How to Install IonCube Loader on Debian 13

IonCube Loader allows PHP to execute encrypted and encoded scripts—essential for many commercial PHP apps and CMS extensions. Debian 13 makes setup easy with just a few shell commands.

Step 1: Update Your System

Start with the latest package updates to ensure compatibility:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Check Your PHP Version

Confirm which PHP version is installed so you can download the right loader:

php -v

If PHP isn’t installed, add it first:

sudo apt install php php-cli php-common php-dev php-pear -y

Step 3: Download the Latest IonCube Loader

Navigate to the /tmp directory and grab the current IonCube release:

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

Step 4: Extract the Loader Files

Unpack the downloaded archive:

tar xzf ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz
cd ioncube

Step 5: Locate the PHP Extension Directory

Find where PHP extensions are stored:

php -i | grep extension_dir

Example output:

/usr/lib/php/20230831

Copy the matching IonCube file into that directory (adjust PHP version if needed):

sudo cp ioncube_loader_lin_8.3.so /usr/lib/php/20230831/

Step 6: Enable IonCube Loader

Open your main php.ini configuration file:

zend_extension = /usr/lib/php/20230831/ioncube_loader_lin_8.3.so

Save and exit (Ctrl + O, Enter, Ctrl + X).

Step 7: Restart Web Server

For Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

For Nginx with PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 8: Verify the Installation

Confirm IonCube is loaded:

php -v

Expected output includes:

with the ionCube PHP Loader (enabled)

Optional Step: Cleanup Temporary Files

Keep your VPS clean by removing installation files:

sudo rm -rf /tmp/ioncube /tmp/ioncube_loaders_lin_x86-64.tar.gz

You’re done — IonCube Loader is now active on Debian 13, ready for any encoded PHP project.