Migrate from Lumen to StrataPHP

Lumen reached end-of-life with Laravel 11. StrataPHP offers a modular MVC alternative for PHP 8.2+.

Lumen EOL: Lumen is no longer maintained by the Laravel team. StrataPHP provides continued development for micro-framework use cases.

1. Routing

Both use closure-based routes. StrataPHP uses $router->get() instead of Lumen's $router->get() or $app->get().

Lumen

$router->get('/api/users', function () {
    return response()->json(User::all());
});

StrataPHP

$router->get('/api/users', function () {
    $users = DB::table('users')->get();
    return $this->jsonResponse($users);
});

Change: response()->json() → $this->jsonResponse(). Eloquent → StrataPHP DB class.

2. Database

StrataPHP does not ship with Eloquent. It uses a lightweight PDO wrapper via strata/database.

use StrataPHP\Database\DB;

// Lumen/Eloquent: User::all()
// StrataPHP:
$users = DB::table('users')->get();

To keep using Eloquent, you can install illuminate/database and bootstrap it manually, but it's not included by default.

3. Key Differences

	StrataPHP	Lumen
Maintenance	Active development	EOL as of Laravel 11
Database	Custom PDO wrapper	Eloquent ORM
Structure	Modular MVC with `/app`, `/config`, `/public`	Single file or minimal structure
Modules	Admin, CMS, Auth available	None built-in

Migration Steps

composer create-project strataphp/skeleton my-api
Copy routes/web.php from Lumen to StrataPHP routes/web.php
Replace Eloquent calls with DB::table() or install illuminate/database manually
Replace response()->json() with $this->jsonResponse()
Test routes individually

Time estimate: Varies by project size. Basic APIs can port in 2-4 hours.

Why Switch from Lumen?

Lumen is no longer receiving feature updates. StrataPHP provides a maintained path for micro-framework apps with optional modules for admin, CMS, and auth if you need them later.

Need Help?

Post in Discord with your Lumen routes and we'll help you port them.

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