diff --git a/example/skel/.gitignore b/example/skel/.gitignore
index 72b1d08cc0..43db77f061 100644
--- a/example/skel/.gitignore
+++ b/example/skel/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 /target
 Cargo.lock
 /.vscode
-expand.rs
\ No newline at end of file
+expand.rs
+vendor
+composer.lock
diff --git a/example/skel/composer.json b/example/skel/composer.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fb8425595f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/skel/composer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+    "name": "rust/skel",
+    "license": "MIT OR Apache-2.0",
+    "authors": [
+        {
+            "name": "David Cole",
+            "email": "david.cole1340@gmail.com"
+        }
+    ],
+    "require": {
+        "psy/psysh": "^0.10.8"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/example/skel/src/lib.rs b/example/skel/src/lib.rs
index a474a80336..6939558262 100644
--- a/example/skel/src/lib.rs
+++ b/example/skel/src/lib.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ use ext_php_rs::{
         flags::MethodFlags,
         function::FunctionBuilder,
         module::{ModuleBuilder, ModuleEntry},
-        types::{array::ZendHashTable, long::ZendLong, object::ZendClassObject, zval::Zval},
+        types::{
+            array::ZendHashTable, long::ZendLong, object::ZendClassObject, string::ZendString,
+            zval::Zval,
+        },
     },
     ZendObjectHandler,
 };
@@ -133,12 +136,18 @@ pub extern "C" fn get_module() -> *mut ext_php_rs::php::module::ModuleEntry {
         .returns(DataType::Array, false, false)
         .build();
 
+    let iter = FunctionBuilder::new("skel_unpack", skel_unpack)
+        .arg(Arg::new("arr", DataType::String))
+        .returns(DataType::String, false, false)
+        .build();
+
     ModuleBuilder::new("ext-skel", "0.1.0")
         .info_function(php_module_info)
         .startup_function(module_init)
         .function(funct)
         .function(array)
         .function(t)
+        .function(iter)
         .build()
         .into_raw()
 }
@@ -178,3 +187,15 @@ pub extern "C" fn skeleton_array(execute_data: &mut ExecutionData, _retval: &mut
 pub extern "C" fn test_array(_execute_data: &mut ExecutionData, retval: &mut Zval) {
     retval.set_array(vec![1, 2, 3, 4]);
 }
+
+pub extern "C" fn skel_unpack(execute_data: &mut ExecutionData, retval: &mut Zval) {
+    let mut packed = Arg::new("arr", DataType::String);
+    parse_args!(execute_data, packed);
+
+    let zv = packed.zval().unwrap();
+    let val = unsafe { zv.binary::<f32>() };
+    dbg!(val);
+    //let v = vec![1i32, 2, 4, 8];
+    let v = [1i32, 2, 4, 8];
+    retval.set_binary(v);
+}
diff --git a/example/skel/test.php b/example/skel/test.php
index 84de41b76b..38a1703694 100644
--- a/example/skel/test.php
+++ b/example/skel/test.php
@@ -1,2 +1,7 @@
 <?php
-var_dump(test_array());
+
+include __DIR__.'/vendor/autoload.php';
+
+$x = pack('f*', 1234, 5678, 9012);
+var_dump(unpack('l*', skel_unpack($x)));
+dd($x);
diff --git a/src/php/mod.rs b/src/php/mod.rs
index 6b2805b616..aaf824c17a 100644
--- a/src/php/mod.rs
+++ b/src/php/mod.rs
@@ -9,4 +9,5 @@ pub mod execution_data;
 pub mod flags;
 pub mod function;
 pub mod module;
+pub mod pack;
 pub mod types;
diff --git a/src/php/pack.rs b/src/php/pack.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8c9a693809
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/php/pack.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+//! Provides implementations for converting to and from Zend binary strings, commonly returned
+//! from functions such as [`pack`] and [`unpack`].
+//!
+//! [`pack`]: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.pack.php
+//! [`unpack`]: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.unpack.php
+
+use super::types::string::ZendString;
+use crate::bindings::ext_php_rs_zend_string_init;
+
+/// Used to convert between Zend binary strings and vectors. Useful in conjunction with the
+/// [`pack`] and [`unpack`] functions built-in to PHP.
+///
+/// # Safety
+///
+/// The types cannot be ensured between PHP and Rust, as the data is represented as a string when
+/// crossing the language boundary. Exercise caution when using these functions.
+///
+/// [`pack`]: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.pack.php
+/// [`unpack`]: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.unpack.php
+pub unsafe trait Pack: Clone {
+    /// Packs a given vector into a Zend binary string. Can be passed to PHP and then unpacked
+    /// using the [`unpack`] function. Note you should probably use the [`set_binary`] method on the
+    /// [`Zval`] struct instead of this function directly, as there is currently no way to set a
+    /// [`ZendString`] on a [`Zval`] directly.
+    ///
+    /// # Parameters
+    ///
+    /// * `vec` - The vector to pack into a binary string.
+    ///
+    /// [`unpack`]: https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.unpack.php
+    /// [`Zval`]: crate::php::types::zval::Zval
+    /// [`ZendString`]: crate::php::types::string::ZendString
+    /// [`set_binary`]: crate::php::types::zval::Zval#method.set_binary
+    fn pack_into(vec: Vec<Self>) -> *mut ZendString;
+
+    /// Unpacks a given Zend binary string into a Rust vector. Can be used to pass data from `pack`
+    /// in PHP to Rust without encoding into another format. Note that the data *must* be all one
+    /// type, as this implementation only unpacks one type.
+    ///
+    /// # Safety
+    ///
+    /// This is an unsafe function. There is no way to tell if the data passed from the PHP
+    /// function is indeed the correct format. Exercise caution when using the `unpack` functions.
+    /// In fact, even when used correctly, the results can differ depending on the platform and the
+    /// size of each type on the platform. Consult the [`pack`](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.pack.php)
+    /// function documentation for more details.
+    ///
+    /// # Parameters
+    ///
+    /// * `s` - The Zend string containing the binary data.
+    unsafe fn unpack_into(s: &ZendString) -> Vec<Self>;
+}
+
+/// Implements the [`Pack`] trait for a given type.
+/// The first argument is the type and the second argument is the factor of size difference between
+/// the given type and an 8-bit integer e.g. impl Unpack for i32, factor = 4 => 4 * 8 = 32
+#[macro_use]
+macro_rules! pack_impl {
+    ($t: ty, $d: expr) => {
+        unsafe impl Pack for $t {
+            fn pack_into(vec: Vec<Self>) -> *mut ZendString {
+                let len = vec.len() * $d;
+                let ptr = Box::into_raw(vec.into_boxed_slice());
+                unsafe { ext_php_rs_zend_string_init(ptr as *mut i8, len as _, false) }
+            }
+
+            unsafe fn unpack_into(s: &ZendString) -> Vec<Self> {
+                let len = s.len / $d;
+                let mut result = Vec::with_capacity(len as _);
+                let ptr = s.val.as_ptr() as *const $t;
+
+                for i in 0..len {
+                    result.push(*ptr.offset(i as _));
+                }
+
+                result
+            }
+        }
+    };
+}
+
+pack_impl!(u8, 1);
+pack_impl!(i8, 1);
+
+pack_impl!(u16, 2);
+pack_impl!(i16, 2);
+
+pack_impl!(u32, 4);
+pack_impl!(i32, 4);
+
+pack_impl!(u64, 8);
+pack_impl!(i64, 8);
+
+pack_impl!(f32, 4);
+pack_impl!(f64, 8);
diff --git a/src/php/types/zval.rs b/src/php/types/zval.rs
index 5a4f207d60..f7c4e12fc5 100644
--- a/src/php/types/zval.rs
+++ b/src/php/types/zval.rs
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use crate::{
         zval,
     },
     errors::{Error, Result},
+    php::pack::Pack,
 };
 
