Version: 0.1.0-alpha
StarGate is the high-level API implementation for tabular data, built on top of the StarDust EAV database abstraction layer. It aims to provide a standardized, RESTful interface capable of serving massive dynamic datasets to modern frontend data grids.
StarGate handles the HTTP layer, standardizing pagination, multi-column sorting, granular filtering (with operators), field projection, and relationship hydration. Behind the scenes, it leverages the CodeIgniter 4 framework and strictly depends on the underlying StarDust library to persist and query dynamic entity structures.
StarGate is currently in an Alpha state.
While its HTTP layer and business logic are tested, feature-complete, and structurally sound, it is deliberately held in alpha because of the state of the underlying damarbob/stardust library.
Important Deployment Pairing:
This v0.1.0-alpha release is explicitly paired with StarDust v0.2.0-alpha.3.
StarDust 0.2.0 relies on a "Virtual Column" indexing architecture which is highly performant for small datasets but triggers strict, low-level InnoDB "row size" limits and metadata locks when scaled to hundreds of dynamic fields or under high concurrency. Because StarGate passes queries directly to StarDust, StarGate's scalability is fundamentally bottlenecked by this infrastructure limitation.
A major architectural shift is planned for the underlying StarDust library in its v0.3.0 release. StarDust will transition to Vertical Schema Partitioning to address scalability limits and OOM vulnerabilities found in the Virtual Column architecture, establishing enterprise schema stability.
Once StarDust achieves this resilient 0.3.0 architecture, StarGate will be updated in tandem, clearing the path towards its own 0.2.0 (Beta) and eventually v1.0.0 production-ready release.
For more details on the scalability limits and the upcoming architecture, please refer to the FAQ.md.
(Instructions tailored for CodeIgniter 4 / Composer)
composer updateEnsure your .env is configured properly for database connectivity.
- Dynamic Models: Serve limitless schemas through the Entries Endpoint.
- Universal Querying: First-class JSON support for queries containing pagination, sorting arrays, and complex operator conditions (
eq,neq,gt,lt,like,in). - Resource Protection: Built-in permission enforcing via CodeIgniter Shield.
- Sparse Field Projection: Limit database IO and payload payloads dynamically (
?fields=id,title). - Bulk Delete: Transactional bulk deletions via JSON payloads.