Appwrite PHP SDK

Installation

bash

composer require appwrite/appwrite

Setting Up the Client

php

use Appwrite\Client;
use Appwrite\ID;
use Appwrite\Query;
use Appwrite\Services\Users;
use Appwrite\Services\TablesDB;
use Appwrite\Services\Storage;
use Appwrite\Services\Functions;
use Appwrite\InputFile;

$client = (new Client())
    ->setEndpoint('https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
    ->setProject(getenv('APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID'))
    ->setKey(getenv('APPWRITE_API_KEY'));

Code Examples

User Management

php

$users = new Users($client);

// Create user
$user = $users->create(ID::unique(), 'user@example.com', null, 'password123', 'User Name');

// List users
$list = $users->list([Query::limit(25)]);

// Get user
$fetched = $users->get('[USER_ID]');

// Delete user
$users->delete('[USER_ID]');

Database Operations

Note: Use TablesDB (not the deprecated Databases class) for all new code. Only use Databases if the existing codebase already relies on it or the user explicitly requests it.

php

$tablesDB = new TablesDB($client);

// Create database
$db = $tablesDB->create(ID::unique(), 'My Database');

// Create row
$doc = $tablesDB->createRow('[DATABASE_ID]', '[TABLE_ID]', ID::unique(), [
    'title' => 'Hello World'
]);

// Query rows
$results = $tablesDB->listRows('[DATABASE_ID]', '[TABLE_ID]', [
    Query::equal('title', ['Hello World']),
    Query::limit(10)
]);

// Get row
$row = $tablesDB->getRow('[DATABASE_ID]', '[TABLE_ID]', '[ROW_ID]');

// Update row
$tablesDB->updateRow('[DATABASE_ID]', '[TABLE_ID]', '[ROW_ID]', [
    'title' => 'Updated'
]);

// Delete row
$tablesDB->deleteRow('[DATABASE_ID]', '[TABLE_ID]', '[ROW_ID]');

File Storage

php

$storage = new Storage($client);

// Upload file
$file = $storage->createFile('[BUCKET_ID]', ID::unique(), InputFile::withPath('/path/to/file.png'));

// List files
$files = $storage->listFiles('[BUCKET_ID]');

// Delete file
$storage->deleteFile('[BUCKET_ID]', '[FILE_ID]');

Serverless Functions

php

$functions = new Functions($client);

// Execute function
$execution = $functions->createExecution('[FUNCTION_ID]', '{"key": "value"}');

// List executions
$executions = $functions->listExecutions('[FUNCTION_ID]');

Server-Side Rendering (SSR) Authentication

SSR apps (Laravel, Symfony, etc.) use the server SDK to handle auth. You need two clients:

•Admin client — uses an API key, creates sessions, bypasses rate limits (reusable singleton)
•Session client — uses a session cookie, acts on behalf of a user (create per-request, never share)

php

use Appwrite\Client;
use Appwrite\Services\Account;

// Admin client (reusable)
$adminClient = (new Client())
    ->setEndpoint('https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
    ->setProject('[PROJECT_ID]')
    ->setKey(getenv('APPWRITE_API_KEY'));

// Session client (create per-request)
$sessionClient = (new Client())
    ->setEndpoint('https://<REGION>.cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
    ->setProject('[PROJECT_ID]');

$session = $_COOKIE['a_session_[PROJECT_ID]'] ?? null;
if ($session) {
    $sessionClient->setSession($session);
}

Email/Password Login

php

$account = new Account($adminClient);
$session = $account->createEmailPasswordSession($email, $password);

// Cookie name must be a_session_<PROJECT_ID>
setcookie('a_session_[PROJECT_ID]', $session['secret'], [
    'httpOnly' => true,
    'secure' => true,
    'sameSite' => 'strict',
    'expires' => strtotime($session['expire']),
    'path' => '/',
]);

Authenticated Requests

php

$session = $_COOKIE['a_session_[PROJECT_ID]'] ?? null;
if (!$session) {
    http_response_code(401);
    exit;
}

$sessionClient->setSession($session);
$account = new Account($sessionClient);
$user = $account->get();

