Skip to content

php-extensions.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
157 lines (111 loc) · 3.41 KB

php-extensions.md

File metadata and controls

157 lines (111 loc) · 3.41 KB

PHP Extensions

PHP extensions can be enabled or disabled on-demand in your development environment. This guide covers managing PHP extensions.

Available Commands

Enable Extension

Temporarily enable a PHP extension for a running container:

dev php-ext-enable extensionname

Disable Extension

Temporarily disable a PHP extension:

dev php-ext-disable extensionname

Verify Extension

Check if an extension is loaded:

dev exec php php -m | grep extensionname

Or check PHP info:

dev php -i | grep extensionname

Common Extensions

Most common PHP extensions are pre-installed:

  • mbstring - Multibyte string functions
  • pdo_mysql - MySQL database support
  • gd - Image manipulation
  • curl - HTTP requests
  • xml - XML parsing
  • zip - ZIP archive handling
  • intl - Internationalization
  • soap - SOAP client/server
  • bcmath - Arbitrary precision math
  • redis - Redis support
  • xdebug - Debugging (see xdebug.md)
  • blackfire - Profiling (see configure-blackfire.md)

List All Extensions

See all loaded extensions:

dev php -m

See PHP configuration:

dev php -i

Temporary vs Permanent Changes

Temporary (Until Container Restart)

The php-ext-enable and php-ext-disable commands make temporary changes:

dev php-ext-enable xdebug
dev exec php php -v  # XDebug is loaded
dev restart php
dev exec php php -v  # XDebug is gone

This is useful for:

  • Testing extensions
  • Temporarily enabling debugging
  • Performance testing with/without extensions

Permanent Configuration

For permanent changes, customize the PHP container. See customize-docker-containers.md.

Create custom/php/Dockerfile:

FROM php:8.2-fpm

RUN docker-php-ext-install extensionname

Then use a docker-custom.yml to build from your custom Dockerfile.

XDebug Special Case

XDebug is available but not enabled by default for performance. Use the dedicated command:

dev xdebug-console

See xdebug.md for complete XDebug setup.

Blackfire Special Case

Blackfire requires configuration before use. See configure-blackfire.md.

Installing Additional Extensions

If an extension isn't available, you have two options:

Option 1: Custom Container

Create a custom PHP container with the extension. See customize-docker-containers.md.

Option 2: Runtime Installation

Install temporarily in a running container:

dev exec php docker-php-ext-install extensionname

Note: This persists only until container rebuild.

Extension Configuration

Some extensions require configuration files. These go in the PHP configuration directory inside the container.

Example for custom extension config:

dev exec php bash -c 'echo "extension=myext.so" > /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/myext.ini'

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Found

List available extensions in the container:

dev exec php ls /usr/local/lib/php/extensions/

Extension Won't Load

Check PHP error log:

dev logs php

Verify extension file exists:

dev exec php php --ri extensionname

Version-Specific Extensions

Different PHP versions may have different extensions available. Switch PHP versions and check:

dev php-change php83
dev php -m