rfay · Oct 22, 2026 · Oct 22, 2026 · Oct 22, 2026
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -30,14 +30,29 @@ jobs:
   tests:
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        ddev_version: [stable, HEAD]
+        # Each job builds one PHP version, which takes 10-15 minutes
+        ddev_version: [HEAD]
+        php: ["8.1", "8.4", "8.5", "8.6"]
+        runner: [ubuntu-latest]
+        include:
+          - ddev_version: stable
+            php: "8.5"
+            runner: ubuntu-latest
+          # Smoke tests on arm64, where users most need to build PHP themselves
+          - ddev_version: HEAD
+            php: "8.5"
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+          - ddev_version: HEAD
+            php: "8.6"
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04-arm
       fail-fast: false
 
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
 
     env:
       FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24: 'true'
       GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR: ${{ matrix.php }}
 
     steps:
       - uses: ddev/github-action-add-on-test@v2

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 This **experimental** add-on tries to address that need, although there are a number of caveats:
 
-1. The build done using this process uses the technique from [static-php-cli](https://github.com/crazywhalecc/static-php-cli) and full details are available there. It supports all the versions supported in the upstream repository, currently PHP 7.3-8.5.
+1. The build done using this process uses the technique from [static-php-cli](https://github.com/crazywhalecc/static-php-cli) and full details are available there. It builds PHP 8.1 and later, including PHP 8.6 pre-releases, see [Pre-release versions](#pre-release-versions). static-php-cli doesn't support PHP 7.x, and support for 8.0 and 8.1 is best-effort. The tests cover 8.1, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6.
 2. The build does not match the build done using the official DDEV php packages (which actually come from [deb.sury.org](https://deb.sury.org/).
 3. It does not provide Xdebug, so `ddev xdebug` doesn't work. `xhprof` isn't built by default, and `ddev xhprof` hasn't been tested with it. See [extension support](https://static-php.dev/en/guide/extension-notes.html).
 4. The resultant PHP binaries built here do not have the exact same extensions as the official DDEV PHP binaries, see [Extensions](#extensions).
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ This **experimental** add-on tries to address that need, although there are a nu
 ## Installation
 
 ```bash
-# Set your desired PHP version, when prompted, e.g., 8.0.10
+# Set your desired PHP version, when prompted, e.g., 8.4.10
 ddev add-on get rfay/ddev-php-patch-build
 ddev restart
 ```
@@ -65,12 +65,27 @@ These are not available:
 * `xdebug`: see the caveats above.
 * `xmlrpc`: not supported by static-php-cli.
 
+## Pre-release versions
+
+You can build the current release candidate of a PHP version that isn't released yet, such as `8.6.0RC4`:
+
+```bash
+ddev config --php-version=8.6
+ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version=8.6.0RC4
+ddev add-on get rfay/ddev-php-patch-build
+ddev restart
+```
+
+Only the current pre-release listed on [php.net](https://www.php.net/pre-release-builds.php) can be downloaded, so update `--static-php-version` when a new one comes out.
+
+For PHP 8.6, APCu is built from an unreleased commit because the latest APCu release doesn't support PHP 8.6. If your DDEV version doesn't support `php_version: 8.6`, use `8.5`; it only affects which `php.ini` is used.
+
 ## Advanced Customization
 
 You can choose a different PHP version with:
 
 ```bash
-ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version=8.0.10
+ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version=8.4.10
 ddev add-on get rfay/ddev-php-patch-build
 ddev restart
 ```

diff --git a/install.yaml b/install.yaml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ pre_install_actions:
 post_install_actions:
   - |
     if [ "${STATIC_PHP_VERSION:-}" = "" ]; then
-      printf "\n\nPlease enter the PHP patch version you want to use, like 7.4.23 or 8.0.10:"
+      printf "\n\nPlease enter the PHP patch version you want to use, like 8.4.10 or 8.5.12:"
     fi
   - |
     #ddev-description:Set PHP patch version

diff --git a/tests/test.bats b/tests/test.bats
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 #   bats ./tests/test.bats
 # To exclude release tests:
 #   bats ./tests/test.bats --filter-tags '!release'
+# To test another PHP minor version (default 8.5), as the CI matrix does:
+#   STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR=8.6 bats ./tests/test.bats
 # For debugging:
 #   bats ./tests/test.bats --show-output-of-passing-tests --verbose-run --print-output-on-failure
 
