PHP Session library

PHP library for handling sessions.

Requirements
Installation
Available Classes
- Session Class
- Session Facade
Exceptions Used
Usage
Security Best Practices
Tests
TODO
Changelog
Contribution
Sponsor
License

Requirements

Operating System: Linux | Windows.
PHP: 8.0–8.5.

Installation

The preferred way to install this extension is through Composer.

To install PHP Session library, simply:

composer require josantonius/session

The previous command will only install the necessary files, if you prefer to download the entire source code you can use:

composer require josantonius/session --prefer-source

You can also clone the complete repository with Git:

git clone https://github.com/josantonius/php-session.git

Available Classes

Session Class

Josantonius\Session\Session

Starts the session:

/**
 * @throws HeadersSentException        if headers already sent.
 * @throws SessionStartedException     if session already started.
 * @throws WrongSessionOptionException if setting options failed.
 * 
 * @see https://php.net/session.configuration for List of available $options.
 */
public function start(array $options = []): bool;

Check if the session is started:

public function isStarted(): bool;

Sets an attribute by name:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function set(string $name, mixed $value): void;

Gets an attribute by name:

/**
 * Optionally defines a default value when the attribute does not exist.
 */
public function get(string $name, mixed $default = null): mixed;

Gets all attributes:

public function all(): array;

Check if an attribute exists in the session:

public function has(string $name): bool;

Sets several attributes at once:

/**
 * If attributes exist they are replaced, if they do not exist they are created.
 * 
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function replace(array $data): void;

Deletes an attribute by name and returns its value:

/**
 * Optionally defines a default value when the attribute does not exist.
 * 
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function pull(string $name, mixed $default = null): mixed;

Deletes an attribute by name:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function remove(string $name): void;

Free all session variables:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function clear(): void;

Gets the session ID:

public function getId(): string;

Sets the session ID:

/**
 * @throws SessionStartedException if session already started.
 */
public function setId(string $sessionId): void;

Update the current session ID with a newly generated one:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function regenerateId(bool $deleteOldSession = false): bool;

Gets the session name:

public function getName(): string;

Sets the session name:

/**
 * @throws SessionStartedException if session already started.
 */
public function setName(string $name): void;

Destroys the session:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public function destroy(): bool;

Session Facade

Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session

Starts the session:

/**
 * @throws HeadersSentException        if headers already sent.
 * @throws SessionStartedException     if session already started.
 * @throws WrongSessionOptionException if setting options failed.
 * 
 * @see https://php.net/session.configuration for List of available $options.
 */
public static function start(array $options = []): bool;

Check if the session is started:

public static function isStarted(): bool;

Sets an attribute by name:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function set(string $name, mixed $value): void;

Gets an attribute by name:

/**
 * Optionally defines a default value when the attribute does not exist.
 */
public static function get(string $name, mixed $default = null): mixed;

Gets all attributes:

public static function all(): array;

Check if an attribute exists in the session:

public static function has(string $name): bool;

Sets several attributes at once:

/**
 * If attributes exist they are replaced, if they do not exist they are created.
 * 
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function replace(array $data): void;

Deletes an attribute by name and returns its value:

/**
 * Optionally defines a default value when the attribute does not exist.
 * 
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function pull(string $name, mixed $default = null): mixed;

Deletes an attribute by name:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function remove(string $name): void;

Free all session variables:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function clear(): void;

Gets the session ID:

public static function getId(): string;

Sets the session ID:

/**
 * @throws SessionStartedException if session already started.
 */
public static function setId(string $sessionId): void;

Update the current session ID with a newly generated one:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function regenerateId(bool $deleteOldSession = false): bool;

Gets the session name:

public static function getName(): string;

Sets the session name:

/**
 * @throws SessionStartedException if session already started.
 */
public static function setName(string $name): void;

Destroys the session:

/**
 * @throws SessionNotStartedException if session was not started.
 */
public static function destroy(): bool;

Exceptions Used

use Josantonius\Session\Exceptions\HeadersSentException;
use Josantonius\Session\Exceptions\SessionException;
use Josantonius\Session\Exceptions\SessionNotStartedException;
use Josantonius\Session\Exceptions\SessionStartedException;
use Josantonius\Session\Exceptions\WrongSessionOptionException;

Usage

Example of use for this library:

Starts the session without setting options

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->start();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::start();

Starts the session setting options

Recommended configuration for an HTTPS application. Adjust it to your application's needs; see Security Best Practices.

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->start([
    'use_strict_mode' => true,
    'use_only_cookies' => true,
    'use_cookies' => true,
    'cookie_httponly' => true,
    'cookie_secure' => true,
    'cookie_samesite' => 'Lax',
]);

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::start([
    'use_strict_mode' => true,
    'use_only_cookies' => true,
    'use_cookies' => true,
    'cookie_httponly' => true,
    'cookie_secure' => true,
    'cookie_samesite' => 'Lax',
]);

Check if the session is started

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->isStarted();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::isStarted();

Sets an attribute by name

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->set('foo', 'bar');

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::set('foo', 'bar');

Gets an attribute by name without setting a default value

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->get('foo'); // null if attribute does not exist

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::get('foo'); // null if attribute does not exist

Gets an attribute by name setting a default value

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->get('foo', false); // false if attribute does not exist

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::get('foo', false); // false if attribute does not exist

Gets all attributes

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->all();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::all();

