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Install PHP 8 for Apache and NGINX on Ubuntu

Published by Jeff Novotny
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PHP is one of the building blocks of the modern internet. It is a free, open-source scripting language that typically runs on a web server and can be integrated into regular HTML code. PHP is fast, flexible, and can interact with databases, forms, and file systems. This guide provides a brief introduction to PHP and explains how to install, configure, upgrade, and test it.

What is PHP?

PHP was originally developed in 1994 for web development. PHP stood for Personal Home Page, but it has been updated as a recursive acronym that stands for PHP: Hypertext Pre-processor. It runs on all major operating systems, and all major web servers support it. The Zend Engine is typically used to compile PHP into source code. Taken together, the two components are known as “Zend PHP”. PHP is available at no cost under the PHP License .

PHP efficiently interacts with databases and can auto-generate files, PDFs, images, and media clips. It is compatible with many protocols and other programming languages through its extensive library. PHP supports functions, arrays, and object-oriented programming, but does not allow for the use of pointers.

The newest version of PHP is version 8. It was released in November 2020, although version 7.4 is still supported and widely used. PHP 8 delivers many new features, including just-in-time compilation, typing changes, and syntax additions. Many changes have also been made to the standard library.

PHP is mainly used for three different purposes:

  • Server-side scripting: This is the most common use for PHP. PHP can run as an interpreted programming language on a web server such as Apache or NGINX. The server processes the PHP code and uses it to generate a web page or HTML response for the client.
  • Command-line scripting: PHP can run as a stand-alone application using the PHP parser. The resulting scripts can be launched as cron jobs or used for text/file processing.
  • Application development: PHP is less commonly used for stand-alone development. In conjunction with the PHP-GTK extension, it can create desktop or cross-platform applications, complete with a GUI.

PHP functions like most interpreted programming languages. It contains a rich selection of control structures and is easy to learn and use. The following code snippet demonstrates how PHP can be used to embed a “Hello, World!” fragment inside HTML.

File: helloworld.html
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<body>

    <?php
        echo "Hello, World!";
    ?>

</body>

PHP code is introduced with <?php, and terminated with ?>. Your PHP code can also be written as a separate file and called from an HTML page. The official PHP website offers a simple tutorial that introduces the basics of coding with PHP. More advanced users should consult the Official PHP Documentation , which provides information on control structures, classes, and objects.

Advantages of PHP

PHP has become widely used in web development for the following reasons:

  • It features very good performance compared to other web technologies, especially when used in conjunction with the Apache webserver. PHP loads and compiles quickly.
  • PHP is an open-source technology and is available at no cost.
  • It can be easily integrated into HTML code.
  • PHP includes many libraries and frameworks, allowing it to work with other languages and technologies.
  • It can interact with all popular databases. When used with the MySQL database, PHP can quickly execute complex queries.
  • PHP is easy to learn and use. In terms of syntax, it is similar to other popular programming languages.
  • It is a mature technology with a large community of users. The PHP documentation is professional and comprehensive.
  • PHP integrates particularly well with WordPress, which is also written in PHP.
  • Because PHP scripts run on the server, they are invisible to the client. The client only receives the end result of the transaction. This behavior improves website and server security.

PHP has only a few disadvantages. Some of these drawbacks include a lack of libraries for new specializations such as machine learning and some security vulnerabilities. However, PHP security has been improved in recent versions.

Before You Begin

  1. If you have not already done so, create a Linode account and Compute Instance. See our Getting Started with Linode and Creating a Compute Instance guides.

  2. Follow our Setting Up and Securing a Compute Instance guide to update your system. You may also wish to set the timezone, configure your hostname, create a limited user account, and harden SSH access. Do not follow the Configure a Firewall section yet as this guide includes firewall rules specifically for an OpenVPN server.

  3. PHP is usually used in conjunction with a web server. An Apache or NGINX web server should already be installed on the Linode. See the Linode guides for Apache or NGINX for more information. Instructions for both servers are included in this guide. If ufw is enabled, ensure it allows web server access.

Note
The steps in this guide are written for non-root users. Commands that require elevated privileges are prefixed with sudo. If you are not familiar with the sudo command, see the Linux Users and Groups guide.

Add the PHP Repository

The following instructions are geared toward Ubuntu version 20.04, but are generally applicable for most Linux distributions. Before proceeding, ensure all packages are updated with sudo apt update.

