Install & plan

The workflow for your rebuild.

Give your developer or AI coding agent the migrating-php-apps skill. It provides instructions, reference code and tools to inventory the application, rebuild the agreed features and validate the result.

Install the skill. Start with the plan.

Install with the command, or download the ZIP for manual setup.

Download ZIP Read the migration workflow View on GitHub

What’s in the download

An inventory script to help map the application
Export and import tools for controlled migration batches
A Motoko backend example to inspect
Old-link handling, .php URLs included
Platform notes for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Laravel and Symfony
Dynamic delivery and response-verification choices
The core workflow and validation checks

Your planning workspacemigrating-php-apps

1. Install the migration skill

Run from your PHP project folder, then select your coding agent.

npx skills add JoshDFN/php-to-motoko-skill

2. Where should your frontend live?

On ICP tooBackend and frontend move Keep our current hostOnly the backend moves

3. Paste into your coding agent

Use the migrating-php-apps skill at https://www.phptomotoko.com/skills/migrating-php-apps/SKILL.md. Start with a read-only inventory of this PHP application. Plan a Motoko backend on the Internet Computer, with the frontend on ICP. Map the features, data, access rules and integrations to preserve. Propose phases, acceptance checks, rollback, costs and open questions. Load relevant ICP guidance as needed. Do not modify the application or deploy until I approve the plan.

Select the prompt above to copy it. To keep your frontend host, replace “with the frontend on ICP” with “with the frontend on its current host, calling the new backend”.

Inspect a PHP → Motoko code example

save.phpBefore: PHP

<?php
session_start();

if (!isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    http_response_code(401);
    exit;
}

$pdo = new PDO($dsn, $dbUser, $dbPass);
$stmt = $pdo->prepare(
    'REPLACE INTO notes (user_id, body) VALUES (?, ?)'
);
$stmt->execute([$_SESSION['user_id'], $_POST['body']]);

Uses PHP sessions and a SQL database; your hosting stack still needs security maintenance.

main.moAfter: Motoko

import Map "mo:core/Map";
import Principal "mo:core/Principal";

persistent actor Notes {
  type Saved = { #saved; #signInFirst };

  let notes = Map.empty<Principal, Text>();

  public shared ({ caller }) func save(body : Text) : async Saved {
    if (caller.isAnonymous()) return #signInFirst;
    notes.add(caller, body);
    #saved
  };
};

caller comes from the request’s signature, not a session cookie, and notes persists without a database. This is an illustrative authenticated write; a production design needs application-specific validation.