Check if an attribute exists in the session

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->has('foo');

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::has('foo');

Sets several attributes at once

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->replace(['foo' => 'bar', 'bar' => 'foo']);

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::replace(['foo' => 'bar', 'bar' => 'foo']);

Deletes an attribute and returns its value or the default value if not exist

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->pull('foo'); // null if attribute does not exist

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::pull('foo'); // null if attribute does not exist

Deletes an attribute and returns its value or the custom value if not exist

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->pull('foo', false); // false if attribute does not exist

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::pull('foo', false); // false if attribute does not exist

Deletes an attribute by name

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->remove('foo');

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::remove('foo');

Free all session variables

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->clear();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::clear();

Gets the session ID

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->getId();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::getId();

Sets the session ID

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->setId('foo');

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::setId('foo');

Update the current session ID with a newly generated one

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->regenerateId();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::regenerateId();

Update the current session ID with a newly generated one deleting the old session

Immediate deletion can disrupt concurrent requests. Read Security Best Practices before choosing this option.

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->regenerateId(true);

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::regenerateId(true);

Gets the session name

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->getName();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::getName();

Sets the session name

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->setName('foo');

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::setName('foo');

Destroys the session

use Josantonius\Session\Session;

$session = new Session();

$session->destroy();

use Josantonius\Session\Facades\Session;

Session::destroy();

Security Best Practices

The library uses PHP's session configuration, including settings from php.ini, ini_set() and session_set_cookie_params(). Options passed to Session::start() override those settings; omitted options keep their current values. Choose settings that suit your environment and application.

Session and cookie settings

Enable use_strict_mode to reject uninitialized session IDs. The built-in files handler supports it. Custom handlers need ID validation through SessionUpdateTimestampHandlerInterface::validateId() or the validate_sid callback.
Enable cookie_httponly to prevent JavaScript from reading the session cookie.
Use HTTPS throughout the authenticated application and enable cookie_secure so the cookie is sent only over secure connections. Secure cookies generally do not work over plain HTTP.
Keep use_only_cookies and use_cookies enabled to avoid exposing session IDs in URLs.

See PHP's session security settings.

Choose cookie_samesite according to your application's navigation and authentication flows:

Value	Behavior and compatibility
`Lax`	Sends cookies on same-site requests and top-level cross-site navigation using safe methods such as GET. Suitable for many applications, but can disrupt cross-site POST callbacks and embedded content.
`Strict`	Sends cookies only on same-site requests. Following a link from another site can initially omit the session cookie.
`None`	Allows cross-site cookies and requires `cookie_secure = true` in modern browsers. Older clients may interpret it differently, and third-party-cookie restrictions can still block it.

Keep CSRF protection and XSS prevention in place regardless of cookie settings. Check the browser compatibility details for the clients your application supports.

Optional partitioned cookies (PHP 8.5+)

cookie_partitioned enables cookies partitioned by top-level site (CHIPS), useful for some embedded services. It requires PHP 8.5+ and cookie_secure = true. Omitting it keeps PHP's configured value. On older PHP versions, supplying it throws WrongSessionOptionException, even as false. See the PHP reference.

Regenerate IDs at authentication boundaries

Call regenerateId() after verifying credentials or authorizing a privilege change, before saving the new identity or privileges. use_strict_mode does not replace regeneration. start() does not regenerate IDs automatically.

With an active $session and an $authenticatedUserId obtained by verifying credentials:

if (!$session->regenerateId()) {
    throw new RuntimeException('Session ID regeneration failed.');
}

$session->set('user_id', $authenticatedUserId);

regenerateId() keeps the old session data; regenerateId(true) deletes it immediately, which can disrupt concurrent requests or unstable connections. Manage old IDs with timestamps and a short, bounded transition period. New privileges must belong only to the new ID, and access through the old ID must expire independently of PHP's garbage collection. See PHP's session management guidance and regeneration examples.

PHP versions and changing defaults

PHP defaults can change between releases. The accepted PHP 8.6 RFC enables use_strict_mode and cookie_httponly by default and sets cookie_samesite to Lax. Existing configuration can override these values. Set the options your application needs explicitly, especially for custom session IDs or cross-site authentication. See Requirements for compatible PHP versions.

To report a vulnerability privately, see SECURITY.md.

Tests

To run tests you just need composer and to execute the following:

git clone https://github.com/josantonius/php-session.git

cd php-session

composer install

Run unit tests with PHPUnit:

composer phpunit

Run code standard tests with PHPCS:

composer phpcs

Run PHP Mess Detector tests to detect inconsistencies in code style:

composer phpmd

Run all previous tests:

composer tests

TODO

Add new feature
Improve tests
Improve documentation
Refactor code for disabled code style rules (see phpmd.xml and phpcs.xml)
Show an example of renewing the session lifetime
Feature to enable/disable exceptions?
Feature to add prefixes in session attributes?

Changelog

Detailed changes for each release are documented in the release notes.

Contribution

Please make sure to read the Contributing Guide, before making a pull request, start a discussion or report a issue.

Thanks to all contributors! ❤️

Sponsor

If this project helps you to reduce your development time, you can sponsor me to support my open source work 😊

License

This repository is licensed under the MIT License.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github		.github
src		src
tests		tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
composer.json		composer.json
phpcs.xml		phpcs.xml
phpmd.xml		phpmd.xml
phpunit.xml		phpunit.xml

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