For a template engine for PHP applications, the first results are symfony/templating (This library provides a robust, interface-driven framework for rendering HTML templates with support for inheritance, output escaping, and custom logic, making it a direct fit for your requirements), twigphp/twig (Twig is the industry-standard PHP template engine that provides all the requested features, including template inheritance, automatic output escaping, and a robust caching mechanism for optimized performance) and timber/timber (Timber is a PHP library that leverages the Twig engine to separate logic from presentation in WordPress themes, providing the core template engine functionality and features like caching and inheritance you are looking for). bobthecow/mustache.php and wycats/handlebars.js round out the shortlist. Compare the match explanations and check the project documentation against your requirements.
We curate open-source GitHub repositories matching “best php template engines”. Results are ranked by relevance to your query — pick filters below to narrow, or refine with AI.
This library provides a framework for building custom template systems and rendering dynamic content within web applications. It offers a set of standardized interfaces and tools designed to handle the parsing of template files, the transformation of data into structured output, and the management of template loading from various storage locations. The component distinguishes itself through a modular architecture that supports incremental output streaming, which processes content in chunks to reduce memory usage and improve response times. It also includes integrated security features that au
This library provides a robust, interface-driven framework for rendering HTML templates with support for inheritance, output escaping, and custom logic, making it a direct fit for your requirements.
Twig is a PHP template engine and compiled rendering library designed to separate business logic from presentation. It functions as a secure template language that generates HTML output by combining dynamic data with reusable layouts. The system emphasizes security through a focus on preventing cross-site scripting attacks via automatic output escaping and content sanitization. To ensure execution efficiency, it compiles templates into optimized PHP code and utilizes a caching mechanism to bypass parsing on subsequent requests. The engine provides comprehensive tools for template composition
Twig is the industry-standard PHP template engine that provides all the requested features, including template inheritance, automatic output escaping, and a robust caching mechanism for optimized performance.
Timber is a PHP library that integrates the Twig template engine into WordPress themes, providing an object-oriented framework for theme development. It wraps WordPress data — posts, terms, users, menus, and comments — in structured PHP classes, allowing developers to work with objects instead of raw arrays while keeping HTML markup separate from PHP logic through Twig templates. The library distinguishes itself by offering a complete set of tools for modern WordPress theme building. It includes a file-based template hierarchy with fallback chains, dynamic image manipulation with resizing, cr
Timber is a PHP library that leverages the Twig engine to separate logic from presentation in WordPress themes, providing the core template engine functionality and features like caching and inheritance you are looking for.
A Mustache implementation in PHP.
This library provides a logic-less templating system for PHP that enforces a strict separation of concerns, though it lacks built-in template inheritance and advanced caching features found in more comprehensive engines.
Handlebars.js is a JavaScript templating engine used to generate HTML and other text formats by combining static templates with dynamic data. It functions as a logic-less template engine, separating presentation from business logic by restricting the complexity of expressions within templates. The project includes a precompiled template compiler that converts template strings into executable JavaScript functions. This mechanism reduces runtime overhead and improves rendering performance by shifting the compilation process to a build step. The engine provides a custom helper framework for ext
This is a JavaScript-based templating engine, whereas the request specifically requires a PHP-based library for server-side rendering.
Handlebars.js is a JavaScript templating engine and logic-less template library used to generate HTML or text by merging data objects with templates. It utilizes an abstract syntax tree parser to transform template strings into executable JavaScript functions. The system separates data from presentation by restricting complex logic to external helper functions rather than the template itself. It features a precompiled template compiler that converts templates into functions before deployment to increase execution speed and reduce startup latency. The engine covers a broad range of content ge
This is a JavaScript-based templating engine, which does not fulfill the requirement for a PHP-based library to be used in a PHP environment.
This project is an integration package that provides an administrative dashboard template for applications built with the Laravel framework. It functions as a visual layer and theme to establish a consistent layout for internal management tools. The package includes a navigation manager that allows the layout and links of sidebars and menus to be controlled from a single configuration source. It also provides tools to style authentication screens, such as login and registration pages, to ensure they match the overall aesthetic of the administration interface. The system covers administrative
This repository is a pre-built administrative dashboard theme and UI framework for Laravel rather than a general-purpose template engine for separating logic from presentation.
Parsedown is a PHP library that converts Markdown text and common extensions into structured HTML output for web browsers. It functions as a Markdown to HTML converter that processes both block-level and inline elements to generate valid web content. The library includes a PHP HTML sanitizer designed to escape HTML and scripting vectors. This security layer provides input sanitization to prevent attacks when processing untrusted user-generated content.
This library is a Markdown-to-HTML converter rather than a template engine, as it focuses on parsing text syntax into markup rather than providing logic-less templates, inheritance, or variable-based rendering.
docker-gen is a configuration generator that renders text templates into files using metadata retrieved from Docker containers. It functions as a service discovery tool and template-based orchestrator, mapping container state and environment variables to specific destination paths on a host machine's local storage. The tool automates the update of reverse proxy and service discovery settings in real time as containers are started, stopped, or renamed. It employs sequential template processing and helper functions to filter and sort container data, ensuring stable and consistent configuration
This tool is designed for generating configuration files from container metadata rather than rendering HTML templates for web applications, making it a template-based utility for infrastructure rather than a PHP template engine.
Grav is a flat-file content management system that eliminates the need for a traditional database by storing site content and configuration in human-readable Markdown and YAML files. Built as a modular PHP web framework, it uses a hierarchical page routing system where the physical directory structure directly determines the site's URL paths. The platform is distinguished by its event-driven plugin architecture and a command-line interface that prioritizes system administration, deployment, and maintenance tasks. It utilizes a blueprint-driven system to generate administrative forms from stru
Grav is a full-featured flat-file content management system that uses Twig as its internal templating engine, rather than being a standalone template engine library for use in your own projects.
| Repository | Stars | Language | License | Last push |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| symfony/templating | 1K | PHP | MIT | |
| twigphp/twig | 8.4K | PHP | BSD-3-Clause | |
| timber/timber |
| 5.7K |
| PHP |
| MIT |
| bobthecow/mustache.php | 3.3K | PHP | MIT |
| wycats/handlebars.js | 18.7K | JavaScript | MIT |
| handlebars-lang/handlebars.js | 18.6K | JavaScript | MIT |
| jeroennoten/laravel-adminlte | 4K | PHP | MIT |
| erusev/parsedown | 15K | PHP | MIT |
| jwilder/docker-gen | 4.6K | Go | MIT |
| getgrav/grav | 15.4K | PHP | mit |