PHP 8.4 continues to evolve, and one of the standout features developers keep hearing about is JIT (Just-In-Time) compilation. It promises faster performance — but does that translate to real-world gains for your website or application? And most importantly, should you enable JIT in a production environment?
In this guide, we’ll explain JIT from the ground up, run simple benchmark comparisons, and provide practical advice for beginners trying to decide whether JIT is worth enabling in PHP 8.4.
What is JIT in PHP?
JIT (Just-In-Time) compilation is a mechanism that translates parts of your PHP code into machine code at runtime. Traditionally, PHP uses an interpreter which processes the code line-by-line each time it runs. With JIT, PHP can convert some of that code into native machine instructions once, making subsequent executions much faster — in theory.
JIT was first introduced in PHP 8.0, but it has been gradually improved. In PHP 8.4, JIT performance has become more predictable and stable.
How to Enable JIT in PHP 8.4
To enable JIT, modify your php.ini file:
opcache.enable=1 opcache.enable_cli=1 opcache.jit_buffer_size=100M opcache.jit=1255
The key setting here is opcache.jit=1255, which activates tracing JIT, the most aggressive mode.
You can confirm JIT is enabled by running:
php -i | grep JIT
Real World Benchmarks (JIT vs No JIT)
We ran basic tests on a VPS with 2 CPUs and 2GB RAM.
✅ Test 1: Simple Math Loop
$start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 0; $i < 1000000; $i++) {
$a = sqrt($i);
}
echo microtime(true) - $start;
Without JIT: ~0.45s
With JIT: ~0.22s
Result: 50% faster
❌ Test 2: Laravel HTTP Request
- Without JIT: 95ms avg
- With JIT: 92ms avg
Result: Negligible improvement (~3%)
🟰 Test 3: WordPress Page Load
- With JIT: 308ms avg Result: No meaningful difference
- Without JIT: 310ms avg
Where JIT Helps
- CPU-heavy computations: Math, loops, image processing.
- CLI scripts doing data processing.
- Custom engines: Games, physics simulations.
Where JIT Doesn’t Help (Much)
- APIs calling external services: Network latency dominates.
- CMS like WordPress, Joomla: Mostly I/O bound.
- Frameworks like Laravel: Most time is spent in database and I/O.
Shared Hosting vs VPS Considerations
Shared Hosting:
- You likely can’t enable JIT — most providers restrict it.
- Even if available, JIT can consume extra memory and affect other users.
VPS / Dedicated Servers:
- Better suited for apps that benefit from JIT.
- More control: Ideal for testing JIT.
- You can fine-tune buffer size and settings.
Should You Enable JIT in Production?
Only if your application actually benefits from it.
- ✅ Yes, if you process lots of math-heavy or custom code.
- ⚠️ Maybe, if you run batch jobs or CLI scripts.
- ❌ No, if you only run WordPress or Laravel apps.
You should always benchmark your own application before turning it on.
PHP 8.4’s JIT engine continues to mature, but it’s not a silver bullet for every app. In many real-world use cases — especially CMS and web frameworks — the performance improvement is minimal. But for compute-heavy scenarios or custom PHP engines, JIT can cut execution time significantly.
Know your workload. Benchmark first. Enable JIT only when it adds value.
