Set up ionCube Loader on Rocky Linux 8

This tutorial intends to teach you to Set up PHP ionCube Loader on Rocky Linux 8.

IonCube Loader is a full-scale PHP extension used to read and execute files encoded at run time. It manages software written using the PHP programming language. The source code of the software is protected by the ionCube loader. It prevents unlicensed views, changes, and running of code on unauthorized computers. Encoding is done after compiling it to byte code to reduce the burden and drop the source code.

Steps To Set up PHP ionCube Loader on Rocky Linux 8

To complete this guide, you must log in to your server as a root user and follow the steps below. To do this, you can follow this guide on Initial Server Setup with Rocky Linux 8.

Install PHP and Apache on Rocky Linux 8

First, you need to update your local package index with the following command:

dnf update -y

Then, use the command below to install Apache:

dnf install httpd -y

You need to install PHP 8.1 on your server. To do this, you can visit this guide on Setting Up PHP 8.1 on Rocky Linux 8.

Verify your PHP installation by checking its version:

php --version

Output
PHP 8.1.18 (cli) (built: Apr 11 2023 16:47:45) (NTS gcc x86_64)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.1.18, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies

Install ionCube Loader on Rocky Linux 8

At this point, you can follow the steps below to install ionCube on your server.

Download ionCube Loader

Visit the ionCube Loader downloads page and get the latest version by using the following wget command:

wget https://downloads.ioncube.com/loader_downloads/ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz

When your download is completed, extract your downloaded file with the following command:

tar xzf ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz

List ionCube content directory

Then, use the following command to list the content of the ionCube directory on Rocky Linux 8:

ls ioncube

Output
ioncube_loader_lin_4.1.so     ioncube_loader_lin_5.6_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.2.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.0.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.3.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.0_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.3_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.1.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.4.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.1_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_4.4_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.2.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.0.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.2_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.0_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.3.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.1.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.3_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.1_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_7.4.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.2.so     ioncube_loader_lin_7.4_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.2_ts.so  ioncube_loader_lin_8.1.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so     ioncube_loader_lin_8.1_ts.so
ioncube_loader_lin_5.3_ts.so  LICENSE.txt
ioncube_loader_lin_5.4.so     loader-wizard.php
ioncube_loader_lin_5.4_ts.so  README.txt
ioncube_loader_lin_5.5.so     USER-GUIDE.pdf
ioncube_loader_lin_5.5_ts.so  USER-GUIDE.txt
ioncube_loader_lin_5.6.so

Enable ionCube Loader in PHP

At this point, you need to find the location of the extension directory. To do this, you can use the following command:

php -i | grep extension_dir

Output
extension_dir => /usr/lib64/php/modules => /usr/lib64/php/modules

Next, copy the ionCube loader module from the ionCube directory that matches your PHP version to the PHP extension directory:

cp ioncube/ioncube_loader_lin_8.1.so /usr/lib64/php/modules/

Then, you need to enable the ionCube loader by editing the php.ini file. You can use your favorite text editor, here we use the vi editor:

vi /etc/php.ini

Add the following line at the end of the file:

zend_extension = /usr/lib64/php/modules/ioncube_loader_lin_8.1.so

When you are done, save and close the file.

Finally, restart Apache to apply the changes:

systemctl restart httpd

Verify ionCube Loader PHP module on Rocky Linux 8

At this point, you can verify your ionCube loader PHP module by checking the PHP version:

php -v

If everything is ok, you should get the following output:

Output
PHP 8.1.18 (cli) (built: Apr 11 2023 16:47:45) (NTS gcc x86_64)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.1.18, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with the ionCube PHP Loader v12.0.5, Copyright (c) 2002-2022, by ionCube Ltd.

Also, you can use the following command:

php -m

Output
...
[Zend Modules]
the ionCube PHP Loader

The above output confirms that the PHP ionCube extension is loaded on your server.

Conclusion

At this point, you have learned to Set up PHP ionCube Loader on Rocky Linux 8.

Hope you enjoy it. You may be interested in these articles:

Install and Use Flatpak on Rocky Linux 8

Find php.ini File Location on Linux