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What to Expect After 6.0

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What to Expect After UserFrosting 6.0

UserFrosting 6.0 represents a major milestone in the framework's evolution, but it's not the end of the journey. This page outlines what you can expect in terms of updates, maintenance, and future development.

Version Support Policy

UserFrosting 6.0 (Current)

Status: Active Development & Support

  • New Features: Regular feature additions
  • Bug Fixes: Prompt bug fixes and improvements
  • Security Updates: Immediate security patches
  • Documentation: Continuously updated and improved
  • Community Support: Active help via chat and GitHub

Recommended For: All new projects and actively maintained applications.

UserFrosting 5.1 (Legacy)

Status: Security Maintenance Only

  • New Features: ❌ No new features
  • Bug Fixes: ⚠️ Critical bugs only
  • Security Updates: ✅ Security patches for 12-18 months from 6.0 release
  • Documentation: 🔒 Frozen (available at learn.userfrosting.com/5.1)
  • Community Support: ⚠️ Limited, focus shifted to 6.0

End of Life: Approximately 12-18 months after UserFrosting 6.0 stable release.

Recommended For: Stable production applications that don't need new features and can't allocate migration time.

Release Cadence

Minor Releases (6.1, 6.2, etc.)

Frequency: Every 3-4 months

What to Expect:

  • New features that don't break backward compatibility
  • Performance improvements
  • Developer experience enhancements
  • Additional documentation and examples
  • Dependency updates (within semver constraints)

Example Features:

  • Additional Vue 3 components
  • New Bakery CLI commands
  • Enhanced debugging tools
  • More Vite plugins and optimizations
  • Improved testing utilities

Patch Releases (6.0.1, 6.0.2, etc.)

Frequency: As needed (typically every 2-4 weeks)

What to Expect:

  • Bug fixes
  • Security patches
  • Documentation corrections
  • Dependency security updates
  • Performance optimizations

Planned Features & Improvements

Note

The following are potential future features being considered. They are not commitments, and priorities may change based on community feedback and maintainer availability.

Short-Term (Next 6 Months)

Enhanced Vue 3 Components Library

Status: Under Development

Description: A comprehensive set of pre-built Vue 3 components for common UserFrosting patterns:

  • Data tables with sorting, filtering, pagination
  • Form builders with validation
  • Modal dialogs
  • Alert/notification system
  • User pickers and role selectors

Why: Reduce boilerplate and speed up development.

Improved TypeScript Support

Status: Planned

Description:

  • Complete type definitions for all UserFrosting services
  • Type-safe API client generation
  • Better IDE autocomplete and error checking
  • Stricter type checking in core components

Why: Catch errors earlier and improve developer experience.

Testing Tools & Examples

Status: In Progress

Description:

  • More comprehensive testing documentation
  • Example test suites for common scenarios
  • Better factory definitions
  • Integration test helpers
  • Frontend testing with Vitest

Why: Make testing easier and encourage test-driven development.

Mid-Term (6-12 Months)

GraphQL API Option

Status: Exploring

Description: Optional GraphQL API layer alongside REST:

  • Type-safe queries and mutations
  • Efficient data fetching (no over/under-fetching)
  • Better support for complex frontend applications
  • Subscriptions for real-time features

Why: Modern alternative to REST for complex data requirements.

Enhanced CLI Tools

Status: Planned

Description:

  • Interactive sprinkle generator (bakery make:sprinkle)
  • Component scaffolding (bakery make:vue-component)
  • Migration helpers (bakery make:migration)
  • Better error messages and debugging output

Why: Speed up common development tasks.

Performance Monitoring

Status: Exploring

Description:

  • Built-in performance profiling
  • Database query logging and analysis
  • Asset loading optimization suggestions
  • Production monitoring hooks

Why: Help developers identify and fix performance bottlenecks.

Long-Term (12+ Months)

Headless CMS Mode

Status: Concept

Description: Optional headless mode where UserFrosting acts as a pure API backend:

  • Decoupled frontend deployment
  • Mobile app support
  • Third-party integration
  • Multi-frontend architecture

Why: Support modern application architectures.

Plugin Marketplace

Status: Concept

Description: A curated marketplace for UserFrosting extensions:

  • Vetted third-party sprinkles
  • Easy installation and updates
  • Quality ratings and reviews
  • Commercial and free options

Why: Foster ecosystem growth and make extending UserFrosting easier.

