# Bref — Serverless PHP on AWS Lambda

> Custom AWS Lambda runtimes and tools for deploying PHP applications as serverless functions and web applications.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Bref — Serverless PHP on AWS Lambda

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install Bref via Composer
composer require bref/bref
# Initialize a new serverless PHP project
vendor/bin/bref init
# Deploy to AWS Lambda using the Serverless Framework
serverless deploy
```

## Introduction
Bref provides custom AWS Lambda runtimes that let PHP applications run natively on Lambda. It packages PHP as a Lambda layer, handles request/response translation, and integrates with the Serverless Framework for deployment.

## What Bref Does
- Provides PHP runtime layers for AWS Lambda supporting PHP 8.x
- Translates API Gateway and ALB events into PSR-7 or standard PHP requests
- Supports two modes: HTTP applications (web apps) and event-driven functions
- Integrates with Laravel, Symfony, and other PHP frameworks
- Manages deployment through Serverless Framework or AWS CDK

## Architecture Overview
Bref publishes pre-compiled PHP binaries as Lambda layers. When a Lambda function is invoked, the Bref runtime bootstraps PHP, receives the event from the Lambda Runtime API, and passes it to your handler. For HTTP workloads, the ``php-fpm`` layer runs PHP-FPM as a child process, translating API Gateway events into FastCGI requests. For event-driven workloads, the ``function`` layer calls a PHP callable directly. Deployment artifacts are built by the Serverless Framework, which packages your code and references the correct Bref layer ARN.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Requires an AWS account with Lambda, API Gateway, and IAM permissions
- serverless.yml defines functions, runtime layers, and event triggers
- PHP extensions are included in the base layer; additional ones available as extra layers
- Environment variables are set in serverless.yml and accessible via getenv()
- Local development supported through ``serverless invoke local`` or Docker-based emulators

## Key Features
- Pre-built Lambda layers with PHP-FPM and CLI runtimes for PHP 8.x
- Native support for Laravel (via Laravel Vapor alternative) and Symfony
- Console command execution on Lambda for cron jobs and queue workers
- Static asset handling through S3 with CloudFront integration
- Cold start optimization through smaller deployment packages and layer caching

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Laravel Vapor** — Commercial, Laravel-only; Bref is open-source and framework-agnostic
- **Vercel PHP** — Limited PHP support; Bref provides full PHP-FPM runtime on Lambda
- **AWS Lambda Web Adapter** — Generic adapter; Bref is purpose-built for PHP with FPM integration
- **Serverless Docker (Fargate)** — Container-based, always running; Bref is event-driven with per-request billing

## FAQ
**Q: Which PHP versions does Bref support?**
A: Bref maintains layers for actively supported PHP versions, currently PHP 8.1 through 8.3.

**Q: Can I use Bref with Laravel?**
A: Yes. Bref has dedicated documentation and packages for running Laravel on Lambda, including queue and scheduler support.

**Q: How do I handle static assets?**
A: Static files are typically served from S3 behind CloudFront. Bref provides tooling to separate assets from the Lambda deployment package.

**Q: What about cold starts?**
A: PHP-FPM cold starts on Lambda typically range from a few hundred milliseconds to about one second. Provisioned concurrency can eliminate them for latency-sensitive workloads.

## Sources
- https://github.com/brefphp/bref
- https://bref.sh/docs

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-cb0aabe3
Author: AI Open Source