SourceCop · PHP source-code protection
SourceCop is the fastest way to protect and license your PHP applications before you ship them. Encode your source into a tamper-resistant, non-readable form from a native desktop app or your CI pipeline — so customers can run your code, but never read, copy, or strip out your license checks.
$ scop encode --in ./src --out ./dist --mode hybrid › Resolving 184 PHP files … › Transforming with loader + loaderless fallback … › Signing build with project key … ✓ 184 files protected · scop-loader-php8.2.so bundled · loaderless fallback included $ scop license issue --customer acme-co --domain acme.com --expires 2027-06-03 ✓ license-acme-co.lic issued · domain-locked · 1-year term · signed offline
Built for PHP vendors who ship paid plugins, themes, and extensions
What you get
Built for PHP vendors who sell software customers self-host — paid plugins, on-prem SaaS, commercial extensions, agency work. Stop shipping plain-text source.
Encode PHP source into a non-readable, tamper-resistant form. Your logic and algorithms stay yours. We're honest about it: protection raises the cost of reverse-engineering — it doesn't make it impossible. Loaderless covers most commercial use cases; native loader tier for the strongest protection.
Bind protected builds to a customer's domain, expiry date, machine, or hardware fingerprint. License files are signed offline — no vendor server required, no phone-home unless you want it. Stop unlicensed redistribution without breaking shared hosting.
Loaderless fallback runs on any standard PHP host — no extension to install, no root access required. Native loader tier for stronger protection where you can install it. One codebase, one encode, every deployment target.
How it works
From plain-text source to a protected, licensed build in under two minutes — on your machine or in CI.
Open the native desktop app and pick your project, or run scop encode in CI. Pick loaderless, native loader, or hybrid — SourceCop builds the protected output and signs it with your project key.
Issue a per-customer license bound to a domain, expiry date, machine, hardware fingerprint, or feature set. License files are signed offline — your customers' servers verify locally, no callback to you required.
Drop the protected build on customer hosting — Apache, nginx, shared, managed, anywhere standard PHP runs. Loaderless deployments need zero server config; loader deployments install once.
Native desktop encoder
SourceCop is a native desktop encoder for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Your source never leaves the box you encode on. Same encoder core is
available headlessly as the scop CLI for CI pipelines.
Encode & export
→ /Users/dana/code/acme-billing/dist
./dist 0.3s Native desktop encoder (preview) — macOS · Windows · Linux
Project & source
/Users/dana/code/acme-billing · PHP 8.3
License options
Signed offline with project key acme-billing-2026
Verified locally on the customer's server
No phone-home. License file travels with the protected build.
Encode & export
→ /Users/dana/code/acme-billing/dist
./dist 0.3s Pricing
Start with a full Pro trial — no credit card, no feature limits, no dark patterns. After 14 days, encoded output stops working on your customers' machines until you subscribe. Pick the tier that fits.
Trial
Full Pro — free for 14 days. No credit card required. Encoded output stops working after day 14 without a subscription.
scop CLIscop CLIPro
For the indie vendor shipping a paid PHP product.
scop CLIBusiness
For teams selling to multiple customers with advanced licensing needs.
Need a self-hosted licensing server, a custom loader build, or an SLA? Email us — we'll quote it honestly.
Trial is real: no card to start. After 14 days without a subscription, encoded output expires on your customers' machines — no dark patterns, just an honest cutoff.