Recommend PIE and deprecate PECL View as Markdown

Introduction

The RFC proposes to deprecate PECL, and to adopt PHP Installer for Extensions (PIE) going forward.

Proposal

The proposal is made of two key messaging changes:

• PECL becomes formally deprecated as the recommended installation method for non-bundled PHP Modules and Zend Extensions. This is in messaging only, and practically, the PECL tool and website (https://pecl.php.net/) will still function for the time being.
• PIE is adopted formally as the recommended installation method for non-bundled PHP Modules and Zend Extensions.

Where possible, messaging will be added to PECL resources (such as the PECL website, the tool itself, PHP documentation, etc.) that PECL is deprecated and switching to PIE is recommended. A link to the PIE GitHub repository (https://github.com/php/pie), or appropriate documentation (once created) on php.net, is recommended to provide a call to action to the user.

An example of this messaging can be seen in this Pull Request to the pecl.php.net website https://github.com/php/web-pecl/pull/108. This message would be updated to reflect the actual deprecation of PECL.

Backward Incompatible Changes

There are no breakages. PECL will continue to function.

Proposed PHP Version(s)

Not applicable - if accepted, this will take effect immediately.

Future Scope

This RFC specifically does NOT propose a timeline for removing the PECL website or CLI tool. These will continue to operate as they do currently. A follow-up RFC should be made to propose a timeline for their eventual removal, and methods by which this will be communicated to as many people as possible.

Voting Choices

Yes / No vote requiring 2/3 Yes votes to pass. Voting ends 2025-09-20T09:00:00Z.

Vote: Deprecate PECL and adopt PIE instead? — Yes: 36 · No: 0 · Abstain: 5 (closed)

References

• PIE project - https://github.com/php/pie