This little Helper converts your .less files into .css without relying on Node.js or client-side parsing. Everything is compiled on the server, cached, and served as regular css through PHP.

In your plugin directory type

git clone https://github.com/Hyra/less.git Less

In your root cakephp

"require" : {
	"clooder/cakeless": "dev-master"
}

composer install

• Create a folder called less in app/webroot/
• Create a folder called less in app/tmp/cache
• Apply chmod 777 to your css folder. (The Less Helper will place all compiled css files in your css-directory)

Where you want to use LESS files, add the helper. Usually this will be your AppController.

public $helpers = array('Less.Less');

Next, simply add the less files to your views:

echo $this->Less->css('yourfile');

or if the less file is located in the webroot of a plugin

echo $this->Less->css('yourfile',array('plugin' => 'PluginFolderName'));

or

echo $this->Less->css(array(
		'bootstrap/bootstrap',
		'prettify',
	)
);

It doesn't matter if you link to stolen .css files directly, the Helper will check for the existance of a .less version first, and fall back if it doesn't find one.

If it does find a corresponding .less file with the same name in your less directory, it will compile it to css and place it in your css directory