Hex to PHP Integer Converter
Convert a hex value into a PHP integer literal — 0x-prefixed, with PHP's platform-dependent (almost always 64-bit) int size.
Built by
Swapnil SanghviFull-Stack Web Developer & WordPress Developer
Swapnil Sanghvi is a full-stack web and WordPress developer, UI designer, and full-time freelancer who builds and maintains Hex Calculator.
Further reading: hex — Stack Overflow
How PHP Represents Hex Literals
PHP accepts a 0x-prefixed hex literal directly as an integer — no suffix or cast needed, since PHP is dynamically typed and doesn't distinguish integer widths the way statically-typed languages do.
Where Hex to PHP Integer Actually Comes Up
Defining a Bitmask or Flag Constant
Pasting a hex bitmask from a spec or API documentation directly into PHP source as a readable integer constant.
const MASK = 0xFF00;
Working With Binary File Format Magic Numbers
Comparing bytes read from a file against a known hex magic number, written as a PHP integer literal for the comparison.
if ($bytes === 0x89504E47) { /* PNG */ }
Setting a Color or Style Constant
Defining a hex color value as a PHP integer constant for use in image generation libraries like GD, which often expect colors as packed integers.
$color = 0x2563EB;
Why Use This Calculator Instead of Doing It by Hand
- Produces a syntactically valid PHP hex literal instantly
- Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type gets sent anywhere
- Saves manually adding the 0x prefix and fixing letter case
- No suffix rules to remember, unlike statically-typed languages
Limitations
- Doesn't check the value against PHP_INT_MAX — a very large hex literal that exceeds it will silently become a float in PHP, which this calculator doesn't warn about.
- Doesn't insert PHP 7.4+ underscore digit separators — the output is a plain, ungrouped literal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PHP accept 0x hex literals directly?
Yes — 0xFF is a valid PHP integer literal, evaluating to 255, usable anywhere an integer is expected.
How big can a PHP integer be?
It depends on the platform, but on virtually every modern system PHP's int is 64-bit — check PHP_INT_MAX at runtime to confirm on your specific environment, since PHP has no fixed-width integer types the way C or Rust do.
What happens if a hex literal exceeds PHP_INT_MAX?
PHP automatically converts the value to a float instead of raising an error, silently losing integer precision for very large hex literals — worth watching for with 64-bit-range hex constants.
Can I use digit separators in a PHP hex literal?
Yes — PHP 7.4+ supports underscore separators, so 0xDEAD_BEEF is valid and equivalent to 0xDEADBEEF.