PECL has long been the standard way to install PHP extensions, the C code that adds features to PHP outside of core. This RFC from James Titcumb says PHP should stop recommending PECL and point people to PIE, the PHP Installer for Extensions, instead.
What the RFC does
It changes the official advice, not the tools. There are two parts:
- PECL is deprecated as the recommended way to install extensions that don't ship with PHP.
- PIE becomes the recommendation for installing those extensions.
Where possible, PHP adds a deprecation notice to the places people meet PECL: the PECL website, the pecl command itself and the PHP manual. The notice says PECL is deprecated and that you should move to PIE. It links to the PIE GitHub repository, or to documentation on php.net once that exists.
Since it's a policy change, the RFC doesn't depend on a PHP release. If accepted, it takes effect right away.
What it means for you
Nothing breaks. The pecl tool and the pecl.php.net website keep working the way they do today.
The RFC doesn't set a shutdown date for PECL. It leaves that to a future RFC, which should also plan how to reach as many PECL users as possible before anything is turned off.
If you install extensions with PECL today, you can keep doing that. The official advice is now to try PIE.
The vote
Accepted. Voting closed on September 20, 2025 with 36 in favor, 0 against and 5 abstaining, well above the two-thirds majority it needed.