protectyourephp / pyp-ext

0.3.0 2026-11-13 17:43 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.1

MIT

• encoder
• protection
• licensing
• php-extension

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-11-13 17:50 UTC

Extension name: ext-pyp

Supports Zend Thread Safety (ZTS): ✅

Supports non-Thread Safe mode (NTS): ✅

Supported operating systems: no restrictions

README

Native PHP extension for PYP (ProtectYourePHP), the open source PHP encoder and licensing system. Files built with pyp encode --require-ext only run with this extension. All other encoded files work without it; when installed, the loader detects it and uses its native helpers automatically - no code changes needed.

This repository is split from ProtectYourePHP/ProtectYourePHP (ext/). Please open pull requests there.

What it does (0.3)

Compile hook	runs files built with pyp encode --require-ext: the decrypted source goes straight to the PHP compiler and never reaches PHP code
pyp_macs(): array	MAC addresses of all non-loopback interfaces (aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff) - natively, without exec()
pyp_ext_info(): array	version, loader_api, features
PYP_EXT_VERSION, PYP_LOADER_API	constants

The loader uses pyp_macs() for MAC address binding of licenses. Without the extension it falls back to net_get_interfaces(), /sys/class/net or exec('ip link') - which fails on many shared hosts.

Text form (new in 0.3). Since encoder 1.5 protected PHP files are plain text (a base64 block after __halt_compiler();). Extension 0.3 reads both this form and the binary form of older builds and of pyp encode --binary; extension 0.2 only reads the binary form.

Compile hook (since 0.2). Licensing still happens in pyp-loader.php, which hands the file key to the extension. Protected files are compiled on every request (they are not stored in OPcache yet). Encrypted data files are read with \Pyp\Loader::read($file).

Supported: PHP 8.1 - 8.5, NTS and ZTS, Linux x86_64, macOS, Windows x64.

Install

1. Find out which build you need

php -v                                   # PHP version, e.g. 8.4.x
php -i | grep -E "Thread Safety|Compiler|Architecture|PHP Extension Build"
php -i | grep extension_dir              # where extensions go

• Thread Safety disabled = nts, enabled = ts
• Windows: Compiler Visual C++ 2019 = vs16 (PHP 8.1-8.3), Visual C++ 2022 = vs17 (PHP 8.4+)

2a. Windows

1. Download the zip matching your PHP from the latest release, e.g. php_pyp-0.3.0-8.4-nts-vs17-x86_64.zip.

2. Copy the DLL from the zip into your extension_dir (usually C:\php\ext) and rename it to php_pyp.dll (in the zip it is called php_pyp-0.3.0-8.4-nts-vs17-x86_64.dll; PIE renames it automatically).

   Expand-Archive php_pyp-0.3.0-8.4-nts-vs17-x86_64.zip -DestinationPath pyp
   Copy-Item pyp\php_pyp-0.3.0-8.4-nts-vs17-x86_64.dll C:\php\ext\php_pyp.dll

3. Add to php.ini:

   extension=pyp

4. Restart the web server / PHP-FPM / IIS application pool.

2b. Linux

With PIE (builds for your exact PHP, recommended):

pie install protectyourephp/pyp-ext

Prebuilt (x86_64, glibc, for PHP from the usual distro/ondrej/sury packages):

tar -xzf php_pyp-0.3.0-8.4-nts-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo cp php_pyp-0.3.0-8.4-nts-linux-x86_64/pyp.so "$(php-config --extension-dir)/"
echo "extension=pyp" | sudo tee /etc/php/8.4/mods-available/pyp.ini
sudo phpenmod pyp && sudo systemctl reload php8.4-fpm   # Debian/Ubuntu

On other distributions add extension=pyp to php.ini (or a file in php --ini's scan directory).

From source (Linux, macOS):

git clone https://github.com/ProtectYourePHP/pyp-ext.git && cd pyp-ext
phpize
./configure --enable-pyp
make
make test TESTS=tests NO_INTERACTION=1
sudo make install          # then add extension=pyp to php.ini

3. Check it works

php -m | grep pyp
php -r 'print_r(pyp_ext_info()); print_r(pyp_macs());'

For the web server SAPI, check phpinfo(): there is a section PYP (ProtectYourePHP) support.

Try it without touching php.ini:

php -d extension=/full/path/to/php_pyp.dll -r 'var_dump(extension_loaded("pyp"));'

Using it with encoded applications

Nothing to configure. When the extension is loaded, the PYP loader (pyp/pyp-loader.php) uses it automatically. Licenses with MAC addresses then work on servers where exec() is disabled.

Roadmap

loader_api 2 adds a zend_compile_file hook that decrypts PYP files in C, so decrypted source never reaches userland and OPcache can cache protected code. See docs/native-extension.md.

Troubleshooting

Message	Cause
Unable to load dynamic library 'pyp'	file not in extension_dir, or wrong name (Windows: php_pyp.dll, Linux: pyp.so)
Module compiled with module API=... PHP compiled with module API=...	build for another PHP version - take the matching zip/tarball
...is not a valid Win32 application / %1 is not a valid...	wrong architecture, or ts build on nts PHP (or vice versa)
Works on CLI but not on the website	the web server uses another php.ini - check phpinfo() → Loaded Configuration File

License

MIT