Extract text from PHP archives (PHAR)
To convert PHAR archives to another format, you need PHP or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "PHP Executable Archive" file type, you need software like PHP or a similar tool.
A .PHAR (PHP Archive) file is a packaged PHP application or library distributed as a single executable file. Similar to a Java JAR, it bundles scripts, images, configurations, and other resources into one package, greatly simplifying distribution and deployment for PHP projects. It is also the standard format for plugins used by the PocketMine-MP Minecraft server. You can execute or extract .PHAR files using the PHP command-line interface or programmatically via the built-in Phar class. Learn more about PHP on Wikipedia.
Despite their convenience for distribution, .PHAR files have severe disadvantages when it comes to editing or auditing code. They are compiled, mostly read-only archives that require a local PHP environment to execute or unpack. You cannot simply open a .PHAR in a standard text editor to modify the source code; doing so will expose unreadable binary data, a serialized manifest, and a shell script stub. Furthermore, creating or editing these files requires specific server configurations (such as setting phar.readonly = 0 in php.ini), adding friction to the development process.
Developers constantly need to convert or extract .PHAR files into standard archive formats like ZIP or TAR. This extraction process is necessary to access the raw PHP scripts, allowing direct code edits. Converting to a standard archive fully unpacks the internal directory structure, but it naturally breaks the file's single-file executable nature until you explicitly repackage it.
Because a .PHAR file relies on a highly specialized internal architecture - typically an executable shell script stub followed by binary serialized data - standard unzipping utilities often fail to open it. Often, only the original PHP environment can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PHAR file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ZIP, PHP, PDF, PO and SESSION files.
If you want to convert PHAR file to ZIP, EXE, MSI, APP, DMG, DEB, RPM, PKG, RUN, SH, BAT or CMD, you can use PHP or similar software from the "PHP Application Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert JAR, APP, SCR, IPA, COM, AAB, PS1, DMG, VBS, EXE, XAPK or MSI files to PHAR, try PHP or another comparable tool in the "PHP Application Archive" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PHAR converter.