Your first form

Build an article editing form using your existing CakePHP entity and controller. You need PHP 8.5+ and CakePHP 6 development builds.

Install the plugin

The current CakePHP dependency requires your application's Composer configuration to allow development packages: "minimum-stability": "dev" with "prefer-stable": true.

composer require josbeir/cakephp-form-compose:dev-main
bin/cake plugin load FormCompose

The Cake CLI registers the plugin in config/plugins.php.

Load the helper

Configure FormCompose as your Form helper:

src/View/AppView.php

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\View;

use Cake\View\View;

class AppView extends View
{
    public function initialize(): void
    {
        parent::initialize();
        $this->addHelper('Form', ['className' => 'FormCompose.Form']);
    }
}

All examples use this alias. FormCompose has its own form API; if you are moving an existing core FormHelper form, see Migrate a core form.

Keep the core FormHelper alongside FormCompose

Inside AppView::initialize(), load both helpers under different aliases instead:

$this->addHelper('Form');
$this->addHelper('Compose', ['className' => 'FormCompose.Form']);

Use $this->Compose for FormCompose calls in that application.

Build your first form

Your controller passes an $article entity to this view. Keep your existing record loading and submission handler.

templates/Articles/edit.php

<?php
$form = $this->Form->bind($article);
?>
<?= $form->open() ?>
<?= $form->control('title') ?>
<?= $form->control('body')->type('textarea') ?>
<?= $form->control('published')->type('checkbox') ?>
<?= $form->submit('Save article') ?>
<?= $form->close() ?>

• bind($article) prepares a form using the article's values and metadata.
• open() starts the form. Each control() includes its label, input, and errors.
• submit() adds the button; close() finishes the form and protection fields.

The form submits to the current URL. New entities use POST; existing entities use PUT through CakePHP's method override. For a different destination or method, configure a fluent builder before binding; see form configuration.

Keep CakePHP's CSRF middleware and FormProtectionComponent configured in your application. Loading the helper does not enable them.

Add labels, help, and attributes

Replace the title control with:

echo $form->control('title')
    ->label('Article title')
    ->help('Choose a title readers can recognize.')
    ->attributes(['class' => 'article-title', 'autocomplete' => 'off']);

attributes() applies to the input. The field guide shows defaults, wrapper attributes, and other common settings.

Show validation feedback

When your normal CakePHP submission handler reports validation errors, render the same view with that entity again. Controls show those errors next to their inputs, and submitted values remain filled in. FormCompose renders the feedback; your application continues to validate and save.

Choose your next step

Task	Guide
Configure fields and their values	Fields and values
Add a select, radio group, or checkbox	Choice controls
Build a search form or accept files	Search forms · File uploads
Change a control's HTML	Use your own templates
Share markup across forms	Create a theme
Share a set of fields	Form blueprints