Skip to content

php-license.rst

Latest commit

 

History

History
86 lines (63 loc) · 3.28 KB

php-license.rst

File metadata and controls

86 lines (63 loc) · 3.28 KB

The PHP License

Important

This is a meta document discussing the PHP license. For the actual PHP license, see PHP Licensing.

On April 4, 2026, the PHP project adopted the PHP License Update RFC, which published new versions of the PHP License and the Zend Engine License, both based on the Modified BSD License (SPDX: BSD-3-Clause).

Changes

The PHP Group invoked clause 5 of the PHP License, version 3.01, to publish the PHP License, version 4. Zend Technologies invoked clause 4 of the Zend Engine License, version 2.00, to publish the Zend Engine License, version 3. Both organizations provided formal correspondence consenting to these changes.

The PHP project, the PHP Group, and Zend Technologies have deprecated the PHP License and the Zend Engine License to decrease license proliferation. Use of these licenses for new projects is discouraged. The Modified BSD License (or another compatible license) is recommended instead.

Impact on Users

The rights granted to users under the PHP License, version 3.01, and the Zend Engine License, version 2.00, do not change under the new license versions.

Maintainers of software licensed under the PHP License, version 3.01, may relicense under PHP License, version 4, by exercising the upgrade clause in that license. When doing so, use the SPDX identifier BSD-3-Clause rather than the name "PHP License, version 4."

Copyright and License Header

New source code files contributed to the PHP project should include the following header block. See also the php-src CONTRIBUTING document.

/*
  +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
  | Copyright © The PHP Group and Contributors.                          |
  +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
  | This source file is subject to the Modified BSD License that is      |
  | bundled with this package in the file LICENSE, and is available      |
  | through the World Wide Web at <https://www.php.net/license/>.        |
  |                                                                      |
  | SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause                                |
  +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
  | Author:                                                              |
  +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
*/

Resources