Choose how PHP runs.

Learn what the PHP CLI SAPI is, how it differs from web SAPIs, and how to run a stdin and exit-code script in the official PHP Docker image.

Learn what the PHP CLI built-in web server is, how router scripts and document roots work, and why it is for development and controlled demos only.

Learn what PHP-FPM is, how a web server hands requests to FPM worker pools, and how to run Nginx with a PHP 8.4 FPM container while keeping FastCGI off host ports.

What Apache mod_php is, how its prefork-based execution model works, why the PHP manual steers new installs to PHP-FPM, and a minimal php:8.4-apache Docker Compose example.

A cautious, source-limited look at PHP's CGI build, how it differs from the CLI, and why FastCGI and FPM need separate evidence and must never be exposed publicly.

A guide to FrankenPHP, a Caddy-based PHP application server: classic mode first, worker mode state risks, Docker setup and deployment notes.

A guide to FrankenPHP worker mode: how the persistent worker loop differs from classic mode, what state survives between requests, and how to reset it.

Learn how RoadRunner, a Go-based application server and process manager, keeps PHP workers alive, and how to reason about state leakage and cleanup in persistent workers.

Swoole is a PHP extension that adds an event loop, coroutines and servers for long-lived PHP services. Learn its model, install approach, a minimal HTTP server and the risks of persistent workers.

A guide to Open Swoole, a C/C++ PHP extension and server that keeps PHP code resident, with a minimal loopback HTTP server and notes on state leakage.

Learn what Workerman is, how its long-running worker model differs from classic PHP request lifetimes, and how to avoid state leakage in a small Composer-installed HTTP worker.

ReactPHP is an event-driven async library for PHP, not a separate interpreter. Learn its event loop model, persistent-process state risks, and a Composer-based HTTP server.

AMPHP is a set of Composer libraries for non-blocking PHP built on fibers and Revolt. It is not a separate interpreter. This guide covers its HTTP server model and persistent-process pitfalls.

A guide to PHP compiled to WebAssembly through the WordPress Playground project: how it runs, where it fits, its limits, and a minimal browser example.

What Laravel Octane is, how it keeps a Laravel app in memory on FrankenPHP, Open Swoole, Swoole or RoadRunner, and why state leakage matters.

Symfony Runtime is a Composer-based bootstrap abstraction, not an interpreter or server. It lets one front controller work with PHP-FPM, CLI and worker-style backends.

A guide to Bref, the open source Composer package and toolkit for running PHP applications serverless on AWS Lambda, with a local readiness example.

A historical guide to NGINX Unit, an archived multi-language application server with a PHP module, and how it differs from a Nginx plus FPM pairing.

HHVM is an open-source JIT virtual machine for the Hack language. This guide explains how it differs from PHP, why it is not a PHP 8.4 runtime, and where it fits.

A guide to the PHP embed SAPI in php-src (PHP-8.4 branch): what it is, how a C host starts requests, and how to build a minimal example.