**Tags:** "Hello World" Examples · PHP # PHP Hello world A minimal [PHP](https://www.php.net/) application paired with [PostgreSQL](https://zerops.io) on [Zerops](https://zerops.io), demonstrating database connectivity, idempotent migrations, and six ready-made environment configurations spanning the full development lifecycle. ### Available Environments - [AI Agent](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=ai-agent) - [Remote (CDE)](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=remote-cde) - [Local](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=local) - [Stage](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=stage) - **Small Production** ← current - [Highly-available Production](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=highly-available-production) ### Services in this Environment **Services:** - **core** (core@1) - Containers: 1 × Shared Core, 0.00 GB RAM, 0 GB Disk - **app** (php-apache@8.5) - Containers: 2 × Shared Core, 0.38 GB RAM, 1 GB Disk - Repository: [zerops-recipe-apps/php-hello-world-app](https://github.com/zerops-recipe-apps/php-hello-world-app) - **db** (postgresql@18) :5432, :6432 - Containers: 1 × Shared Core, 0.38 GB RAM, 1 GB Disk **Total Resources:** 4 containers, 1.12 GB RAM, 3 GB Disk ### One-Click Deploy (Import YAML) Use this YAML with `zcli project import` to deploy this environment: ```yaml # Small production environment offers a production-ready setup # optimized for moderate throughput. project: name: php-hello-world-small-prod services: # Production app — always runs at least 2 containers for availability # and load distribution. Zerops starts new containers alongside old ones # during deploys (zero-downtime by default), then removes old containers # from the project balancer once the new ones pass the readiness check. # The 'buildFromGit' repo triggers the initial build; subsequent deploys # use 'zcli push' or git integration. - hostname: app type: php-apache@8.5 zeropsSetup: prod buildFromGit: https://github.com/zerops-recipe-apps/php-hello-world-app enableSubdomainAccess: true # minContainers: 2 ensures at least 2 containers are always running — # traffic is distributed across them and one container failure doesn't # take the service down. minContainers: 2 # Zerops auto-scales RAM within these bounds. minFreeRamGB reserves # headroom for PHP-FPM workers and request spikes — without it the # container hits minRam immediately and risks OOM restarts. verticalAutoscaling: minRam: 0.25 minFreeRamGB: 0.125 # PostgreSQL single-node database with automatic encrypted backups # enabled by default. For production traffic with strict durability # requirements, consider HA mode (mode: HA) or your own backup strategy. # Priority 10 ensures the database is ready before app containers start. - hostname: db type: postgresql@18 mode: NON_HA priority: 10 ``` --- ## Next Steps After deploying one of the environments and getting to know Zerops, you have two paths to choose from: 1. **Template Flow** — Clone our GitHub repositories and use the whole recipe as a template 2. **Integrate Flow** — If you already have an existing application on a similar stack, integrate the recipe setup with your application Select a flow: [Template Flow](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=small-production&guideFlow=template) or [Integrate Flow](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=small-production&guideFlow=integrate) Both flows are shown below: ## How to take over the Small Production environment ### 📦 Clone the template repositories Fork or clone the following repositories to your local machine or GitHub account: - [zerops-recipe-apps/php-hello-world-app](https://github.com/zerops-recipe-apps/php-hello-world-app) ### 1. Find your service name Many commands and configurations need the exact name of your service. You can find it in the Zerops Dashboard. - Open your project in the Zerops Dashboard. - In the project overview, find the service you want to manage. - Use this exact name whenever a command or pipeline configuration asks for ``. Zerops GUI: Locating the Service Name ### 2. Configure deployment pipeline Go to Service Settings > Pipelines & CI/CD Settings in the Zerops Dashboard and connect your repository. For production, use a trigger on new tags. This keeps deployments intentional and tied to a specific version. You can also add a regex filter, such as `^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$`, if you want to allow only semantic version tags. Zerops GUI: Triggers Alternatively, add `zcli push` to your existing CI/CD pipeline if you want full control over when deployments happen. Learn more about pipeline triggers: https://docs.zerops.io/features/pipeline ### 3. Deploy to production Create and push a new Git tag to deploy a specific version of your app: ```bash git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0" git push origin v1.0.0 ``` > [!TIP] > Open the pipeline detail in the Zerops Dashboard to check the build progress and verify that all steps finish successfully. ### 4. Configure autoscaling Review the autoscaling settings for your runtime services and databases in Service Settings > Automatic Scaling Configuration in the Zerops Dashboard. Zerops GUI: Autoscaling configuration The most important settings are: ```yaml verticalAutoscaling: minRam: 1 minFreeRamGB: 0.5 minFreeRamPercent: 20 ``` > [!CAUTION] > Pay attention to `minFreeRamGB`. This value tells Zerops when to scale RAM vertically. Adjust it based on your app’s real memory needs. RAM scales up immediately, while CPU scales after two consecutive measurements below the threshold. > [!TIP] > Run a quick stress test with a tool like hey before real users arrive. This helps you see how your app behaves under load and tune the autoscaling settings. ### 5. Set up your domain To send real traffic to your app, configure public HTTP access in Service Settings > Public Access & Internal Ports in the Zerops Dashboard. Add your custom domain and point your DNS records to the Zerops IPs shown in the dashboard: Zerops GUI: Public access and custom domain ```text Type Name Content TTL A example.com Auto AAAA example.com Auto ``` For wildcard domains, add a CNAME record for SSL validation. Check the public access documentation: https://docs.zerops.io/features/access > [!TIP] > When changing DNS records for production, start with a low TTL value. Make sure