Appwrite Project Structure
The open-source Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) for web and mobile. A high-performance PHP application using the Utopia framework and Swoole for async I/O.
Updated 2025-12-30
Project Directory
Repository Info
- Repository-appwrite/appwrite
- Stars-45k+
- License-BSD-3-Clause
- Last Analyzed-December 2025
Tech Stack
- Language-PHP 8.3
- Framework-Utopia (Custom)
- Server-Swoole (Async PHP)
- Database-MariaDB
- Cache-Redis
- Architecture-Micro-Monolith / Services
Architecture Notes
Appwrite uses a unique architecture. It's a monolith in terms of code (all in one repo), but it runs as multiple microservices containers (http, worker-functions, worker-mails, realtime, etc.). The core logic resides in src/Appwrite and is shared across all these services. It relies heavily on **Swoole** for asynchronous I/O, making it significantly faster than traditional PHP applications.
Key Directories
- app/-Contains the 'Interface' layer: HTTP controllers, CLI commands, and Worker entry points.
- src/Appwrite/-The 'Domain' layer. Contains the actual business logic for Auth, Database, Storage, etc.
- bin/-Executables for starting specific workers. This allows scaling individual components (e.g., adding more function workers) independently.
Why This Structure?
This is the definitive example of modern, high-performance PHP. By using Swoole and a custom framework (Utopia), Appwrite achieves performance comparable to Node.js or Go. Its container-native architecture demonstrates how to build a scalable platform that is easy to self-host.