- What is darkterminal/turso-php-installer used for?
- It is a provisioning tool that installs or compiles the native libSQL/Turso PHP extension into a PHP environment. It handles downloads, platform detection, and setup so you can start using local Turso databases. It is not a runtime library and does not provide Laravel container, Eloquent, or DBAL integration by itself.
- How do I install the Turso libSQL PHP extension with Composer?
- Require the package with Composer and run its installer as an explicit provisioning step, such as in a Dockerfile, CI job, or onboarding script. Pin the installer version and the PHP image tag together rather than relying on a hidden post-install command. After installation, register the extension in the correct php.ini and verify it is loaded.
- Does this package work with Laravel out of the box?
- No. The installer only gets the compiled native extension onto the host; it does not add a Laravel database driver, connector, or Eloquent integration. Laravel does not ship a libSQL driver, so you would need PDO configuration or a custom connector and likely custom schema/query grammar. Treat it as build and ops tooling rather than an application dependency.
- Which PHP versions and operating systems are supported?
- Support depends on the installer's current matrix and must match the exact PHP minor and patch ABI used by your runtime. Linux with glibc is the most likely path, while Alpine and musl are common breakage points; macOS and Windows support should be verified in the repository. Pin your PHP image tag and check the project's tested versions before adoption.
- How do I enable the libSQL extension after running the installer?
- Add extension=libsql.so to the php.ini used by the relevant SAPI, then confirm it appears in php -m and phpinfo output. Check CLI and FPM separately because installer scripts can succeed partially while the extension is not loaded in the SAPI your application actually uses. For container images, bake this configuration into the image at build time.
- Can I use Turso as my primary Laravel database driver?
- That is not recommended as a first step because Laravel does not include a maintained libSQL driver and you would need a custom connector plus schema and query grammar work. A safer pattern is to use Turso as an auxiliary read replica or edge-cache target alongside MySQL or Postgres. Promote it to primary only after the driver, operations, and failure modes are proven.
- Is it safe to use in production, and can I verify downloaded binaries?
- The package has high technical risk relative to its maturity, including a small community, a single maintainer, and supply-chain concerns if it downloads prebuilt artifacts. Pin the installer version and verify checksums or reproducible builds where possible, or build from source in a controlled environment. There is no vendor SLA, so your team must own patching and rollback planning.
- Does the installer work with Laravel Octane or RoadRunner?
- It can work only if the extension is loaded in the long-lived worker SAPI that Octane or RoadRunner uses, not just in CLI. Verify with php -m under the actual worker process and confirm the correct php.ini is loaded for that SAPI. ABI mismatches or a missing extension in the worker will cause runtime failures even when CLI looks fine.
- Are there alternatives to this installer for using Turso with PHP or Laravel?
- Alternatives include building the libSQL extension yourself, using PDO with a libSQL driver if available, or checking whether Turso offers an official PHP SDK that makes native extension provisioning unnecessary. You can also keep MySQL or Postgres as the primary database and use Turso only where its distributed-replica or edge model is a core requirement. The installer only solves the binary provisioning problem, not the Laravel driver story.
- How is the package maintained, and what are the main risks?
- It is MIT-licensed, community-only, and appears to have a bus factor of one, with a thin production user base. Main risks include ABI drift after PHP patch upgrades, partial installer failures that leave the extension unloaded, and unverified prebuilt binary provenance. Pin the installer commit or version with your PHP image and assign clear ownership for upgrades and emergency patching.