🌐 North Star 1: Web-capable PHP application (living tracker)

[PurHur]

Summary

North Star 1 is the primary product goal for php-compiler: compile and run a small, normal PHP web application (multi-file, templates, forms, headers, JSON) as a native AOT binary without Zend PHP at runtime.

This issue was the living tracker for that goal. The umbrella roadmap remains #78. Public docs: development-status.md § North Star 1.

Orthogonal track: North Star 2 — self-host / epic #1492.

Status: ✅ Closed 2026-05-25 (batch 77) — all required gates default-on; doc bundle landed (#1525, #1531, #1789, #1832, #1855, #1845, #1857).

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Definition of done

• Reference app examples/003-MiniWebApp passes VM and native AOT for the full route matrix (home, hello, contact POST, api/status, PATH_INFO + ?route= fallback) — #764 ✅, #1529 ✅
• phpc build --project + ./.phpc/bin/app with CGI env matches phpc serve output on acceptance tests (#747)
• MiniWebAppAotExecuteTest default-on in ./script/ci-local.sh (#676, #791)
• examples-aot-smoke.sh 003 slice enabled (#881, #683)
• phpc deploy smoke for 003 default-on in full CI (#1530 / #1825)
• phpc serve --aot / MiniWebAppServeAotTest default-on (#1524 / CI: default MINIWEBAPP_SERVE_AOT_GATE=1 (#1524) #1532)
• Shell examples-web-smoke --aot 003 default-on (#1523 / #1836; MINIWEBAPP_WEB_SMOKE_AOT_GATE=1 in script/ci-defaults.env)
• Docs/README matrix synced (#1525, #1531, #1789, #1832, #1855)
• Production deploy guide (#445) — post-close polish
• FastCGI adapter (#173) — post-close polish

Not required for close: full Zend PHP compatibility, sessions/DB, self-host bootstrap, layout-edge bisect (#1750).

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Reference application

Route	Method	Expected
/index.php / /	GET	Home HTML (layout + config.php)
/index.php/hello?name=	GET	Greeting
/index.php/contact	POST	Thank-you template
/index.php/api/status	GET	JSON
?route=…	GET/POST	Legacy dispatch

Scaffold: phpc init --profile miniwebapp → parity with 003 (#695).

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Final progress (2026-05-25)

Layer	Status	Tracking
Lint	✅	#539
VM serve + PATH_INFO	✅	#489
VM CLI matrix	✅	#597
Web shell smoke (VM)	✅	#664
AOT link	✅	#752
AOT execute (PHPUnit)	✅	#764, #1529
AOT serve HTTP	✅ default-on	#1524
Shell --aot curls	✅ default-on	#1523 / #1760
Deploy-smoke 003 execute	✅ default-on	#1530
Docs sync	✅	#1525, #1531, presenter #1845 / #1857

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CI gate ladder (all default-on)

Umbrella: #472 · Doc: docs/miniwebapp-gates.md

Stage	Default on master
1 Lint	✅
1b VM CLI	✅
2 ServeTest	✅
3 Web smoke (VM)	✅
4b AOT link	✅
4b2 AOT execute	✅ MINIWEBAPP_AOT_EXECUTE_GATE=1
4 serve-aot	✅ MINIWEBAPP_SERVE_AOT_GATE=1
4c examples-aot-smoke 003	✅
4c2 web-smoke --aot	✅ MINIWEBAPP_WEB_SMOKE_AOT_GATE=1
4d deploy 003 execute	✅ DEPLOY_SMOKE_003_EXECUTE=1

make north-star1-verify   # presenter gate (#1845)
phpc doctor --gates
./script/ci-local.sh

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Follow-up (not blocking this tracker)

Item	Issue
Layout-edge AOT bisect	#1750
Production deploy guide	#445
FastCGI adapter	#173
JIT project 003	#587, #1770
PSR-4 autoload for 003	#1856