SSL certificates are active before you disable the fallback Zerops subdomain. Once everything works, you can disable the Zerops subdomain so all traffic goes through your custom domain. --- ### 🎉 You are good to go! Your application is live in production and the core setup is complete. The following sections are optional. They cover extra production features such as log forwarding, backups, and diagnostic access. You can stop here and come back later when you need them. --- ### 6. Set up log forwarding (Optional) To send logs to an external service, go to Project Settings > Log Forwarding & Logs Overview in the Zerops Dashboard. You can forward logs to services like Better Stack, Papertrail, or your own self-hosted solution. Learn more about log forwarding: https://docs.zerops.io/references/logging ### 7. Configure database backups (Optional) Manage automated encrypted backups in Service Settings > Backups in the Zerops Dashboard. By default, backups run daily between 00:00 and 01:00 UTC. Before a major deployment, create a manual protected backup: ```bash zcli backup create --tags pre-deploy,protected ``` Read the backup documentation for more options: https://docs.zerops.io/features/backup ### 8. Set up diagnostic access (Optional) Use zCLI and VPN access when you need to inspect or maintain services directly. For runtime services: ```bash zcli vpn up ssh .zerops ``` For databases, connect through the VPN to reach the project’s private network, or set up secure direct IP access for your database admin tools. Check the VPN documentation: https://docs.zerops.io/references/cli/commands#vpn-up ## How to integrate app with Zerops ### 1. Adding `zerops.yaml` The main application configuration file you place at the root of your repository. It tells Zerops how to build, deploy, and run your application. ```yaml zerops: # Production setup — optimized Composer install, minimal deploy footprint. - setup: prod build: base: php@8.5 buildCommands: # Install production dependencies only; --no-dev excludes test tools, # --optimize-autoloader builds a classmap for faster class resolution. - composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader deployFiles: - ./index.php - ./migrate.php # vendor/ holds the Composer autoloader (and any packages you add). - ./vendor # Cache vendor/ between builds — Composer restores unchanged packages # from cache, skipping redundant network fetches on every deploy. cache: - vendor # Readiness check: new containers must answer HTTP 200 on port 80 # before the project balancer routes traffic to them. This is what # enables zero-downtime deploys (temporaryShutdown: false by default). deploy: readinessCheck: httpGet: port: 80 path: / run: base: php-apache@8.5 # PHP-FPM starts via the php-apache base image default (foreground mode). # Apache runs alongside it as an OS-level service. # No 'start' needed here — the base image default handles it. # Run migration exactly once per deploy, regardless of container count. # initCommands run per container before traffic is accepted; zsc execOnce # ensures one container executes the migration and all others wait. # --retryUntilSuccessful handles brief DB startup delays on first deploy. initCommands: - zsc execOnce ${appVersionId} --retryUntilSuccessful -- php migrate.php envVariables: # DB_NAME matches the PostgreSQL service hostname — a static value, # not a generated variable (Zerops names the database after hostname). DB_NAME: ${db_dbName} # The remaining vars reference generated credentials from the 'db' # service. Pattern: ${hostname_key} → e.g., ${db_hostname}, ${db_port}. DB_HOST: ${db_hostname} DB_PORT: ${db_port} DB_USER: ${db_user} DB_PASS: ${db_password} # Dev setup — deploys full source for live development via SSH. # PHP is interpreted per-request: edit files in /var/www and changes # take effect immediately — no rebuild or container restart required. - setup: dev build: base: php@8.5 buildCommands: # Install all dependencies including dev packages, so the developer # has testing and debugging tools available after SSH. - composer install deployFiles: # Deploy the entire working directory — source files, vendor/, # and zerops.yaml so 'zcli push' works from the dev container. - ./ cache: - vendor run: base: php-apache@8.5 initCommands: # Migration runs once per deploy — DB is ready when SSH session starts. - zsc execOnce ${appVersionId} --retryUntilSuccessful -- php migrate.php envVariables: DB_NAME: db DB_HOST: ${db_hostname} DB_PORT: ${db_port} DB_USER: ${db_user} DB_PASS: ${db_password} # PHP-FPM is the Zerops-managed process for php-apache services — # omitting 'start' uses the base image default, which runs PHP-FPM # in foreground mode. Apache runs alongside it as an OS service. # SSH in and edit PHP files in /var/www; changes take effect on the # next request without any restart. ``` ### 🎯 What's next? **Deploy other environments** — Ready to scale? Deploy additional environments for different stages of your workflow: - [AI Agent](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=ai-agent) - [Remote (CDE)](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=remote-cde) - [Local](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=local) - [Stage](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=stage) - [Highly-available Production](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/php-hello-world.md?environment=highly-available-production) ## Knowledge Base ### Platform Reference - [Routing & Domains](https://docs.zerops.io/features/access) - [Scaling](https://docs.zerops.io/features/scaling) - [Environment Variables](https://docs.zerops.io/features/env-variables) - [CLI (zcli)](https://docs.zerops.io/references/cli) ### Service Type Reference **PostgreSQL** - [Connect](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/connect) - [Backup & Restore](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/backup) - [Manage](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/manage) - [Scale](https://docs.zerops.io/postgresql/how-to/scale) --- ## Related Recipes - [Laravel minimal](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/laravel-minimal.md) - [Laravel showcase](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/laravel-showcase.md) - [Bun Hello World](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/bun-hello-world.md) - [Go Hello World](https://app.zerops.io/recipes/go-hello-world.md)