Docker Official Image packaging for PHP
4k
Stars
2k
Forks
31
Open issues
30
Contributors
AI Analysis
This is the official Docker image packaging for PHP, maintained by the Docker Community as part of the Docker Official Images program. It serves the specific use case of providing standardized, production-ready PHP runtime containers for developers deploying PHP applications. It is essential for PHP developers and DevOps teams using Docker, but not relevant for developers working in other language ecosystems.
Inferred from signals mentioned in the README (tests, CI, type safety) — not a review of the actual code.
AI's overall editorial judgment — not an average of the bars above, can weigh other factors too.
Docker's official PHP image: ubiquitous containerization foundation for PHP applications
This is the Docker Official Image for PHP, maintained by the Docker Community. It provides pre-built, security-hardened container images for PHP across versions and configurations, distributed through Docker Hub. It is the de facto standard for PHP containerization in enterprise and cloud-native deployments. Adoption is massive and largely invisible—most PHP containers in production use this image or derivatives. The project's value lies in reducing friction for developers adopting containers, not in solving novel technical problems.
Launched in 2014 as part of Docker's Official Images program, coinciding with Docker's emergence as the container standard. PHP's position as a legacy but widely-deployed language made an official image critical for enterprise adoption and cloud migration. The image has evolved to cover multiple PHP versions and extension sets.
Growth was driven by Docker's adoption as the container runtime standard and PHP's prevalence in production systems requiring containerization. The 4,000+ stars reflect steady, mature adoption rather than viral growth. Slow recent star gain (2 in 7 days) is consistent with a project that has plateaued at saturation—it reached its market ceiling years ago and now operates in maintenance mode.
Massive implicit adoption—this is the standard PHP image in Docker Hub's Official Images registry. Every PHP containerization guide, tutorial, and cloud platform references this image or builds on it. However, specific production usage metrics (pull counts, deployment statistics) are not documented in this repository's README. Adoption not formally verified in this repo, but Docker Hub metrics would provide concrete evidence.
Based on README, this repository contains Dockerfile source definitions that are built and published to Docker Hub. The image appears to be multi-variant, supporting different PHP versions and extensions. Likely organized as a template-driven build system that generates multiple image variants from shared configuration. Architecture not deeply documented in README—internal structure not verifiable without source inspection.
Not documented in README. Testing approach for Docker Official Images typically involves automated builds, security scanning, and validation against PHP's official binaries, but specifics are not stated here.
Last push 2026-07-03 (4 days before analysis date) indicates active maintenance. Continuous deployment of security patches and version updates expected for an Official Image managing multiple PHP versions. Slow star growth reflects saturation, not abandonment. Project appears actively maintained relative to its role.
ADOPT IF: you are containerizing PHP applications and need a secure, officially-maintained, widely-compatible base image with multi-version and extension support. AVOID IF: you have highly specific performance requirements (e.g., minimal attack surface) not met by the default variants—consider building custom images instead. MONITOR IF: you rely on specific PHP extensions or versions; changes to the image's extension matrix or PHP version deprecation schedules should be tracked.
Independent dimensions
Mainstream potential
9/10
Technical importance
6/10
Adoption evidence
9/10
- Maintenance risk: official images depend on Docker Community volunteers; if maintainers become unavailable, response times to security issues could degrade (though Docker Inc. likely has escalation procedures).
- Version obsolescence: older PHP versions eventually reach end-of-life; the image will stop receiving updates for those branches, forcing downstream users to upgrade.
- Supply chain dependency: pull requests and changes flow through docker-library/official-images repository, adding friction to emergency patches.
- Image bloat: the standard variants include many extensions, increasing attack surface for applications that don't use them. Minimal variants may not be offered.
- Breaking changes: rare but possible; changes to the image structure or base OS could break downstream Dockerfiles that depend on internal paths or assumptions.
This project will continue stable, slow maintenance indefinitely. It will remain the default PHP image for containerized PHP workloads. No significant growth expected—it has reached permanent saturation. Likely outcome: maintained in steady state, with routine security updates and PHP version tracking, but no major architectural changes.
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Languages
Information
- Website
- https://php.net
- Language
- Dockerfile
- License
- MIT
- Last updated
- 1w ago
- Created
- 146mo ago
- Analyzed with
- anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5
Stars over time
Contributors over time
Top 100 contributors only — repos with more will plateau at 100.
Open issues
Alpine zlib 1.3.2-r0 not yet included in php:8.2/8.3 Alpine images (CVE-2026-27171)
Do not fail when building PHP 8.5 with `opcache`
/usr/local/etc/php-fpm.d/ not loaded in alpine image
Incompatibility with FallbackResource and SetHandler
CLI and FPM share same php.ini on 8.4-fpm
Recent releases
No releases published yet.
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This repository IS the official image; there is no competing upstream offering. The value is that this is maintained by Docker Community, not PHP upstream.
Community images exist with smaller footprints, but lack official endorsement, security scanning, and guaranteed maintenance. This image serves wider enterprise needs.
Compete for use cases where managed services are acceptable; this image is for self-managed container deployments.
Sibling Official Images in the same ecosystem; similar adoption, maintenance model, and strategic importance within Docker's platform.