Milk Admin

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Milk Admin is a PHP framework for building backoffice and internal management tools — without framework lock-in, SaaS dependencies, or vendor tie-ins.

Project Status: Beta The core architecture is stable. Actively developed toward a 1.0 release in mid-2026.

Official links: Website · Documentation · Live Demo

The Form Builder That Generates Code

Most form builders store their configuration in the database and generate forms at runtime. Milk Admin is different.

The Projects module lets you design modules visually — tables, forms, field types, relations — and generates real PHP modules that you own completely.

How it works:

• The builder generates PHP modules extended by JSON configuration files
• The JSON layer handles the builder's configuration updates
• The PHP code is always the final authority — modify, extend, or rewrite freely
• Both layers coexist: you can start with the builder and continue with code

This means you can prototype rapidly without losing the ability to add custom business logic later.

Real Columns, Not EAV

Many admin frameworks and form builders use the EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) pattern to store form data:

This is flexible but creates complex queries, poor performance at scale, and difficult integrations.

Milk Admin stores each field as a real database column:

The result: simpler SQL, better performance, and data you can query and export without decoding.

When Milk Admin is a good fit

• You are building an internal backoffice or management tool
• Your data model is relational and nested
• You want full control over every part of the admin flow
• You need something that runs on shared hosting without a full framework stack
• You care about long-term maintainability

When it might not be a good fit

• You need a public-facing website
• You want a full SPA-style frontend
• You are already deep in a Laravel or Symfony project (use Filament or EasyAdmin instead)

Key Features

Builder Classes

Generate CRUD interfaces from a single model definition:

• Tables with pagination, sorting, search
• Forms with validation and automatic persistence
• Filters, custom views, offcanvas editing
• Charts and dashboards (in progress)

Visual Module Generator

Design and scaffold complete modules from the UI. Edit the generated PHP freely — the builder and your code coexist without conflicts.

Modular Architecture

• Independent, encapsulated modules
• Install, disable, or extend easily
• Each module owns its models, controllers, and views

Extensions System

• Local extensions (module-scoped)
• Global extensions (system-wide)
• Clean separation of concerns without over-engineering

Ready-to-Use Admin UI

Built with Bootstrap 5 + Vanilla JS:

• Authentication system with brute-force protection
• User management and access control
• Role-based permissions with DAG support
• Session management and access logs
• Navigation and menus

Technologies

• Backend: PHP 8+, Composer
• Database: MySQL / SQLite
• Frontend: Bootstrap 5, Vanilla JS
• Template Engine: Pure PHP

Built-in Security

• CSRF protection
• SQL injection prevention
• XSS escaping helpers
• Brute-force protection
• Session hardening
• Granular access control
• API support (Token / JWT)

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/giuliopanda/milk-admin

2. Install dependencies

composer install

3. Open your browser

http://localhost/milk-admin/public_html/

4. Follow the installation wizard — takes about 2 minutes

5. Start building your first module

Example: Recipe Manager

Define the data model:

namespace Local\Modules\Recipe;
use App\Abstracts\AbstractModel;

class RecipeModel extends AbstractModel
{
    protected function configure($rule): void
    {
        $rule->table('#__recipes')
            ->id()
            ->title('name')->index()
            ->text('ingredients')->formType('textarea')
            ->select('difficulty', ['Easy', 'Medium', 'Hard']);
    }
}

Define the module and controllers:

namespace Local\Modules\Recipe;
use App\Abstracts\AbstractModule;
use App\Attributes\RequestAction;
use Builders\{TableBuilder, FormBuilder};
use App\Response;

class RecipeModule extends AbstractModule
{
    protected function configure($rule): void {
        $rule->page('recipes')
             ->title('My Recipes')
             ->menu('Recipes', '', 'bi bi-book', 10)
             ->access('registered')
             ->version(251101);
    }

    #[RequestAction('home')]
    public function recipesList() {
        $tableBuilder = TableBuilder::create($this->model, 'idTableRecipes')
            ->activeFetch()
            ->field('name')->link('?page='.$this->page.'&action=edit&id=%id%')
            ->setDefaultActions();

        $response = array_merge($this->getCommonData(), $tableBuilder->getResponse());
        Response::render(__DIR__ . '/Views/list_page.php', $response);
    }

    #[RequestAction('edit')]
    public function recipeEdit() {
        $response = array_merge(
            $this->getCommonData(),
            FormBuilder::create($this->model, $this->page)
                ->asOffcanvas()
                ->setTitle('New Recipe', 'Edit Recipe')
                ->dataListId('idTableRecipes')
                ->getResponse()
        );

        Response::json($response);
    }
}

This gives you a paginated table, full CRUD, search, validation, and automatic persistence — with the database table created and updated automatically.

See it in Action

Code Quality

Milk Admin is validated with PHPStan Level 5 and includes a structured PHPUnit test suite covering:

• Core: helpers, config, container, hooks, routing, request/response
• Security: CSRF, permissions, sanitization, filesystem protection
• Database: model layer, query builder, relations, persistence
• Builders: RuleBuilder, field definitions, TableBuilder
• Extensions: extension loading system
• Modules and theming

Ready-Made Modules

Several modules are available for download: milkadmin.org/download-modules/

Designed for Long-Lived Systems

Milk Admin separates the framework core from your project code.

• The core updates independently
• Your modules, uploads, and configuration remain untouched
• Projects stay maintainable for years without rewrites

Roadmap

Target: stable 1.0 release by mid-2026

• Improved stability and test coverage
• Advanced builders: charts, dashboards, reports
• Enhanced notification and email systems
• Two-factor authentication

See changelog.md for recent changes.

Join the Project

If you value control over convenience:

• ⭐ Star the repository
• Report bugs via GitHub Issues
• Share your use case
• Contribute improvements

License

Released under the MIT License — free for personal and commercial use.

Resources

• Website: milkadmin.org
• Documentation: milkadmin.org/milk-admin
• Live Demo: milkadmin.org/demo