Multi-Tenancy Support

Status: Concept

Description: Built-in support for multi-tenant applications:

  • Tenant isolation
  • Shared or separate databases
  • Per-tenant customization
  • Tenant-aware routing and assets

Why: Support SaaS applications built with UserFrosting.

Breaking Changes Policy

UserFrosting follows Semantic Versioning:

Major Versions (7.0, 8.0, etc.)

Frequency: Every 2-3 years

May Include:

  • Breaking API changes
  • Removal of deprecated features
  • Major architectural changes
  • Updated system requirements
  • New best practices

Migration: Comprehensive upgrade guides provided.

Minor Versions (6.1, 6.2, etc.)

Frequency: Every 3-4 months

Guarantees:

  • ✅ Backward compatible
  • ✅ Safe to upgrade
  • ✅ Deprecations may be introduced (with warnings)
  • ✅ No breaking changes

Migration: Usually drop-in replacement, minimal changes needed.

Patch Versions (6.0.1, 6.0.2, etc.)

Frequency: As needed

Guarantees:

  • ✅ Bug fixes only
  • ✅ No new features
  • ✅ No API changes
  • ✅ Safe to upgrade immediately

Migration: No code changes required.

Deprecation Strategy

When features are deprecated:

  1. Announcement: Deprecated features are clearly marked in documentation
  2. Warning Period: At least one minor version before removal
  3. Alternatives: Migration path provided to new approach
  4. Support: Deprecated features continue working until next major version

Example Timeline:

  • 6.0: Feature X is current
  • 6.1: Feature X deprecated, Feature Y introduced as replacement
  • 6.2-6.x: Both Feature X and Y available, warnings in logs
  • 7.0: Feature X removed, Feature Y is the standard

Community Involvement

UserFrosting is open-source and community-driven. You can influence the roadmap:

Contribute Code

  • Submit pull requests to userfrosting/monorepo
  • Fix bugs, add features, improve documentation
  • Review and test pull requests from others

Provide Feedback

Support Development

Spread the Word

  • Share your UserFrosting projects
  • Write tutorials and blog posts
  • Answer questions from other users
  • Rate and review UserFrosting

Staying Updated

Announcements

Official announcements are posted to:

Newsletter

Sign up for the UserFrosting newsletter (when available) to receive:

  • Major version announcements
  • Security advisories
  • Featured community projects
  • Tips and tutorials

Social Media

Follow UserFrosting on social media for updates:

Upgrading Between Versions

Minor Version Upgrades (e.g., 6.0 → 6.1)

Process:

# Update dependencies
composer update
npm update

# Run any new migrations
php bakery migrate

# Rebuild assets
npm run vite:build

# Clear caches
php bakery cache:clear

Expected Time: 15-30 minutes

Risk Level: Low - backward compatible

Major Version Upgrades (e.g., 6.x → 7.0)

Process:

  • Comprehensive upgrade guide provided
  • Review breaking changes
  • Update custom code
  • Test thoroughly

Expected Time: Several hours to several days (depending on customization)

Risk Level: Medium to High - breaking changes likely

Framework Philosophy

As UserFrosting continues to evolve, these principles guide development:

Modern But Pragmatic

We embrace modern tools and practices, but only when they provide clear benefits:

  • ✅ Adopt proven technologies (Vue 3, Vite, TypeScript)
  • ⚠️ Be cautious with bleeding-edge features
  • ❌ Avoid "hype-driven development"

Backward Compatibility

We take backward compatibility seriously:

  • Breaking changes only in major versions
  • Clear migration paths provided
  • Deprecated features supported for reasonable periods

Developer Experience

We prioritize developer happiness:

  • Fast development builds (Vite)
  • Clear error messages
  • Comprehensive documentation
  • Active community support

Educational Focus

UserFrosting aims to teach best practices:

  • Documentation explains the "why" not just the "how"
  • Examples demonstrate modern PHP/JavaScript patterns
  • Comments in code help developers learn

Questions?

Have questions about the future of UserFrosting?

  • Technical Questions: Ask in chat.userfrosting.com
  • Feature Requests: Open an issue on GitHub
  • General Discussion: Start a thread in the community chat

The UserFrosting team is committed to making this the best PHP framework for user-centered applications. Thank you for being part of the journey! 🚀