PHP Manual Dash Docset Generator

Generate Dash docsets for the official PHP Manual in multiple languages, or build a complete php.net mirror locally.

Features

• Multi-language support — build docsets for all active PHP documentation translations.
• Comprehensive index coverage, including:
  • Classes, Interfaces, Enums, Exceptions
  • Methods, Functions, Keywords, Variables, Types, Operators
  • Extensions, Guides
  • Constants, Settings, Properties
• Optional exclusion of user-contributed notes for cleaner reference sets.
• Automatic repository updates from official PHP sources.
• Cross-platform support (macOS and Linux).
• Customizable output directory and verbose mode for debugging.

Installing pre-generated PHP docsets

You can install the prebuilt and automatically updated PHP docsets directly in Dash or Zeal by adding the following feed URLs:

Docset	Feed URL	Install
PHP (English)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_English.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Español)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Spanish.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Français)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_French.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Italiano)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Italian.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (日本語)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Japanese.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Português Brasileiro)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Brazilian_Portuguese.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Русский)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Russian.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Türkçe)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Turkish.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (Українська)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Ukrainian.xml	📚 Add to Dash
PHP (简体中文)	https://github.com/ElfSundae/dash-php/releases/download/docsets/PHP_-_Simplified_Chinese.xml	📚 Add to Dash

Usage

./generate.sh [LANG...] [OPTIONS]

Arguments:
  LANG          Language code(s) for the PHP Manual to generate.
                You can specify multiple languages separated by space.
                Supported languages: en de es fr it ja pt_BR ru tr uk zh
                (default: 'en')

Options:
  --mirror          Generate a php.net mirror instead of docsets.
  --no-usernotes    Exclude user-contributed notes from the manual.
  --skip-update     Skip cloning or updating PHP doc repositories.
  --output <dir>    Specify the output directory (default: './output').
  --verbose         Display verbose output.
  help, -h, --help  Display this help message.

Examples

Generate English docset:

./generate.sh

# or:
./generate.sh en

Generate multiple languages:

./generate.sh en zh fr

Generate php.net mirror:

./generate.sh en zh fr --mirror

Exclude user-contributed notes:

./generate.sh en zh --no-usernotes

Output

• Dash docsets are generated under:

  output/PHP_<lang>.docset
  

• php.net mirror will be located at:

  output/php.net
  

  You can run a local server:

  (cd output/php.net && php -S localhost:8080 .router.php)

Requirements

• macOS / Linux
• PHP (>= 8.2 recommended)
• git
• sqlite3
• xmllint
• rsync, wget — required only for generating a php.net mirror

License

MIT License © Elf Sundae

This project is independent of php.net but built entirely on its official documentation sources.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! You can improve indexing rules, or enhance the build process.