A Deep Dive into PHP's Internal Garbage Collection Mechanism

PHP's garbage collection mechanism is based on reference counting, but circular references need to be processed by a periodic circular garbage collector; 1. Reference count releases memory immediately when there is no reference to the variable; 2. Reference reference causes memory to be unable to be automatically released, and it depends on GC to detect and clean; 3. GC is triggered when the "possible root" zval reaches the threshold or manually calls gc_collect_cycles(); 4. Long-term running PHP applications should monitor gc_status() and call gc_collect_cycles() in time to avoid memory leakage; 5. Best practices include avoiding circular references, using gc_disable() to optimize performance key areas, and dereference objects through the ORM's clear() method, and ultimately ensuring efficient memory management to cope with complex scenarios.

PHP's garbage collection (GC) mechanism is often overlooked by developers who assume that, as a high-level scripting language, memory management is entirely abstracted away. While PHP does handle most memory cleanup automatically through reference counting, understanding its internal garbage collection process—especially how it deals with circular references and resource cleanup—can help optimize performance and avoid memory leaks in long-running scripts or complex applications.

Let's take a deep dive into how PHP manages memory and garbage collection under the hood.

How PHP Managements Memory: Reference Counting

At its core, PHP uses reference counting as the primary method for tracking and managing memory. Every variable in PHP is represented internally as a zval (Zend value), which holds the value and metadata like type and reference count.

Each time a variable is assigned or passed around, the reference count of its zval increases. When a variable goes out of scope or is unset, the reference count decreases. Once the count reaches zero, PHP immediately frees the associated memory.

For example:

 $a = "hello";
$b = $a; // refcount becomes 2
unset($a); // refcount drops to 1
unset($b); // refcount drops to 0 → memory freed

This system is efficient and determine—memory is freed as soon as it's no longer needed, except when circular references are involved.

The Problem: Circular References

Reference counting fails when circular references occur—when two or more objects refer to each other, creating a cycle that keeps their reference counts above zero, even when they're no longer accessible from the root of the application.

Example:

 class Node {
    public $parent;
}

$a = new Node();
$b = new Node();
$a->parent = $b;
$b->parent = $a;

unset($a, $b); // refcount doesn't reach zero due to cycle

Even though $a and $b are unset, each still holds a reference to the other, so their zval s never get cleaned up. This creates a memory leak .

This is where PHP's cyclic garbage collector comes in.

PHP's Cyclic Garbage Collector

To solve this, PHP implements a cyclic garbage collector that runs periodically to detect and clean up circular references. It was introduced in PHP 5.3 and works alongside reference counting.

How It Works

The GC doesn't run on every unset() or scope exit. Instead, it triggers under specific conditions:

• When the number of "possible root" zvals reach a threshold (default: 10,000).
• Or manually triggered via gc_collect_cycles() .

A "possible root" is a zval with a reference count > 0 that might be part of a cycle. When such objects are detected, they're added to a root buffer .

When the buffer fills up, PHP's GC runs a two-phase cycle detection algorithm:

1. Mark phase : Traverse all possible root objects and mark them as "grey".
2. Scan phase : For each object, decrement the reference count of its children. If a child's refcount remains > 0 but wasn't a root, it's part of a cycle.

Objects identified as part of a cycle are then cleaned up, and their memory is freed.

You can trigger this manually:

 gc_collect_cycles(); // Force GC run

And monitor it:

 var_dump(gc_enabled()); // bool(true)
var_dump(gc_status()); // Shows runs, collected, etc.

Performance Considerations

While the GC prevents memory leaks, it's not free:

• It adds overhead when tracking potential cycles.
• Running gc_collect_cycles() too frequently can degrade performance.
• In most web scripts (short-lived requests), the impact is negligible because memory is freed when the request ends.

However, in long-running PHP applications (eg, daemons, CLI workers, or Swoole-based servers), uncollected cycles can accumulate and cause memory bloat.

Best Practices

• Avoid circular references when possible (eg, use weak references or break cycles manually).
• Call gc_disable() in performance-critical sections if you're certain there are no cycles.
• Use gc_enable() and monitor gc_status() in long-running scripts to track collection.
• Profile memory usage with tools like memory_get_usage() and Xdebug.

Real-World Example: ORM Entities

Frameworks like Doctrine often create object graphs where entities reference each other (eg, User ↔ Profile). If not managed carefully, these can form cycles.

Solution:

• Use __destruct() to break references.
• Or rely on Doctrine's unit of work to manage object lifecycles and clear references after flush.

 function processUsers() {
    $users = $entityManager->getRepository(User::class)->findAll();
    foreach ($users as $user) {
        // process...
    }
    $entityManager->clear(); // Detach all objects
    gc_collect_cycles(); // Clean up any lingering cycles
}

Conclusion

PHP's garbage collection is a hybrid system:

• Reference counting handles most memory cleanup instantly.
• Cyclic GC steps in to clean up circular references, but only when necessary.

While most developers don't need to think about it during typical web request cycles, understanding this mechanism becomes critical when building long-running PHP applications or dealing with complex object graphs.

The key takeaway? PHP does have a garbage collector—but it's not a traditional tracing GC like in Java or Go. It's a targeted solution for cycles, working on top of reference counting.

So while you can mostly trust PHP to clean up after itself, being aware of circular references and using tools like gc_status() and gc_collect_cycles() give you finer control when needed.

Basically: reference counting does the heavy lifting, and the GC is the cleanup crew for the edge cases.

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