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zephir-lang
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zephir-lang/zephir

Zephir is a compiled high-level language aimed to ease the creation of C-extensions for PHP

PHP ◇ c MIT
★3.4KSTARS
⑂461FORKS
!55ISSUES
🏆#1,390GLOBAL RANK
🔥3DAYS TRENDING
🚀
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Star History

Continuous Observations
Interactive star growth chart for zephir-lang/zephir
CSV

Momentum

+85

STARS · LAST 30 DAYS

3

PER DAY

#101

MOST-STARRED PHP

Window7 days30 days90 days
Stars gained+21+85+270
Per day333
Forks gained+2+9+23

zephir gained 85 stars in the last 30 days, about 3 a day, and now has 3.4K. It is about 13 years old and has averaged roughly 260 stars a year. It ranks #101 among PHP repositories and #1,390 across all languages on GitHubRepo.

Trending Record

zephir has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #1463. Below is the 30-day activity profile:

💡 Overview

zephir is an open-source project written in PHP: Zephir is a compiled high-level language aimed to ease the creation of C-extensions for PHP.

Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in c, hacktoberfest, phalcon. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.

⚡ Key Features

1

Optimized execution pipeline written in PHP for predictable speed.

2

Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.

3

Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.

4

Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.

5

Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.

6

Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.

📥 Installation

terminal
$ git clone https://github.com/zephir-lang/zephir.git
cd zephir

⚙ System Requirements

Platforms

  • • macOS
  • • Linux
  • • Windows

Runtime & Dependencies

PHP >= 8.2 with Composer

Architecture

x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)

🧠 How It Works

zephir coordinates its core functionality through a modular PHP pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.

🎯 Production Use Cases

Production System Integration

Embed zephir into PHP backend services to handle core application logic.

CI/CD Automated Pipelines

Run automated validation, builds, and integration suites during deployments.

Developer Tooling & Workflows

Accelerate developer onboarding with pre-configured project utilities.

Open Source Extension

Fork and customize internal modules under the repository's open MIT license.

🚀 Getting Started

1

Install zephir using your package manager: `git clone https://github.com/zephir-lang/zephir.git`

2

Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for zephir.

3

Import zephir into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.

4

Execute your test suite or run `zephir --help` to verify successful setup.

👍 Strengths

Active community backing with 3,385 GitHub stars and verified adoption.
Permissive open-source distribution under the MIT license.
Built in PHP for high execution speed and developer familiarity.
Cross-platform compatibility across modern Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Clean modular design allowing flexible configuration and pipeline integration.

⚠️ Considerations

Requires familiarity with PHP and modern CLI workflows.
Ecosystem extensions may require manual configuration depending on environment constraints.
Active development roadmap means breaking API changes may occur across major versions.

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👥 Who Should Use This

Developers and engineering teams building with PHP, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.

🏆 Nearby in the Rankings

zephir-lang/zephir is currently ranked #1,390 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:

RankRepositoryLanguageStarsAction
#1,385 coveragepy/coveragepy Python ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,386 brefphp/bref PHP ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,387 lakehq/sail Rust ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,388 arnegiacomo/fugleramme Python ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,389 chrisvel/tududi JavaScript ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,390 zephir-lang/zephir This Project PHP ★ 3.4K
#1,391 airbnb/MagazineLayout Swift ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,392 directvt/vtm C++ ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
#1,393 Ataraxy-Labs/sem Rust ★ 3.4K Compare ↗
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Frequently Asked Questions

What does zephir do? +

Zephir is a compiled high-level language aimed to ease the creation of C-extensions for PHP

What language is zephir written in? +

The primary language is PHP. Topics include: c, hacktoberfest, phalcon, php, php-extension.

Is zephir actively maintained? +

Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 26, 2026 with 55 open issues being tracked.

How many stars does zephir have? +

zephir has 3,385 stars and 461 forks on GitHub.

How does zephir rank among GitHub repositories? +

With 3,385 stars, zephir-lang/zephir is ranked #1,390 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #101 among PHP projects.

What license is zephir distributed under? +

The repository reports a MIT license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.

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