Lumen

Lumen is a micro-framework for building fast, lightweight web applications and APIs, created by Taylor Otwell as a stripped-down version of Laravel. It focuses on speed and simplicity by removing many of Laravel's features, making it ideal for microservices and small projects where performance is critical. It uses the same elegant syntax and components as Laravel but with a minimal footprint.

Also known as: Lumen Framework, Laravel Lumen, Lumen Micro-Framework, Lumen PHP, Lumen API

Why learn Lumen?

Developers should learn Lumen when they need to build high-performance APIs or microservices that don't require the full feature set of Laravel, such as authentication, sessions, or templating. It's particularly useful for stateless applications, IoT backends, or rapid prototyping where low overhead and fast response times are priorities. Use it in scenarios like RESTful APIs, command-line tools, or lightweight web services.

Learning Resources

• docs: Lumen Official Documentation
• tutorial: Laravel News: Getting Started with Lumen
• course: Lumen API Development Course on Udemy
• video: Lumen vs Laravel: When to Use Which?
• book: Building APIs with Lumen (Book)