@@ -37,26 +39,51 @@ setup() {
   run ddev start -y
   assert_success
 
-  export CUSTOM_PHP_MINOR_VERSION="8.3.19"
+  # The PHP minor version to test is set by the CI matrix; build its newest release or pre-release
+  export STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR="${STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR:-8.5}"
+  export STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION="$(latest_php_version "${STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR}")"
+  assert [ -n "${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}" ]
+  echo "# Testing PHP ${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}" >&3
   printf "<?php\necho phpversion();\n" >index.php
   assert_file_exist index.php
   printf "<?php\necho ini_get('memory_limit'), ' ', ini_get('upload_max_filesize'), ' ', ini_get('zend.assertions');\n" >ini.php
   mkdir -p .ddev/php
   printf "upload_max_filesize = 7M\n" >.ddev/php/test.ini
 }
 
+# The project's web URL, which includes the router port when it isn't the default
+web_url() {
+  ddev describe -j | jq -r .raw.primary_url
+}
+
+# The newest release of a PHP minor version, or its current pre-release if there's no release yet
+latest_php_version() {
+  local version
+  version="$(curl -fsSL "https://www.php.net/releases/index.php?json&version=$1" | jq -r '.version // empty')"
+  if [ -z "${version}" ]; then
+    version="$(curl -fsSL "https://www.php.net/pre-release-builds.php?format=json" | jq -r --arg minor "$1." '.[] | objects | .release | objects | select((.version // "") | startswith($minor)) | .version' | head -n 1)"
+  fi
+  echo "${version}"
+}
+
+# Match DDEV's php_version to the static PHP so its php.ini and php-fpm configuration are used
+set_php_version() {
+  # DDEV v1.25.4 and older don't support php_version 8.6; 8.5 only changes which php.ini is used
+  ddev config --php-version="${STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || ddev config --php-version=8.5
+}
+
 health_checks() {
   run ddev php --version
   assert_success
-  assert_output --partial "PHP ${CUSTOM_PHP_MINOR_VERSION}"
+  assert_output --partial "PHP ${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}"
 
-  run curl -sf https://${PROJNAME}.ddev.site/
+  run curl -sf "$(web_url)/"
   assert_success
-  assert_output --partial "${CUSTOM_PHP_MINOR_VERSION}"
+  assert_output --partial "${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}"
 
   run ddev describe
   assert_success
-  assert_output --partial "Static PHP: ${CUSTOM_PHP_MINOR_VERSION}"
+  assert_output --partial "Static PHP: ${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}"
 
   run ddev php -m
   assert_success
@@ -87,7 +114,7 @@ unreleased_checks() {
   assert_success
   assert_output "-1 7M 1"
 
-  run curl -sf https://${PROJNAME}.ddev.site/ini.php
+  run curl -sf "$(web_url)/ini.php"
   assert_success
   assert_output "1024M 7M 1"
 
@@ -114,7 +141,8 @@ teardown() {
 @test "install from directory" {
   set -eu -o pipefail
 
-  run ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version="${CUSTOM_PHP_MINOR_VERSION}"
+  set_php_version
+  run ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version="${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}"
   assert_file_exist .ddev/.env.php-patch-build
 
   echo "# ddev add-on get ${DIR} with project ${PROJNAME} in $(pwd)" >&3
@@ -130,7 +158,12 @@ teardown() {
 @test "install from release" {
   set -eu -o pipefail
 
