CodeIgniter

---

title: "CodeIgniter" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["free-software-programmed-in-php", "php-frameworks", "web-frameworks", "software-using-the-mit-license"] description: "Free and open-source software web development framework" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CodeIgniter" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Free and open-source software web development framework ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]

Field	Value
title	CodeIgniter
name	CodeIgniter
logo	CodeIgniter_Logo.svg
logo size	frameless
logo alt	CodeIgniter logo
screenshot
author	EllisLab
developer	British Columbia Institute of Technology (2014–2019), CodeIgniter Foundation (2019-now)
released
latest release version
latest release date
repo	{{plainlist
programming language	PHP
operating system	Cross-platform
platform	PHP 5.6.0+ (v3.1.11) and PHP 8.1 or newer (v4.XX)
language count
genre	Web framework
license	MIT License
website
::

| title = CodeIgniter | name = CodeIgniter | logo = CodeIgniter_Logo.svg | logo size = frameless | logo alt = CodeIgniter logo | logo caption = | screenshot = | screenshot size = | screenshot alt = | caption = | collapsible = | author = EllisLab | developer = British Columbia Institute of Technology (2014–2019), CodeIgniter Foundation (2019-now) | released = | discontinued = | latest release version = | latest release date = | repo = {{plainlist|

| programming language = PHP | operating system = Cross-platform | platform = PHP 5.6.0+ (v3.1.11) and PHP 8.1 or newer (v4.XX) | size = | language = | language count = | language footnote = | genre = Web framework | license = MIT License | alexa = | website = | standard = | AsOf =

CodeIgniter is a free and open-source software rapid web development framework, for use in building dynamic web sites with PHP.

Popularity

CodeIgniter is loosely based on the popular model–view–controller (MVC) development pattern. While controller classes are a necessary part of development under CodeIgniter, models and views are optional. CodeIgniter can be also modified to use Hierarchical Model View Controller (HMVC) which allows the developers to maintain modular grouping of Controller, Models and View arranged in a sub-directory format.

CodeIgniter is most often noted for its speed when compared to other PHP frameworks. In a critical take on PHP frameworks in general, PHP creator Rasmus Lerdorf spoke at frOSCon in August 2008, noting that he liked CodeIgniter "because it is faster, lighter and the least like a framework."

Source code and license

CodeIgniter's source code is maintained at GitHub, and as of the preview version 3.0rc, is certified open source software licensed with the MIT License. Versions of CodeIgniter prior to 3.0.0 are licensed under a proprietary Apache/BSD-style open source license.

A 2011 decision to switch licensing to the Open Software License (OSL) sparked some community controversy, especially about the GPL incompatibility of the new license, to which EllisLab has responded with a series of articles entitled Software License Awareness Week.

History

The first public version of CodeIgniter was released by EllisLab on February 28, 2006.

On July 9, 2013, EllisLab announced that it was seeking a new owner for CodeIgniter, citing a lack of resources to give the framework the attention they felt it deserved. On October 6, 2014, EllisLab announced that CodeIgniter would continue development under the stewardship of the British Columbia Institute of Technology. As of October 23, 2019, with the CodeIgniter Foundation taking the reins, CodeIgniter is no longer under the care of the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

CodeIgniter 4 was released On February 24, 2020, the birthday of Jim Parry, the project lead of CodeIgniter 4, and who died on January 15, 2020. Since then, the project continues with another lead.

References

References

1. (2019-10-23). "The CodeIgniter Foundation is finally here.".
2. "Server Requirements — CodeIgniter 3.1.11 documentation".
3. "Server Requirements — CodeIgniter 4.x documentation".
4. "CodeIgniter – The lightweight of the PHP frameworks".
5. "CodeIgniter User Guide: Models". CodeIgniter.com.
6. "wiredesignz / codeigniter-modular-extensions-hmvc — Bitbucket".
7. (2014-02-12). "7 Best PHP Frameworks". TISindia.com.
8. "PHP Frameworks Benchmarks". Sellersrank.com.
9. (2008-09-03). "Benchmark update: Cake vs. CodeIgniter vs. Kohana". Pr0digy.com.
10. (2008-08-29). "Rasmus Lerdorf: PHP Frameworks? Think Again". Sitepoint.com.
11. "bcit-ci/CodeIgniter · GitHub".
12. "CodeIgniter License Agreement". CodeIgniter.com.
13. (2011-10-21). "CodeIgniter changes license to OSL 3.0?". CodeIgniter.com Forum.
14. (2011-10-31). "Software License Awareness Week". EllisLab.com.
15. "CodeIgniter User Guide: Change Log". CodeIgniter.com.
16. "EllisLab Seeking New Owner for CodeIgniter - Blog".
17. "Your Favorite PHP Framework, CodeIgniter, Has a New Home". EllisLab.
18. (2019-10-23). "The CodeIgniter Foundation is finally here.".
19. "CodeIgniter 4.0 is here!".
20. "Important News about Jim Parry and the Project".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::