OAuth2 SSR Flow

php

// Step 1: Redirect to OAuth provider
$account = new Account($adminClient);
$redirectUrl = $account->createOAuth2Token(
    OAuthProvider::GITHUB(),
    'https://example.com/oauth/success',
    'https://example.com/oauth/failure',
);
header('Location: ' . $redirectUrl);

// Step 2: Handle callback — exchange token for session
$account = new Account($adminClient);
$session = $account->createSession($_GET['userId'], $_GET['secret']);

setcookie('a_session_[PROJECT_ID]', $session['secret'], [
    'httpOnly' => true, 'secure' => true, 'sameSite' => 'strict',
    'expires' => strtotime($session['expire']), 'path' => '/',
]);

Cookie security: Always use httpOnly, secure, and sameSite: 'strict' to prevent XSS. The cookie name must be a_session_<PROJECT_ID>.

Forwarding user agent: Call $sessionClient->setForwardedUserAgent($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']) to record the end-user's browser info for debugging and security.

Permissions & Roles (Critical)

Appwrite uses permission strings to control access to resources. Each permission pairs an action (read, update, delete, create, or write which grants create + update + delete) with a role target. By default, no user has access unless permissions are explicitly set at the document/file level or inherited from the collection/bucket settings. Permissions are arrays of strings built with the Permission and Role helpers.

php

use Appwrite\Permission;
use Appwrite\Role;

Database Row with Permissions

php

$doc = $tablesDB->createRow('[DATABASE_ID]', '[TABLE_ID]', ID::unique(), [
    'title' => 'Hello World'
], [
    Permission::read(Role::user('[USER_ID]')),     // specific user can read
    Permission::update(Role::user('[USER_ID]')),   // specific user can update
    Permission::read(Role::team('[TEAM_ID]')),     // all team members can read
    Permission::read(Role::any()),                 // anyone (including guests) can read
]);

File Upload with Permissions

php

$file = $storage->createFile('[BUCKET_ID]', ID::unique(), InputFile::withPath('/path/to/file.png'), [
    Permission::read(Role::any()),
    Permission::update(Role::user('[USER_ID]')),
    Permission::delete(Role::user('[USER_ID]')),
]);

When to set permissions: Set document/file-level permissions when you need per-resource access control. If all documents in a collection share the same rules, configure permissions at the collection/bucket level and leave document permissions empty.

Common mistakes:

•Forgetting permissions — the resource becomes inaccessible to all users (including the creator)

•Role::any() with write/update/delete — allows any user, including unauthenticated guests, to modify or remove the resource

•Permission::read(Role::any()) on sensitive data — makes the resource publicly readable

API Reference

For complete method documentation, see the reference files:

•Account — The Account service allows you to authenticate and manage a user account.
•Avatars — The Avatars service aims to help you complete everyday tasks related to your app image, icons, and avatars.
•Assistant
•Console — The Console service allows you to interact with console relevant information.
•Databases — The Databases service allows you to create structured collections of documents, query and filter lists of documents
•Functions — The Functions Service allows you view, create and manage your Cloud Functions.
•Graphql — The GraphQL API allows you to query and mutate your Appwrite server using GraphQL.
•Health — The Health service allows you to both validate and monitor your Appwrite server's health.
•Locale — The Locale service allows you to customize your app based on your users' location.
•Messaging — The Messaging service allows you to send messages to any provider type (SMTP, push notification, SMS, etc.).
•Migrations — The Migrations service allows you to migrate third-party data to your Appwrite project.
•Project — The Project service allows you to manage all the projects in your Appwrite server.
•Projects — The Project service allows you to manage all the projects in your Appwrite server.
•Proxy — The Proxy Service allows you to configure actions for your domains beyond DNS configuration.
•Sites — The Sites Service allows you view, create and manage your web applications.
•Storage — The Storage service allows you to manage your project files.
•TablesDB
•Teams — The Teams service allows you to group users of your project and to enable them to share read and write access to your project resources
•Tokens
•Users — The Users service allows you to manage your project users.
•Vcs