How to install other extension in it?

[xuanxuan1231]

Question

How to install other extension in it?
Like gd

[SchramlTim]

There are many requests like this @f3l1x . There seems to be a need for case specific runtimes.
I have two suggestions for this (I have read the other problems with the GD Extention, this is just an example):

1. we consider if it is possible to add the extensions in a plugin system. For this I would have imagined that build a NPM module for each extension and then references not only the amazon-linux-php package via package.json but also the desired extension.
   This could look like this:

"dependencies": {
    "@libphp/amazon-linux-2-v81": "latest",
    "@libphp/gd-v81": "latest"
},

To consider is that it is then necessary to generate the php.ini based on the packages that you have installed.

2. I would offer to write a pull request with a guide, how to create a runtime with the special extention. I think that this repo should be a general base and not cover all possible cases.

[f3l1x]

Hi @SchramlTim.

Ad 1) This could be a great way how to install extra packages. However, I am not sure if it would be still possible, because we need to fit to 50Mb lambda size.

Ad 2) We can have a manual for that. But creating a new runtime could be challenge for someone.

---

Ad 3) I heard that Vercel will support lambda layers someday. It could solve all troubles with these extensions. Just like brefphp do it.

Ad 4) I can imagine way there is a full-bloated-libphp package with all possible extensions and you can enable/disable them via ENV. Something like VERCEL_PHP_EXTENSIONS=json,pdo,gd or something like that. Going this way requires to track all extensions and their dependencies via ldd <extension.name.so> and add/remove files from resulting lambda compilation. It sounds as hardcore, but it's not that bad.

What do you think?

[SchramlTim]

Thanks for feedback!

1. I will sit down in the near future and sketch out a solution. Then I have also a better impression which things are drivers for the increased MB size.

2. Alright will do pull request with a basis for discussion

3. Unfortunately, I am too little in the Lambda game. I'll read in :)

4. Doesn't that also bump up against the lambda size limit? Otherwise I find the idea also very chic! The developer experience would thus lose complexity and push PHP for Vercel