[opensourcedex]

ProcessWire is a free, open source frameworks & platforms project written in PHP and released under a custom open-source licence. It has 1,151 GitHub stars, 207 forks and 93 open issues, and was last pushed 6 days ago. On this registry it ranks #23 of 28 tracked projects in Frameworks & Platforms, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 2 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

What is ProcessWire?

ProcessWire is an open source PHP content management system and framework (CMS/CMF) with a strong API, aimed at web developers, designers, and the clients who maintain the sites they build.

What it is

ProcessWire 3.x is a friendly and powerful open source CMS combined with a CMF, written in PHP and tagged with the topics cmf, cms, php, and processwire. It ships with all custom fields, a secure foundation, and proven scalability and performance, and it connects all of your content seamlessly. Compared with other platforms, it gives more control over fields, templates, and markup, while its API makes working with that content straightforward. The project started in 2003, gained the name ProcessWire in 2006, and has been in active development as an open source project since 2010. New versions are released just about every week on the development branch, and the current README covers installation, upgrading, troubleshooting, and support links.

The concrete problem it solves is the one that follows a developer from platform to platform: shipping and then maintaining a site whose fields, templates, and markup are not fully under their control. ProcessWire lives in the PHP web development ecosystem and positions itself against heavier platforms that carry what the README calls "security and upgrade woes," though the README does not name any competing product directly. Its answer is an API-first content model where custom fields and templates define the structure, and where the software is designed to be a silent partner rather than something identifiable from the front end of a website. The README states the project values quality over quantity, sustainability over growth, and a friendly community over popularity, and that it deliberately does not invest in promotion.

Key capabilities

  • A CMS and a CMF in one codebase, matching the cmf, cms, and php topics on the repository.
  • An API that the README describes as a joy to use at any scale, with a full API reference published at processwire.com/api/ref/.
  • Direct control over custom fields, templates, and markup, giving more control than other platforms according to the README.
  • A modules and plugins directory at processwire.com/modules/.
  • Weekly releases on the development branch, with core updates posted by Ryan Cramer in the News and Announcements board of the support forum.
  • A community ecosystem that includes the support forums at processwire.com/talk/, a weekly newsletter, and ProcessWire Weekly news published by Teppo Koivula at weekly.pw.
  • The README is maintained in Markdown, with an HTML formatted version at github.com/processwire/processwire/blob/master/README.md, and includes Installation and Upgrading sections alongside a troubleshooting documentation link.

Who uses it and how

  • Web professionals running long-lived sites, who the README says trust it for consistency, stability, and security.
  • Web developers building against the API, who the README says adopt it for the time it saves on content work.
  • Web designers working with modern website and application content management needs, who the README highlights for adaptability and flexibility.
  • Clients maintaining their own content, who the README credits with liking its no-nonsense interface for adding, updating, and maintaining content.
  • Teams evaluating output before committing, who can browse the showcase at processwire.com/sites/ to see what others have built.

Getting started

The README points to the downloads page at processwire.com/download/ and an Installation section for getting the software running, with upgrade steps in the Upgrading section and install troubleshooting at processwire.com/docs/start/install/troubleshooting/.

How it compares

No list of paid products that this project replaces is provided in the facts, and no similar tools are named in the README or topics either. On the facts available, it stands alone in this registry.

When to use it — and when not to

A self-hoster must operate the PHP hosting environment and keep up with the weekly development-branch release cadence, since no hosted or managed option is stated in the facts. The repository licence is marked NOASSERTION, so the terms need to be verified before commercial adoption, and the README is prose rather than a quickstart, leaving the installation steps to the website documentation. Anyone who needs a named managed platform, or a fully spelled-out licence in the repository metadata, should look elsewhere rather than assume those details.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Welcome to ProcessWire 3.x

This document is in Markdown. An HTML formatted version of this document can be read at: https://github.com/processwire/processwire/blob/master/README.md

Table of Contents

  1. About
  2. Installation
  3. Upgrading
  4. Troubleshooting
  5. Support

About ProcessWire

ProcessWire is a friendly and powerful open source CMS with an API that is a joy to use at any scale. It is both a content management system (CMS) and framework (CMF) built to save you time and work the way you do. With all custom fields, a secure foundation, proven scalability and performance, ProcessWire connects all of your content seamlessly, making your job fast, easy and fun.

ProcessWire gives you more control over your fields, templates and markup than other platforms, while ProcessWire’s API makes working with your content easy and enjoyable. Managing and developing a site in ProcessWire is shockingly simple compared to what you may be used to.

