PHP 8.5 URI Extension

PHP 8.5 introduces a built-in URI extension for parsing and modifying URIs according to modern standards. It provides dedicated classes instead of relying only on string operations or parse_url().

Create an RFC 3986 URI

Example:

<?php

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;

$uri = new Uri(
    'https://example.com/docs/page?lang=en'
);

echo $uri->getHost();

Output:

example.com

The URI object keeps the components structured, so you can read them without manually splitting strings.

Read URI Components

Example:

<?php

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;

$uri = new Uri(
    'https://example.com:8443/products?id=15#details'
);

echo $uri->getScheme() . PHP_EOL;
echo $uri->getHost() . PHP_EOL;
echo $uri->getPort() . PHP_EOL;
echo $uri->getPath();

Component methods make code clearer when routing, validation, logging, or link rewriting depends on one part of a URI.

Modify a URI

The URI APIs use immutable-style operations: a modification returns a new object instead of unexpectedly changing the existing value.

Example:

<?php

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;

$original = new Uri('https://example.com/docs');

$updated = $original->withPath('/tutorials');

echo $updated->toString();

Output:

https://example.com/tutorials

RFC 3986 and WHATWG URLs

PHP 8.5 supports APIs for both RFC 3986 URIs and WHATWG-style URLs. Choose the model that matches the data you are handling rather than assuming every URI follows browser URL rules.

Why Use the URI Extension?

• Component access is explicit.
• Parsing follows defined standards.
• Modification does not require fragile string replacement.
• Application code can distinguish URI models intentionally.

Do not treat successful parsing as proof that a remote URL is safe to request. Network security checks such as allowed hosts and private-address restrictions are separate concerns.

Conclusion

The PHP 8.5 URI extension gives applications structured, standards-aware URI handling. Use it when code needs to inspect or rewrite schemes, hosts, paths, queries, or other URI components reliably.