How to use the PassKit PHP SDK

The QuickStart includes examples for:

This guide will help you configure your credentials, run the PHP QuickStart and test the included examples.

Before using the PHP QuickStart, you will need:

You can check that PHP, Composer and the gRPC extension are available by running:

The PHP QuickStart requires the gRPC PHP extension.

If grpc was not listed when running php -m, install it using PECL:

Once installed, find the active PHP configuration file:

Make sure the active php.ini contains:

Restart your terminal after enabling the extension.

For platform-specific installation instructions, refer to the official gRPC PHP documentation.

The PHP QuickStart is available from the PassKit PHP QuickStart repository.

Clone the repository:

Then install the project dependencies:

Alternatively, download the repository as a ZIP from GitHub, extract it, open a terminal in the extracted folder and run composer install.

The PassKit SDK uses SDK credentials to securely authenticate with the PassKit API.

To generate and download your SDK credentials:

When generating your SDK credentials, you will be asked to create a password. This password encrypts your private key and is separate from your PassKit account password.

For PHP, you will need:

The key-java.pem file is not required for PHP.

Create a folder named certs in the root of the QuickStart repository and add your three SDK credential files.

Your project should contain:

The credential files are ignored by Git and should not be committed to source control.

The PHP gRPC client requires an unencrypted private key.

Rather than replacing your original encrypted key.pem, create a decrypted copy.

From the root of the QuickStart repository, run:

When prompted, enter the password you created when generating your PassKit SDK credentials.

You should now have:

Keep both the original and decrypted private keys secure.

Create your local .env file by copying .env.example:

Open .env and configure the QuickStart to use your decrypted private key:

The credential paths should be configured as:

Your .env file and credential files are ignored by Git and should not be committed to source control.

Your QuickStart must connect to the API region associated with your PassKit account.

You can find your API region under Developer Tools → API Region in your PassKit account.

Set PASSKIT_ADDRESS in .env to the appropriate gRPC endpoint.

For Europe:

For the United States:

The default gRPC port is:

Make sure the API region matches the region shown in your PassKit account.

Once your dependencies, credentials and .env file have been configured, you can run one of the four complete QuickStart workflows.

You can also use the shorter Composer commands:

Each workflow creates the resources it needs, performs common PassKit API operations in the correct order, outputs wallet pass URLs and then cleans up the resources it created.

When a workflow successfully issues a pass, the QuickStart outputs a PassKit pass URL.

Open the URL on a compatible mobile device to add the pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

If you open the URL on a desktop, you can use the displayed QR code to open the pass on your phone.

Each workflow demonstrates common operations available through the PassKit PHP SDK.

The loyalty workflow demonstrates common operations for creating and managing membership and loyalty programs, including:

The coupons workflow demonstrates common operations including:

The event tickets workflow demonstrates common operations including:

The flights workflow demonstrates common operations including:

The flights workflow requires an Apple Wallet certificate to be uploaded to your PassKit account.

Add the Pass Type Identifier for your Apple Wallet certificate to .env:

Replace the example value with the Pass Type Identifier for your own Apple Wallet certificate.

By default, the QuickStart cleans up the test resources created during each workflow.

If you want to inspect the generated resources in your PassKit account, set:

in your .env file before running the workflow.

When this is enabled, the resources will remain in your account and you will need to remove them manually.

For normal QuickStart use, leave:

If you want the QuickStart to send an issued pass to an email address, set:

in your .env file.

For example:

Leave the value empty if you do not want to send a welcome email.

In addition to the complete workflows, the QuickStart contains individual PHP scripts for demonstrating specific PassKit API operations.

These are available in the product folders:

The individual scripts can be useful when you want to understand the request required for a specific API operation.

Run individual scripts from the repository root and check the file before running it. Some scripts require you to provide IDs or other values for existing PassKit resources.

The complete Composer workflows are recommended when getting started because they create the required dependent resources in the correct order.

Once you have successfully run a QuickStart workflow, you can use its implementation as a reference when building your own PHP application.

The QuickStart provides a shared PassKitApi interface that gives you access to PassKit functionality for:

This provides a developer-friendly interface for common operations while still allowing access to the underlying generated SDK clients when required.

The repository includes several checks that do not make calls to your PassKit account.

Run the tests with:

You can also run:

These can be useful when modifying the QuickStart or using its code as the basis for your own integration.

Check that PHP 8.2 or later and Composer are installed:

Make sure both commands are available from your terminal.

Check whether the PHP gRPC extension is enabled:

If it is missing, check which configuration file your command-line version of PHP is using:

The PHP configuration used by your terminal can be different from the configuration used by a web server.

Confirm that your certs folder contains:

Also check that the paths configured in .env match the location of these files.

When running the OpenSSL command, use the password you created when generating your SDK credentials.

This is separate from your PassKit account password.

If you no longer have the password, generate a new set of SDK credentials.

Check Developer Tools → API Region in your PassKit account and confirm that PASSKIT_ADDRESS matches your region.

Use:

for Europe or:

for the United States.

Also make sure certificate.pem, key.pem and ca-chain.pem came from the same set of SDK credentials.

Confirm that an Apple Wallet certificate has been uploaded to PassKit and its Pass Type Identifier has been added to:

Check the terminal output for any cleanup errors.

Also check the value of:

If it is set to true, generated resources are intentionally retained.

Once you have successfully run the PHP QuickStart, you can use the workflows and individual examples as a reference when implementing PassKit in your own PHP application.

For additional methods, request fields and response definitions, refer to the PassKit developer documentation.