The PHP Foundation
The PHP Foundation
The PHP Foundation exists to support, advance, and develop the PHP language. It's an organization with a budget and donors, but the vast majority of its effort comes from the work of volunteer members of the community.
PHP thrives when we all take part, and there are many ways to contribute, whether you write code or not. Below are the main opportunities to get involved, from our Special Interest Groups and community Discord to contributing to PHP itself and supporting the Foundation financially.
Whether you're an individual developer, a company that runs PHP, a community organizer, or any other kind of PHP community member, we'd love to include you.
Special Interest Groups are the primary way community members can participate in the work of the Foundation. Each group brings together community members and Foundation staff to tackle a documented gap in the PHP ecosystem, and most of the work happens out in the open, so you can jump in regardless of where you are in the world or how much time you have.
The easiest way to start is to fill out the general SIG interest form and let us know which group (or groups) you'd like to join. You can also drop into the SIG chats on our community Discord (see below), or connect asynchronously through each group's GitHub repository.
We've launched six SIGs. You're welcome in more than one.
Works to improve the security of the PHP ecosystem and help maintainers as AI-assisted vulnerability research becomes more common, by proactively identifying vulnerabilities, triaging reports, building tooling, and scanning projects across the ecosystem.
#ecosystem-security channel on the #phpc Discord, or email volker@thephp.foundation if you'd like a scan or have questions.Advocacy for PHP outside the PHP bubble. Ambassadors help tell the story of modern PHP—at local meetups, inside companies, and at open-source conferences—with shared talk assets, a "State of Modern PHP" deck, and CfP coordination. It's organized into three subgroups: Research, Marketing, and Speakers.
#php-ambassadors (plus #php-amb-research, #php-amb-marketing, and #php-amb-speakers) on the #phpc Discord, and contribute via the SIG-ambassadors repo.Improves the experience of new PHP users from first encounter through first deployment—identifying setup pain points, coordinating learning resources, documenting a clear "getting started" path, and exploring mentorship.
#the-php-foundation on the #phpc Discord for access to the SIG chats, and connect asynchronously in the SIG-onboarding repo.A venue for Post-Quantum Cryptography readiness and related cryptography conversations in PHP—mapping where cryptography lives across PHP core and the ecosystem, tracking upstream developments in OpenSSL and libsodium, and working toward a public readiness roadmap.
Connects user group leaders, meetup hosts, and conference organizers so they can tackle shared challenges—declining attendance, rising costs, finding sponsors and speakers—together. It also serves as a resource for anyone thinking of starting a local user group or conference.
Works to make the language, its documentation, and its learning resources more accessible across abilities, geographies, languages, and career stages—and supports maintainers in building healthy, inclusive communities, including help drafting codes of conduct.
For the bigger picture on why these groups exist and what each is working toward, read our 2026 strategy document.
Much of the Foundation's day-to-day community conversation happens on the #phpc Discord server, where the PHP Community Foundation hosts channels dedicated to our work:
#the-php-foundation — the general Foundation channel and your gateway to the SIG chats#ecosystem-security — security discussion with the Ecosystem Security Team#php-ambassadors, #php-amb-research, #php-amb-marketing, #php-amb-speakers — the PHP Ambassador Program and its subgroupsNew to the server? Use the invite link to join, then say hello.
You don't need to be a C developer to contribute to PHP. There are many ways to help, both inside PHP core and across the wider ecosystem:
For a thorough, friendly walkthrough of each of these—and where to turn when you get stuck—see our guide: How to contribute to PHP.
When you need to get unstuck, the PHP Community Discord has channels ranging from beginner questions (#php-src-help) to core development (#php-internals), and the internals mailing list is the canonical venue for development discussion.
For individuals and organizations without contributor time to spare, financial support is one of the most direct ways to help. It funds the developers and initiatives that keep PHP moving forward.
Want to keep up with what the Foundation is working on and spot new opportunities as they open?