PHP Runtime Generation 2
The second generation of Pantheon's PHP runtime provides added security and updated extensions.
Overview
The latest generation of Pantheon's serverless PHP runtime represents our commitment to providing a modern, secure, and efficient PHP runtime for your websites.
The previous generation was removed in April 2026.
What's included?
- Long Term Support (LTS) coverage for EOL PHP versions (PHP 5.6+)
- Better CMS functionality via updated PHP extensions
- PHP 8.4 and 8.5 availability
Rollout Timeline
| Phase | Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | May - September 16, 2025 | Environments could be opted-in. All other environments remained on the previous generation. |
| New Sites | September 17, 2025 | New sites created on the platform use PHP Runtime Generation 2. |
| Gen 2 Rollout | September 24 - November 20, 2025 | A 60-day rollout gradually upgraded sites to PHP Runtime Generation 2. An opt-out is available. |
| Gen 1 Removal | April 6 - 17, 2026 | PHP Runtime Generation 1 is no longer be available. All remaining sites are auto-upgraded. |
Current Phase Details
We are currently upgrading any opted-out sites to PHP Runtime Generation 2.
| Start Date for Auto-Upgrades | Site Plans | Environments |
|---|---|---|
| April 6, 2026 | All Plans | Dev/Multidevs |
| April 13, 2026 | All Plans | Test/Live |
Once the Dev environment for a site has been upgraded to Generation 2, deploying commits from Dev to Test will automatically upgrade the Test environment to Generation 2 as well. Following this pattern, an upgrade to the Live environment takes place once commits are deployed from the Test to Live environment.
Known Changes and Requirements
OS Packages
| Package | Gen 1 | Gen 2 |
|---|---|---|
| IBM PHP ODBC Driver | Available for PHP 7.4-8.2 | Available |
| Microsoft ODBC Driver 17 and 18 for SQL Server | — | Available for PHP 8.2+ |
| wkhtmltopdf | Available | Not available - switch to dompdf |
| Apache Tika | 1.18, 1.21 | 3.2 |
| PhantomJS | 1.7.0, 2.1.1 available | Not available |
PHP Extensions
| Extension | Gen 1 | Gen 2 |
|---|---|---|
| ioncube | Available for PHP 7.1 only | Not available |
| sqlsrv | Available for PHP 7.2 only | Available for PHP 8.3+ 5.13.0 |
| pdo_sqlsrv | Available for PHP 7.2 only 5.2.0 | Available for PHP 8.3+ 5.13.0 |
| curl | v7.61.1 | 7.88.1 |
| gd | 2.1.0 | 2.3.3 |
| iconv | 2.28 | 2.36 |
| mongodb | 1.14 | 2.1.1 |
| openssl | 1.1.1k | 3.0.17 |
| pdo_pgsql | 13.5 | 15.14 |
| pdo_sqlite | 3.26.0 | 3.40.1 |
| pgsql | 13.5 | 15.14 |
| redis | 5.3.7 Compression types: zstd | 6.3.0 Compression types: zstd, lzf, lz4 |
| sqlite3 | 3.26.0 | 3.40.1 |
Networking
| Protocol | Gen 1 | Gen 2 |
|---|---|---|
| TLS | 1.0-1.3 | 1.2-1.3 1 |
1 Review the TLS documentation to check which version of TLS your external connections are using, and how to ensure you are compatible with TLS 1.2+.
Reporting Issues
Contact support if you encounter any issues with PHP Runtime Generation 2. Provide a detailed report and include "PHP Runtime Generation 2" in your message.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can I determine which PHP runtime a site environment is using?
The PHP runtime is set at the environment-level. You can find out which generation an environment with the following methods:
- Use the Terminus command
terminus env:info <site>.<env>. This requires Terminus 4.0.2+ - Use the Terminus command
env:list <site> --fields=id,php_runtime_generation,php_version. This requires Terminus 4.1.0+ - View your site on the Pantheon Dashboard, navigate to the environment's Status page, then review the Software Versions block
Q: Can I be excluded from the removal of PHP Runtime Generation 1?
All sites on Generation 1 will be auto-upgraded to Generation 2 starting April 6, 2026, if they haven't already. The rollout will not have an exclusion policy for the auto-upgrades.