README

Because who needs Docker or WSL when you can do everything the hard way?

Because we love adventure and micro-optimizations on Windows machines!

Introduction

PVM is yet another attempt at creating a PHP Version Manager for Windows. Yes, the land where you can run EXEs as Administrator all day, fix your registry keys, and now also manage multiple PHP installations and their PECL extensions – directly from your Windows CLI!

“But why not just use Docker or WSL?”
Because obviously it’s more fun to spend hours tinkering with environment variables, .ini merges, and rummaging around in your AppData\Local\Temp folder. Also, you might gain a 0.0001% performance boost by running native Windows builds. Totally worth it!

Main Features

1. Multiple PHP Versions

   • Install php84 or php82 or any other phpXX.
   • In-place upgrade to new patch releases (like going from 8.4.4 to 8.4.5) while keeping your precious php.ini intact.
   • “Wait, do we handle merges?” – Nah, we just skip overwriting your existing config. If something breaks, well… it’s Windows, you’re used to it.

2. PECL Extensions

   • Because we can’t have it easy, we also let you pvm install php82-phalcon5.8.0 and parse the labyrinth of https://downloads.php.net/~windows/pecl/releases/ to find the right DLL.
   • Automatic addition of extension="phalcon.dll" to your php.ini. If that line doesn’t work, hey, at least we tried.

3. Search Command

   • pvm search redis --ext-version=5.3 --php-version=8 --nts-only
   • Lists all matching extensions (by partial name), partial extension version (e.g. 5.3 → matches 5.3.7, etc.), partial PHP version (e.g. 8 → matches 8.0, 8.1, 8.2), architecture (x64 or x86), thread safety, etc.
   • Great for discovering which DLLs are out there for your Windows environment.

4. Uninstall (with optional --force)

   • Remove entire directories in a single command. Because who needs backups or regrets?

5. Ties in nicely with your existing Windows stack – or so we claim.

   • Optionally tweak your Apache config. Or your Nginx config. Or your IIS config if you’re feeling extra adventurous.
   • Did we test that? Probably not.

6. Humor

   • There’s a built-in requirement to appreciate puns and ironically complicated solutions. If you can’t handle that, there’s always Docker or WSL.

Why PVM?

• The thrill of discovering yet another .exe or .dll in your path.
• Stop wasting time on container solutions that “just work.” Instead, get your hands dirty with manual merges, environment paths, and random errors about missing VCRUNTIME140.dll.
• You love the nostalgic feeling of rummaging around in .zip files, copying them over existing folders, and crossing your fingers that your system doesn’t blow up.

Installation

1. Clone this repository (or download the .zip, we’re big fans of .zips!).
2. Run composer install (because ironically we do use Composer).
3. Check that your bin\pvm (or pvm.bat) is somewhere in your PATH.
4. Optionally create config\config.json and config\cache.json as {} to avoid suspicious errors.
5. Profit – or at least watch it do something.

Usage Examples

Install a base PHP version

pvm install php84

Downloads the latest patch from windows.php.net/downloads/releases/, extracts it to packages\php84, and copies php.ini-production → php.ini.

Upgrade that base version

pvm install php84

If it’s already installed and a new patch is out, we ask if you want to upgrade. Because yes, we multi-purpose the “install” command. In-place overwrite, skipping your beloved php.ini.

Install a PECL extension

pvm install php82-phalcon5.8.0

Because you love living on the edge, we parse downloads.php.net/~windows/pecl/ to rummage for an x64 NTS vs17 .zip or .dll, then politely chuck it into ext\ and add a line to php.ini. If something breaks? You’ll find out soon enough when phpinfo() bursts into flames.

Search a PECL extension

pvm search redis --ext-version=5.3 --php-version=8 --nts-only

Lists all redis extension builds that have a version containing 5.3, PHP version containing 8, and are NTS builds.

Uninstall

pvm uninstall php84  
pvm uninstall php82-phalcon5.8.0

Because we believe in the power of the rm -rf approach (or in Windows terms, forcibly removing directories). Freed from your HPC-like environment, you can re-download or jump to another version. Because YOLO.

Disclaimers & Warnings

• No merges: We don’t do fancy merges with php.ini. We skip overwriting it. If upstream drastically changed config items, you’ll find out the fun way.
• No official support for random DLL edge cases. If you can’t find a Windows build of that obscure PECL extension, tough luck. You might have to compile from source or revert to your cozy WSL.
• We disclaim responsibility for accidental system meltdown, infinite loops, or the dreaded “File in use” errors because Windows locked a file. You got yourself into this.

Future Plans

• Possibly do a pvm upgrade --all that tries to upgrade every base package and every extension in one go. Because that definitely won’t break.
• Add an interactive “Are you sure? Y/N” for everything, because user prompts are fun.
• Possibly integrate with IIS. Don’t worry, if you do it, you’re truly unstoppable.

Conclusion

PVM: A comedic approach to doing everything Docker solves in a couple of lines – but natively on Windows, for that “old-school sysadmin” vibe. You’ll learn a lot about environment variables, .zip extractions, and the wonderful ways of Windows path resolution. Are you in?