🚀 A modernized boilerplate for CodeIgniter 2 projects running on PHP 8.2/8.3+.This project patches the original CodeIgniter 2.2.6 core (system/ folder) to remove deprecated features, fix dynamic property issues, and update old MySQL calls for compatibility with modern PHP and MariaDB/MySQL.
✅ Fully compatible with PHP 8.2/8.3
✅ Dynamic properties declared (no more deprecation warnings)
✅ Replaced legacy mysql_* with mysqli
✅ Clean CodeIgniter 2.2.6 core ready for new projects
✅ Drop-in boilerplate for legacy CI2 apps that need to run today
✅ Works with MariaDB/MySQL 5.7+
CodeIgniter 2 was officially retired in 2015 and was never updated for PHP 7 or PHP 8.However, many developers still maintain or extend legacy CodeIgniter 2 applications.This repo provides a drop-in foundation so you can:
Build new projects with the lightweight CI2 framework on modern PHP
Upgrade old CI2 apps to run without errors on PHP 8+
Avoid fighting with deprecated features every time you set up a project
Provide a stable boilerplate for CodeIgniter 2 apps running on PHP 8+
Document all changes made to the core for future maintainers
Keep this project as a reference for legacy CI2 modernization
Encourage community-driven improvements for security, performance, and developer experience
Clone this repo
Configure application/config/config.php and application/config/database.php
Point Apache/Nginx to the project’s root and enable mod_rewrite
Start building your app 🚀
This project is open to contributions! If you’ve modernized a part of CodeIgniter 2, improved security, or added useful developer tools, feel free to:
Fork the repo
Create a new branch
Submit a pull request
Ideas for future contributions:
Add Composer support
Replace CI2’s old encryption class with OpenSSL
Provide a migration path to CodeIgniter 3/4 while keeping CI2 compatibility
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