to cp1252 on legacy Windows

For detailed solutions, see DOCUMENTATION.md.

Contribution

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

• Report Bug
• Suggest Feature
• Improve Documentation

Documentation

• DOCUMENTATION.md - Complete technical documentation

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.