PHP ELS Plugin for Vito

A Vito plugin that integrates TuxCare Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) for PHP, allowing you to install and manage security-patched end-of-life PHP versions on your servers.

What It Does

Standard PHP versions reach end-of-life and stop receiving security patches. TuxCare PHP ELS provides continued security updates for these EOL versions. This plugin brings that support directly into Vito, letting you:

• Set up the TuxCare ELS repository on your servers using your license key
• Install PHP ELS versions as managed services (5.6, 7.0 - 7.4, 8.0 - 8.3)
• Install PHP extensions for any installed ELS version (e.g. mysqlnd, xml, gd)
• Create sites that run on PHP ELS versions with full Nginx and Caddy support
• Manage FPM pools with isolated per-site configurations for security
• Start, stop, restart PHP ELS FPM services like any other Vito service

PHP ELS versions are installed under /opt/alt/phpXY/ and run as alt-phpXY-fpm systemd services, completely separate from any system PHP installation.

Supported PHP Versions

Version	Package
8.3	alt-php83
8.2	alt-php82
8.1	alt-php81
8.0	alt-php80
7.4	alt-php74
7.3	alt-php73
7.2	alt-php72
7.1	alt-php71
7.0	alt-php70
5.6	alt-php56

Prerequisites

• A Vito instance with the plugin installed
• A TuxCare PHP ELS license key (get one here)
• A Debian/Ubuntu-based server managed by Vito

Installation

Install the plugin from Vito's admin panel:

1. Go to Admin > Plugins
2. Click Install from GitHub
3. Enter the repository URL for this plugin
4. Enable the plugin after installation

Usage (Web UI)

1. Set Up the TuxCare Repository

Before installing any PHP ELS version, you must register your license key:

1. Navigate to Servers > {Your Server} > Features
2. Find the PHP ELS feature
3. Click Setup Repository
4. Enter your TuxCare license key (format: XXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX)
5. Submit — this downloads and runs the official TuxCare repository installer

2. Install a PHP ELS Version

Once the repository is set up, install PHP ELS as a service:

1. Navigate to Servers > {Your Server} > Services
2. Select PHP ELS as the service type
3. Choose the desired version (e.g. 7.4)
4. Click install — this installs the alt-phpXY package along with MySQL extensions (alt-phpXY-mysql80, alt-phpXY-mysqlnd), enables MySQL modules (mysqlnd, mysqli, pdo_mysql), creates a default FPM pool, and starts the alt-phpXY-fpm service

3. Install PHP Extensions

1. Navigate to Servers > {Your Server} > Features
2. Find the PHP ELS feature
3. Click Install Extension
4. Select the PHP ELS version and enter the extension name (e.g. gd, xml, mysqlnd)
5. Submit — installs alt-phpXY-{extension} and restarts FPM

4. Create a Site Using PHP ELS

1. Navigate to Servers > {Your Server} > Sites
2. Click Create Site
3. Select PHP ELS Blank as the site type
4. Choose the PHP ELS version (only installed versions are shown)
5. Optionally set a web directory (e.g. public)
6. Submit — this creates an isolated user, configures an FPM pool, and generates the web server vhost

5. Manage PHP ELS Services

Installed PHP ELS versions appear in Servers > {Your Server} > Services where you can:

• Start / Stop / Restart / Reload the FPM service
• Uninstall the PHP ELS version (removes the package and disables the service)

Usage (API)

The plugin integrates with Vito's REST API. All API requests require a Sanctum token with the appropriate ability (read or write).

Authentication

Include your API token in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer {your-api-token}

Install PHP ELS as a Service

POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "type": "php-els",
  "version": "7.4"
}

List Services (including PHP ELS)

GET /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services

PHP ELS services appear with type: "php-els" in the response.

View a Specific Service

GET /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}

Start / Stop / Restart / Reload a PHP ELS Service

POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}/start
POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}/stop
POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}/restart
POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}/reload

All return 204 No Content on success.

Enable / Disable a PHP ELS Service

POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}/enable
POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}/disable

Uninstall a PHP ELS Service

DELETE /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/services/{service}

This stops the FPM service, removes the alt-phpXY packages, and deletes the service record.

Create a Site Using PHP ELS

POST /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/sites
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "type": "php-els-blank",
  "domain": "example.com",
  "els_php_version": "7.4",
  "web_directory": "public"
}

Field	Type	Required	Description
type	string	Yes	Must be php-els-blank
domain	string	Yes	The site domain
els_php_version	string	Yes	An installed PHP ELS version (e.g. 7.4)
web_directory	string	No	Relative path from /home/vito/{domain}/ (e.g. public)

List / View / Delete Sites

GET  /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/sites
GET  /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/sites/{site}
DELETE /api/projects/{project}/servers/{server}/sites/{site}

When a PHP ELS site is deleted, its isolated FPM pool configuration is automatically cleaned up.

Web Server Support

The plugin generates vhost configurations for both Nginx and Caddy.

Nginx

Requests are proxied to the PHP ELS FPM socket:

• Shared: unix:/run/alt-phpXY-fpm/php-fpm.sock
• Isolated: unix:/run/alt-phpXY-fpm/php-fpm-{user}.sock

Caddy

Uses php_fastcgi with the same socket paths as Nginx.

Site Isolation

When a site is created, the plugin:

1. Creates a dedicated OS user for the site
2. Generates an isolated FPM pool with open_basedir restrictions to /home/{user}/
3. Routes PHP requests through a per-user socket (php-fpm-{user}.sock)
4. Cleans up the FPM pool automatically when the site is deleted

File Structure

PhpEls/
├── Plugin.php              # Plugin entry point — registers services, site types, features
├── PhpEls.php              # Service handler — install/uninstall, FPM pool management
├── PhpElsBlank.php         # Site type — creates sites running on PHP ELS
├── Actions/
│   ├── SetupRepository.php # Server feature action — registers TuxCare repo
│   └── InstallExtension.php# Server feature action — installs PHP extensions
└── views/
    ├── ssh/
    │   ├── setup-repo.blade.php         # Shell script: TuxCare repo setup
    │   ├── install-els.blade.php        # Shell script: install alt-phpXY
    │   ├── uninstall-els.blade.php      # Shell script: remove alt-phpXY
    │   ├── install-extension.blade.php  # Shell script: install extension package
    │   └── fpm-pool-isolated.blade.php  # FPM pool config for isolated sites
    └── vhost/
        ├── nginx-php.blade.php          # Nginx PHP location block
        └── caddy-php.blade.php          # Caddy PHP fastcgi block

License

This plugin follows the same license as the Vito project (AGPL-3.0).