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<Phar::createDefaultStubPhar::decompressFiles>
^PharLast updated: Mon, 26 Oct 2026

Phar::decompress

(PHP 5 >= 5.3.0, PHP 7, PHP 8, PECL phar >= 2.0.0)

Phar::decompress — Decompresses the entire Phar archive

Description

public function Phar::decompress(?string $extension = null): ?Phar

Note:

This method requires the php.ini setting phar.readonly to be set to 0 in order to work for Phar objects. Otherwise, a PharException will be thrown.

For tar-based and phar-based phar archives, this method decompresses the entire archive.

For Zip-based phar archives, this method fails with an exception. The zlib extension must be enabled to decompress an archive compressed with gzip compression, and the bzip2 extension must be enabled in order to decompress an archive compressed with bzip2 compression. As with all functionality that modifies the contents of a phar, the phar.readonly INI variable must be off in order to succeed.

In addition, this method automatically changes the file extension of the archive, .phar by default for phar archives, or .phar.tar for tar-based phar archives. Alternatively, a file extension may be specified with the second parameter.

Parameters

extension

For decompressing, the default file extensions are .phar and .phar.tar. Use this parameter to specify another file extension. Be aware that all executable phar archives must contain .phar in their filename.

Return Values

A Phar object is returned on success, and null on failure.

Errors/Exceptions

Throws BadMethodCallException if the phar.readonly INI variable is on, the zlib extension is not available, or the bzip2 extension is not enabled.

Changelog

Version Description
8.0.0 extension is now nullable.

Examples

Example #1 A Phar::decompress() example

<?php
$p = new Phar('/path/to/my.phar', 0, 'my.phar.gz');
$p['myfile.txt'] = 'hi';
$p['myfile2.txt'] = 'hi';
$p3 = $p2->decompress(); // creates /path/to/my.phar
?>

See Also


<Phar::createDefaultStubPhar::decompressFiles>
^PharLast updated: Mon, 26 Oct 2026