An alternative to mix phx.new that installs Phoenix into any Elixir project — new or existing — using Igniter for AST-aware code generation.
Instead of generating a project from a template, phx_install composes individual installer tasks that each add a specific feature (endpoint, router, LiveView, etc.). Each task manipulates your project's actual AST, so it can safely merge into existing code rather than overwriting it.
Install the default Phoenix stack (LiveView, assets, Gettext, LiveDashboard) into your project:
mix igniter.install phx_installSee Options for flags to customise what gets installed.
To add the dependency without running the installer, and then explore the available tasks:
mix igniter.add phx_install
mix help phx.installCreate a new Elixir application with Phoenix installed:
mix igniter.new my_app --install phx_installmix phx.new is the standard Phoenix generator — it creates a complete project from a template and is the right choice for most greenfield apps. phx_install takes a different approach that's useful when you want to:
- Add Phoenix to an existing Elixir project — phx_install merges Phoenix into your current code rather than starting from a fresh project.
- Install features incrementally — start with an API-only app and add LiveView later with
mix phx.install.live. - Run it again safely — every task is idempotent. Running it twice won't duplicate code or overwrite your changes.
By default, mix phx.install sets up a full Phoenix application with LiveView, assets, Gettext, and LiveDashboard. Use flags to opt out:
# API-only (no LiveView, no assets)
mix phx.install --no-live --no-assets
# Skip internationalisation
mix phx.install --no-gettext
# Skip LiveDashboard
mix phx.install --no-dashboardDatabase and email support are separate tasks you can add at any time:
# Ecto with PostgreSQL (default), MySQL, or SQLite
mix phx.install.ecto
mix phx.install.ecto --adapter mysql
mix phx.install.ecto --adapter sqlite
# Swoosh email
mix phx.install.mailerEach feature is a standalone task. The orchestrator (mix phx.install) composes them, but you can also run them independently:
| Task | Description |
|---|---|
phx.install.core |
Application module, config files, base dependencies |
phx.install.endpoint |
Phoenix.Endpoint, Telemetry, web module |
phx.install.router |
Router with pipelines, error handling |
phx.install.html |
HTML components, layouts, error pages |
phx.install.live |
LiveView socket, helpers, and macros (composes html) |
phx.install.assets |
esbuild and Tailwind CSS |
phx.install.gettext |
Internationalisation with Gettext |
phx.install.dashboard |
Phoenix LiveDashboard (dev only) |
phx.install.ecto |
Ecto database support with Repo |
phx.install.mailer |
Swoosh email support |
# Run tests
mix test
# Run acceptance tests (generates phx.new projects for comparison)
mix test --include acceptanceApache-2.0
Proudly written and maintained by the team at Alembic for the Elixir community.