Phoenix
A web framework for Elixir for building web apps and APIs, from prototype to production.
- Stars
- 23.2k
- Forks
- 3.2k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Elixir
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- Framework
What it is
Phoenix is a web framework written in Elixir, a programming language that runs on the Erlang virtual machine. It provides the building blocks for web applications and APIs, and its README describes it as offering peace of mind from prototype to production. The README is short and points to the official site and hexdocs for the detailed documentation.
- Build a web application project with the phx.new generator, as described in the installation docs
- Build an API server, which the repository topics list as a use
- Build realtime features, which the repository topics list as a use
Great for
- Developers who already use or want to learn Elixir
- Teams building web applications or API servers in Elixir
- Projects that need realtime features, based on the repository topics
- Developers looking for an MIT-licensed, community-supported framework
Not ideal for
- People who do not want to learn Elixir, since the framework requires it
- Beginners looking for a simple no-code or low-code tool
- Projects that need a language with a larger ecosystem of ready-made libraries, since the README does not compare ecosystem size
How to get it
- 1
See the README
You'll need: Elixir and Mix (the README links to installation docs but does not list versions)
Clone the repository to build from source
git clone https://github.com/phoenixframework/phoenixFetch dependencies for building Phoenix
mix deps.getCompile Phoenix
mix compile - 2
Run it
- Follow the installation instructions at https://phoenix.hexdocs.pm/installation.html#phoenix to install the latest release
- Create a new project with the phx.new Mix task
- Start the generated project using the instructions in its output or the docs
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read the API documentation at https://phoenix.hexdocs.pm
- Read the Phoenix.js documentation at https://phoenix.hexdocs.pm/js if you need the JavaScript client
- Ask questions on the Phoenix Forum linked in the README
- Follow the contributing guides if you want to report issues or propose changes
Downloads
Strengths
- Released under the permissive MIT license
- Active project with recent updates and a large star count
- Documentation is published on hexdocs and the official site
Trade-offs
- Requires knowledge of Elixir and the Erlang virtual machine
- The README is brief and defers most detail to external documentation
- Building from source involves several Mix steps that assume familiarity with the Elixir toolchain
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| phoenix (this) | 23.2k | Framework | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who already use or want to learn Elixir |
| sanic | 18.6k | Framework | intermediate | 3 months ago | Python developers building web APIs or backend services |
| revel | 13.2k | Framework | intermediate | 3.0 years ago | Go developers who want a batteries-included web framework |
| angular | 101k | Framework | intermediate | 6 days ago | Developers building larger, multi-screen web applications |
| expo | 53.3k | Framework | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who want to build iOS and Android apps with React and JavaScript |
| echo | 32.8k | Library | intermediate | 7 days ago | Go developers building REST APIs or backend services |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.