What Is the Hades PHP Obfuscator?
Hades is an open source PHP obfuscator designed to make your PHP source code hard to read and reverse–engineer, while keeping the original behavior of your application intact.
Why You Should Protect Your PHP Source Code
Unprotected PHP scripts can easily be copied, modified, or resold without your permission. By obfuscating your code you help protect your business logic, reduce casual code theft, and make it harder for attackers to understand how your application works.
PHP Obfuscation vs PHP Code Encryption
Encryption hides code by turning it into unreadable data that must be decrypted at runtime, while obfuscation keeps the code executable but rewrites it into a form that is extremely difficult to interpret. Hades focuses on safe, practical PHP obfuscation that fits directly into your existing deployment workflow.
Key Features of the Hades PHP Obfuscator
- Obfuscate variable, function, and class names for stronger protection.
- Optional obfuscation of string literals to hide sensitive strings and logic hints.
- Support for PHP 5.2 up to PHP 7.3, suitable for legacy and modern projects.
- Single-line output option to compress your code and make it harder to read.
- Automatic removal of uploaded files after processing for better privacy.
⚠ Shuffle Statements: This option can change the order of some statements and may cause errors in code that
relies on specific execution order, such as complex try/catch/finally blocks. Enable it only if you have tests
and can verify the obfuscated output.
How to Use This PHP Obfuscator Online
- Choose whether to upload a PHP file or paste your PHP code directly into the editor.
- Select the obfuscation options that match your needs (variables, functions, classes, strings, shuffle, single line).
- Click “Obfuscate Now” and wait for the tool to process your script.
- Review the obfuscated code in the preview area, then download it or copy it to the clipboard.
FAQ About PHP Code Protection and Obfuscation
Is the obfuscated code still safe to run in production?
Yes. Hades is designed so that the obfuscated code preserves the original functionality of your PHP script. However, you should always keep backups and run your own tests before deploying to production.
Do you store my uploaded PHP files?
Uploaded files are stored temporarily only for processing and are deleted automatically after the obfuscation is complete or after a short period of time. You should still avoid uploading extremely sensitive data such as credentials.
Can I self-host Hades PHP Obfuscator?
Hades is distributed under the MIT License, so you can review the source code, self-host the tool, and integrate it into your own build pipelines, subject to the terms of that license.