Run PHP on Android — On-Device, No Server

PHP usually implies a server: install a stack, configure a host, then run. On a phone that's a non-starter. PocketCode bundles a real PHP interpreter (a WebAssembly runtime) and runs your .php scripts on the device — instantly, with no server to set up.

Real PHP, running locally

A genuine PHP interpreter (PHP 8.2) ships inside the app. Open a .php file, tap Run, and it executes on your device:

• The everyday language — variables, arrays, functions, string and array helpers, loops, echo/print — runs as real PHP.
• Output and errors stream into a proper console, just like php script.php on a desktop.
• It runs on the device and nothing leaves it. (The app needs a connection to sign in; opening the app with a session already started works offline.)

What it's great for

• Learning and practicing PHP — work through exercises and examples anywhere.
• Scripting — parse text, reshape data, generate output, run a quick calculation.
• Prototyping logic — test a function's behavior before you wire it into a bigger project.

The editor adds syntax highlighting and a built-in formatter (see the code editor guide) and a symbol bar so $, >, [ and ] aren't buried in the keyboard. There is no one-tap PHP language server: it only works if your project brings intelephense in its own node_modules.

The honest limits

• CLI-style PHP, run locally. It executes scripts the way the PHP command line does — it's not a hosted web server serving pages over HTTP.
• Standard interpreter, no package round-trip. Run your own code; think PHP without a Composer install step.
• No network by default. PHP runs as a WebAssembly module: it can't open network connections unless you turn on Allow network in WASM engines in Run with arguments.
• Phone-scale performance. Fine for scripts and learning; heavy workloads belong on a server.

Within those lines, it's real PHP, on the phone in your hand.

One of many

PHP is one of the languages bundled inside the app from first launch — alongside Python, JavaScript, C, Ruby, TypeScript, Java and Kotlin — with Lua, Go and Rhai as optional packs. See the full lineup.

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Your phone runs real PHP — private, no server required.

PocketCode is available on Google Play. Get PocketCode to run it on your own device.