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What is php-rfcs?

ramsey/php-rfcs — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2023-10-04

34PHPAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5DormantSetup · easy

In one sentence

An experimental repository testing whether PHP's RFC (proposal) process could move from forum-based voting to GitHub pull requests with inline comments, currently a one-off experiment and not an official or active PHP project.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      GitHub based RFCs
      Pull request proposals
      Inline comment discussion
    How it works
      Open a pull request
      Community comments
      Merge means accepted
    Benefits
      Better organization
      Threaded discussion
      Centralized visibility
    Status
      One off experiment
      Not officially adopted
      Not accepting PRs

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Study this as an example of using GitHub pull requests for structured proposal discussion instead of forum-based voting.

USE CASE 2

Read past proposals here to see how inline PR comments compare to traditional RFC forum threads.

USE CASE 3

Reference this experiment if you are designing a similar GitHub-based governance workflow for another open-source project.

What is it built with?

PHP

How does it compare?

ramsey/php-rfcshuydatvn/telegram-cloud-drivesmskit/smskit
Stars342929
LanguagePHPPHPPHP
Last pushed2023-10-04
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity1/53/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

This is a one-off experiment, not an official or active PHP project, pull requests are not currently being accepted.

No license information is mentioned in the explanation.

So what is it?

This repository is an experiment to test whether PHP's proposal process could work better on GitHub. Normally, new ideas for PHP go through a formal RFC (Request for Comments) process on the official PHP website, where people discuss changes in forums and vote on whether to adopt them. This project explores moving that discussion to GitHub instead, where proposals would be submitted as pull requests that anyone can comment on inline, like leaving notes directly next to the code or text you're reviewing. The way it works is straightforward: someone writes up their RFC idea and opens a pull request against this repository. Other developers can then read it and leave comments on specific parts they agree or disagree with. If the community decides the proposal is good, the pull request gets merged, signaling that the RFC was accepted. This approach lets people have more focused, threaded conversations about proposed changes compared to traditional forum discussions. The main benefit is better organization and visibility. GitHub's interface makes it easier to track what's been discussed, who said what, and why certain decisions were made. It also centralizes everything in one place rather than scattering comments across multiple pages on different websites. However, it's important to note that this is explicitly labeled as a one-off experiment. The creator acknowledges that the PHP community would need to have a separate conversation about whether they actually want to adopt this workflow long-term. The repository may be abandoned, and pull requests aren't currently being accepted. So while the idea is interesting for developers interested in how open-source governance could evolve, it's not an active or official PHP project yet.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how this experiment moves PHP's RFC process from forum discussion to GitHub pull requests with inline comments.
Prompt 2
Compare the tradeoffs of a GitHub pull-request-based proposal process versus a traditional forum RFC process, using this repo as an example.
Prompt 3
If I wanted to adopt a similar GitHub-based RFC workflow for my own open-source project, what would I need to set up based on this example?

Frequently asked questions

What is php-rfcs?

An experimental repository testing whether PHP's RFC (proposal) process could move from forum-based voting to GitHub pull requests with inline comments, currently a one-off experiment and not an official or active PHP project.

What language is php-rfcs written in?

Mainly PHP. The stack also includes PHP.

Is php-rfcs actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2023-10-04).

What license does php-rfcs use?

No license information is mentioned in the explanation.

How hard is php-rfcs to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is php-rfcs for?

Mainly developer.

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