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Phel is a functional programming language that compiles to PHP — a modern Lisp dialect inspired by Clojure and Janet, bringing functional elegance and expressive code to PHP development.

Try Phel with Docker Read Documentation

See Phel in Action

# Define a namespace
(ns my\example)

# Create a variable
(def my-name "world")

# Define a function
(defn print-name [your-name]
  (print "hello" your-name))

# Call the function
(print-name my-name)

Key Features of Phel

Built for modern PHP development with functional programming principles

Built on PHP Ecosystem

Runs on the PHP ecosystem with access to all existing libraries

  • • Seamless PHP interoperability
  • • Access to Composer packages
  • • Familiar deployment patterns

Immutable Data Structures

Built-in persistent data structures like Lists, Vectors, Maps, and Sets

  • • Structural sharing for performance
  • • Thread-safe by default
  • • Minimal, readable Lisp syntax

Macro System

Advanced metaprogramming capabilities for code generation

  • • Powerful macro system
  • • Code as data philosophy
  • • Extensible language constructs

Interactive REPL

Interactive REPLs for iterating and prototyping

  • • Live code evaluation
  • • Rapid prototyping
  • • Interactive development

Lisp-inspired Syntax

Clean, expressive, and easy to pick up syntax

  • • Minimal, readable syntax
  • • Homoiconicity benefits
  • • Expressive and concise

Modern Tooling

Comprehensive development tools and ecosystem

  • • Plugin support
  • • Package management
  • • Testing frameworks

Why Choose Phel for Functional Programming in PHP?

Phel started as an experiment in writing functional PHP and quickly turned into its own thing.

A Lisp-inspired functional language
That runs on affordable PHP hosting
That's expressive, debug-friendly, and easy to pick up

If you've ever wished PHP was a bit more... functional, Phel is for you.

Try Phel Instantly with Docker

No setup? No problem. You can run Phel's REPL right away:

docker run -it --rm phellang/repl
# To update to the latest version of Phel:
# docker pull phellang/repl

Try Phel animation