How to Enable or Disable PHP Extensions

Managing PHP Extensions

PHP extensions provide additional functionality to your PHP applications. Some applications require specific extensions to function properly — for example, WordPress needs the mysqli extension for database access and gd or imagick for image processing.

Common PHP Extensions

• mysqli / pdo_mysql – MySQL database connectivity.
• gd – Image creation and manipulation.
• imagick – Advanced image processing with ImageMagick.
• curl – HTTP requests and API communication.
• mbstring – Multibyte string handling (essential for internationalisation).
• zip – Creating and extracting ZIP archives.
• xml / simplexml – XML parsing and manipulation.
• intl – Internationalisation functions.
• opcache – Bytecode caching for improved PHP performance.
• redis – Redis object caching (available on VPS plans).

How to Enable or Disable Extensions

1. Log in to DirectAdmin.
2. Navigate to Advanced Features > Select PHP Version.
3. You will see a list of available PHP extensions with checkboxes.
4. Tick the checkbox to enable an extension or untick it to disable.
5. Click Save to apply the changes.

Checking Which Extensions Are Active

To see which PHP extensions are currently loaded:

1. Create a file called phpinfo.php in your public_html directory with the content: <?php phpinfo(); ?>
2. Visit https://yourdomain.com/phpinfo.php in your browser.
3. Search the page for the extension name to check if it is loaded.
4. Important: Delete the phpinfo.php file after you are done, as it reveals sensitive server information.

Extension Not Available?

If you need an extension that is not available in the DirectAdmin interface, contact SillyHost support. On shared hosting, we can enable server-level extensions. On VPS plans, you have full control to compile and install custom extensions.