ProcessWire is widely trusted by web professionals for its exceptional consistency, stability and security; revered by web developers for its API that saves time and makes work fun; valued by web designers for its adaptability and flexibility with modern website/application content management needs; and loved by clients for its no-nonsense interface and ease-of-use in adding, updating and maintaining content. New versions of ProcessWire are released just about every week on the development branch.

Background

ProcessWire is a timeless tool for web professionals that has always been committed to the long term. It started in 2003, gained the name ProcessWire in 2006, and has been in active development as an open source project since 2010. Now more than a decade later (2026), we’re just getting started, as ProcessWire continues to grow and develop into the next 10 years and beyond.

While ProcessWire has been around for a long time, don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of it till today. We are fundamentally different from other projects in that we don’t make a lot of noise, we’re not into promotion, we value quality over quantity, sustainability over growth, and a friendly community over popularity. ProcessWire is designed to be a silent partner, not easily identified from the front-end of any website. We don’t aim to be big, we are instead focused on being best-in-class.

Web developers find ProcessWire when the time is right, after they’ve tried some other platforms. And once they start using ProcessWire, they tend to stay. ProcessWire is addictive, easy to maintain for the long term, and doesn’t have the security and upgrade woes of other platforms. But don’t take our word for it; unless your livelihood depends on some other platform, find out for yourself.

Community

ProcessWire is more than just software, it is also a friendly community of web professionals dedicated to building great sites and applications, and helping others do so too.

Please visit and join our friendly community in the ProcessWire forums, subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the latest ProcessWire news, check out our website showcase to see what others are building with ProcessWire.

Weekly ProcessWire news is posted by Teppo Koivula on his site ProcessWire Weekly. Weekly core updates and related topics are posted by Ryan Cramer in the ProcessWire support forum News and Announcements board.

Learn more

Installing ProcessWire

Simply extract the ProcessWire files to an http accessible location and load the URL in your web browser. This will start the installer. See our Installation Guide for more details and instructions. If you run into any trouble, please see our Troubleshooting Guide.

Upgrading ProcessWire

Upgrading is easy and usually just a matter of replacing your /wire/ directory with the one from the new version. But to be safe, before proceeding with any version upgrade, please see the Upgrading ProcessWire guide and perhaps keep it open during your upgrade in case you need to refer back to it.

When upgrading from one 3.x version to another, please use the general upgrade process. This consists primarily of making sure you've got everything backed up and then just replacing your /wire/ directory with the one from the newer version.

Version-specific upgrade notes

  • If using PHP 8.4+, you might want to replace your /index.php file with a copy from the new version to avoid an unnecessary PHP notification in debug mode.

  • If you are upgrading from a 3.x version prior to 3.0.135 then please also follow these instructions.

  • If you are upgrading from any 2.x version then please see upgrading from ProcessWire 2.x.

  • If you run into any trouble upgrading, please see our troubleshooting upgrades guide.

Pro module version upgrade notes (if applicable)

  • FormBuilder version 0.5.5 or newer recommended.

  • ListerPro version 1.1.6 or newer recommended.

  • ProFields the latest versions of all ProFields (10 modules) are recommended.

  • LoginRegisterPro version 8 or newer recommended.

  • ProCache version 4.0.5 or newer recommended. After upgrading, go to your ProCache settings in the admin (Setup > ProCache) and see if it suggests any modifications to your .htaccess file.

  • For all other Pro modules not mentioned above we recommend using the latest available versions when possible.

Debug Mode

Debug mode causes all errors to be reported to the screen. This can be helpful during development or troubleshooting. When in the admin, it also enables a “Debug” link (see footer) for reporting of extra information in a panel. Debug mode is not intended for live or production sites, as the information reported is for the developer only. Do not leave debug mode on for any live/production sites, as it could be a security concern. However, we think you'll find it very handy during development or when resolving issues.

  1. Edit this file: /site/config.php
  2. Find this line: $config->debug = false;
  3. Change the false to true like below, and save.
$config->debug = true;

This can be found near the bottom of the file, or you can add it if not already there. It will make PHP and ProcessWire report all errors, warnings, notices, etc. Of course, you'll want to set it back to false once you've resolved any issues.

Support and Links

Copyright 2026 by Ryan Cramer / Ryan Cramer Design, LLC

Frequently asked questions

Is ProcessWire free to use?

ProcessWire is open source. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does ProcessWire do?

Flexible CMS for developers, powerful for clients

What is ProcessWire written in?

ProcessWire is primarily written in PHP. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/processwire/processwire, and it has 1,151 GitHub stars.