 use crate::php::{
@@ -76,9 +77,11 @@ impl<'a> Zval {
             // We can safely cast our *const c_char into a *const u8 as both
             // only occupy one byte.
             unsafe {
-                let len = (*self.value.str_).len;
-                let ptr = (*self.value.str_).val.as_ptr() as *const u8;
-                let _str = std::str::from_utf8(slice::from_raw_parts(ptr, len as usize)).ok()?;
+                let _str = std::str::from_utf8(slice::from_raw_parts(
+                    (*self.value.str_).val.as_ptr() as *const u8,
+                    (*self.value.str_).len as usize,
+                ))
+                .ok()?;
 
                 Some(_str.to_string())
             }
@@ -87,6 +90,24 @@ impl<'a> Zval {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Returns the value of the zval if it is a string and can be unpacked into a vector of a
+    /// given type. Similar to the [`unpack`](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.unpack.php)
+    /// in PHP, except you can only unpack one type.
+    ///
+    /// # Safety
+    ///
+    /// There is no way to tell if the data stored in the string is actually of the given type.
+    /// The results of this function can also differ from platform-to-platform due to the different
+    /// representation of some types on different platforms. Consult the [`pack`](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.pack.php)
+    /// function documentation for more details.
+    pub unsafe fn binary<T: Pack>(&self) -> Option<Vec<T>> {
+        if self.is_string() {
+            Some(T::unpack_into(self.value.str_.as_ref()?))
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Returns the value of the zval if it is a resource.
     pub fn resource(&self) -> Option<*mut zend_resource> {
         // TODO: Can we improve this function? I haven't done much research into
@@ -262,6 +283,17 @@ impl<'a> Zval {
         self.u1.type_info = ZvalTypeFlags::StringEx.bits();
     }
 
+    /// Sets the value of the zval as a binary string.
+    ///
+    /// # Parameters
+    ///
+    /// * `val` - The value to set the zval as.
+    pub fn set_binary<T: Pack, U: AsRef<[T]>>(&mut self, val: U) {
+        let ptr = T::pack_into(val.as_ref().to_vec());
+        self.value.str_ = ptr;
+        self.u1.type_info = ZvalTypeFlags::StringEx.bits();
+    }
+
     /// Sets the value of the zval as a persistent string.
     /// This means that the zend string will persist between
     /// request lifetime.