-  run ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version="${CUSTOM_PHP_MINOR_VERSION}"
+  # One release test is enough; the CI matrix runs it only in the default PHP job
+  if [ "${STATIC_PHP_TEST_MINOR}" != "8.5" ]; then
+    skip "release test only runs for PHP 8.5"
+  fi
+  set_php_version
+  run ddev dotenv set .ddev/.env.php-patch-build --static-php-version="${STATIC_PHP_TEST_VERSION}"
   assert_file_exist .ddev/.env.php-patch-build
 
   echo "# ddev add-on get ${GITHUB_REPO} with project ${PROJNAME} in $(pwd)" >&3

diff --git a/web-build/Dockerfile.php-patch-build b/web-build/Dockerfile.php-patch-build
@@ -31,9 +31,29 @@ chmod +x bin/spc
 bin/spc doctor --auto-fix
 rm -rf source/* buildroot/*
 
+PHP_SRC_URL="https://www.php.net/distributions/php-${STATIC_PHP_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+if ! curl -fsIL --retry 3 -o /dev/null "${PHP_SRC_URL}"; then
+  # Pre-release versions like 8.6.0RC4 are on downloads.php.net, listed by php.net
+  PHP_SRC_URL="$(curl -fsSL --retry 3 "https://www.php.net/pre-release-builds.php?format=json" | jq -r --arg v "${STATIC_PHP_VERSION}" '.[] | objects | .release | objects | select(.version == $v) | .files.gz.path' | head -n 1)"
+  if [ -z "${PHP_SRC_URL}" ]; then
+    echo "PHP ${STATIC_PHP_VERSION} not found on php.net, or not the current pre-release" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+IFS=. read -r PHP_MAJOR PHP_MINOR _ <<<"${STATIC_PHP_VERSION}"
+PHP_86_OR_LATER=false
+if (( PHP_MAJOR > 8 || (PHP_MAJOR == 8 && PHP_MINOR >= 6) )); then PHP_86_OR_LATER=true; fi
+
+CUSTOM_URLS=(-U "php-src:${PHP_SRC_URL}")
+if [ "${PHP_86_OR_LATER}" = true ] && [[ ",${STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS}," == *,apcu,* ]]; then
+  # The latest APCu release (5.1.28) doesn't build with PHP 8.6; this commit does
+  CUSTOM_URLS+=(-U "apcu:https://github.com/krakjoe/apcu/archive/ebbcd3d153df21eaee3395413de515a30b48ef05.tar.gz")
+fi
+
 # Retry because GitHub API release lookups fail intermittently; already-downloaded sources are skipped
 for attempt in 1 2 3; do
-  if bin/spc download --prefer-pre-built --for-extensions="${STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS}" -U "php-src:https://www.php.net/distributions/php-${STATIC_PHP_VERSION}.tar.gz"; then
+  if bin/spc download --prefer-pre-built --for-extensions="${STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS}" "${CUSTOM_URLS[@]}"; then
     break
   fi
   if [ "${attempt}" -eq 3 ]; then
@@ -47,8 +67,20 @@ done
 # opcache would normally be here but build fails: https://github.com/crazywhalecc/static-php-cli/issues/192
 if [[ ${STATIC_PHP_VERSION} =~ ^[89] ]]; then export STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS="${STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS},opcache"; fi
 
+# Skip patches for the micro SAPI, which isn't built; static-php-cli applies its PHP 8.0 patches to unknown versions like 8.6
+export SPC_MICRO_PATCHES=""
+
+# PHP 8.6 rejects the --with-pic option static-php-cli passes to configure, and needs --enable-pic instead
+if [ "${PHP_86_OR_LATER}" = true ]; then
+  export SPC_CMD_PREFIX_PHP_CONFIGURE="./configure --prefix= --with-valgrind=no --disable-shared --enable-static --disable-all --disable-phpdbg --enable-pic"
+fi
+
 # Scan our own conf.d and the project's .ddev/php directory for additional ini files
-bin/spc build "${STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS}" --build-cli --build-fpm --with-config-file-scan-dir=/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d:/mnt/ddev_config/php
+if ! bin/spc build "${STATIC_PHP_EXTENSIONS}" --build-cli --build-fpm --with-config-file-scan-dir=/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d:/mnt/ddev_config/php; then
+  # static-php-cli doesn't print the failing command's output, so show it here
+  tail -n 60 log/spc.shell.log >&2 || true
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 chown -R "${uid}:${gid}" /usr/local/src/static-php-cli
 EOF