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php/php-src

📈 Trending40,069CAudience · developerComplexity · 5/5ActiveLicenseSetup · hard

TLDR

The official C source code for the PHP interpreter, which executes PHP scripts on web servers to generate dynamic content and power web applications.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      PHP interpreter
      Executes scripts
      Web server runtime
    Core components
      Language core
      Standard library
      Built-in extensions
    Extensions included
      Database connectors
      Cryptography tools
      XML processing
      Image manipulation
    Development process
      RFC voting system
      Contributor proposals
      Test suite
    Use cases
      Compile from source
      Custom configuration
      Bug fixes
      Core contributions
    Tech stack
      C language
      PHP scripts
      Shell scripts

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Compile PHP from source with custom configuration options for your server environment.

USE CASE 2

Contribute bug fixes or new features to the PHP language through the RFC process.

USE CASE 3

Understand how the PHP interpreter works internally by reading and studying the C source code.

USE CASE 4

Build and test custom PHP extensions or modifications for specialized web applications.

Tech stack

CPHPShell

Getting it running

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Building PHP from C source requires autoconf, automake, libtool, and resolving many optional dependencies; compilation takes significant time.

PHP is licensed under the PHP License, which permits free use and modification for any purpose, including commercial use, with proper attribution.

In plain English

php-src is the official source code repository for the PHP programming language interpreter. PHP is a general-purpose scripting language designed primarily for web development that has been one of the most widely used server-side languages on the web for decades. The problem it addresses is the need for a fast, flexible language that can be embedded in HTML pages and run on a server to generate dynamic web content, handle form submissions, interact with databases, and build web applications of any size. This repository contains the actual C source code that compiles into the PHP interpreter, the program that reads and executes PHP scripts. It includes the language core, the standard library, and many of the built-in extensions that come bundled with PHP such as database connectors, cryptography, XML processing, and image manipulation. New PHP features go through a formal Request for Comments process where contributors and core developers vote on proposed additions to the language. The repository also includes an extensive test suite used to verify that the interpreter behaves correctly. You would look at this repository if you are a PHP core contributor, want to understand how the PHP interpreter is implemented, need to compile PHP from source with custom configuration options, or want to submit a bug fix or feature. If you are a developer building web applications using PHP, you would typically install PHP from prebuilt packages for your operating system rather than from this source. The tech stack is C for the interpreter itself, with PHP and shell scripts used for the test suite and build tooling.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I compile PHP from the php-src repository with custom extensions enabled?
Prompt 2
Walk me through the structure of the PHP interpreter source code and where the core language features are implemented.
Prompt 3
What is the RFC process for proposing new features to PHP, and how do I submit a proposal?
Prompt 4
How do I run the PHP test suite to verify my changes to the interpreter don't break existing functionality?
Prompt 5
Show me how to write and integrate a custom PHP extension in the php-src codebase.
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.