Legacy PHP Platform Modernization

AI-assisted code mapping of a large PHP codebase, business rule extraction, API layering, and rebuild of critical modules in Laravel.

400k

lines of legacy code mapped

8 weeks

discovery phase (vs. 6 months estimated)

production incidents during cutover

The challenge

What the client was facing

A 400k-line PHP 5 codebase, decade-old, with no documentation and a shrinking pool of engineers who understood it. Every change was risky; every bug was archaeology.

What we built

The solution

AI-assisted codebase mapping: dependencies, dead code, business rule extraction
Senior architects validated AI output and produced a domain model
Strangler-fig API layer in Laravel around the legacy core
Phased migration of the highest-risk modules first, with parallel-run validation

In production

What it looks like

Illustrative screens — actual client UI, branding, and data redacted under NDA.

AI-first delivery angle

Why AI-first mattered here

AI accelerated the discovery phase from months to weeks — but every extracted business rule was reviewed by a senior engineer before it entered the new system. AI does the reading; humans do the deciding.

Technologies

Stack

PHP 5/8 Laravel Claude GitHub Copilot MySQL Docker

Have a similar problem to solve?

Book a free 30-minute call with a senior engineer. We’ll tell you honestly whether AI-first delivery is the right fit — and what a realistic engagement would look like.

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