Most Linux distributions include a PHP module in the default system package. In most cases, however, version 7.4 is still the default. To determine the current version of the default PHP package, run the command sudo apt list php. If this displays a reference to version 8.0, the correct packages are already present.

sudo apt list php

Listing... Done
php/focal 2:7.4+75 all

If version 8 is not yet available, install the ondrej Personal Package Archive (PPA). This archive, which was developed by Ondřej Surý, provides access to all recent versions of PHP.

  1. Add the ondrej/php repository using APT.

     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

    Co-installable PHP versions: PHP 5.6, PHP 7.x and most requested extensions are included. Only Supported Versions of PHP (<http://php.net/supported-versions.php>) for Supported Ubuntu Releases (<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases>) are provided.

  2. Add the ondrej PPA for Apache.

     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/apache2

    To add the ondrej PPA for NGINX, use the following command:

     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/nginx

  3. Upgrade the new packages.

     sudo apt-get update

  4. Run the sudo apt list php command to see the default version of PHP. If the default version is now 8.0, use php throughout the following instructions. Otherwise, include the version when specifying the package name, for example, php8.0 or php8.0-mysql.

     sudo apt list php

    php/focal 2:8.0+84+ubuntu20.04.1+deb.sury.org+1 all

How to Install PHP and PHP-FPM with Apache

This section uses either php or php8.0, depending on the name of the default PHP package. If several different versions of PHP have been installed, a particular version can be identified by specifying the version number. Consult the Add the PHP Repository section of this guide for more details.

Install and Configure PHP as an Apache Module

  1. Install the default php package.

     sudo apt install php

  2. (Optional) Install any other PHP packages that might be required. The php-mysql package is required to run WordPress.

     sudo apt install php-common php-mysql php-cgi php-mbstring php-curl php-gd php-xml php-xmlrpc php-pear

  3. Confirm PHP 8.0 is installed.

     php -v

    PHP 8.0.8 (cli) (built: Jul  1 2021 15:26:46) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.0.8, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.0.8, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Install and Configure PHP-FPM

The PHP FastCGI Process Manager (FPM) package enhances web server performance. It accelerates page generation, reduces memory consumption, and increases web server capacity. A special Apache module for FastCGI is required to use FPM.

  1. Install the php-fpm package.

     sudo apt install php-fpm

  2. Install the associated Apache module.

     sudo apt install libapache2-mod-fcgid

  3. Confirm the php8.0-fpm service is running.

     sudo systemctl status php8.0-fpm

    php8.0-fpm.service - The PHP 8.0 FastCGI Process Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/php8.0-fpm.service; enabled; vendor pr>
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2021-07-29 07:30:09 UTC; 1min 30s ago
       Docs: man:php-fpm8.0(8)

  4. Enable the Apache modules required by FPM.

     sudo a2enmod actions fcgid alias proxy_fcgi

  5. If you have configured a virtual host for your domain, add an FPM handler to the site’s .conf file. Otherwise, add the handler to the default 000-default.conf file. The .conf files can be found in the /etc/apache2/sites-available directory. Add the line SetHandler "proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost" to the VirtualHost block as shown here.

    Note
    For information on how to add a virtual host, see the Linode guide on How to Install Apache Web Server on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS .

    File: /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf
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    <VirtualHost *:80>
...
    <FilesMatch \.php$>
        SetHandler "proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost"
    </FilesMatch>
...
</VirtualHost>

  6. Restart the Apache service.

     sudo systemctl restart apache2

How to Install PHP and PHP-FPM with NGINX

The procedure to install PHP on NGINX is very similar to the procedure for Apache . If Apache is installed on the system, the PHP installation process might try to activate it. If this happens, stop Apache with the command sudo systemctl disable --now apache2.

  1. Install the php-fpm module.

     sudo apt install php-fpm
    Note
    Install the php-fpm module, but do not install php. If the php module is installed first, it configures the Apache server instead of NGINX. The php-fpm package contains all core modules for PHP.

  2. (Optional) Install any additional PHP packages. The php-mysql package is required to run WordPress.

     sudo apt install php-common php-mysql php-cgi php-mbstring php-curl php-gd php-xml php-xmlrpc php-pear

  3. Confirm PHP 8.0 has been installed.

     php -v

    PHP 8.0.8 (cli) (built: Jul  1 2021 15:26:46) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.0.8, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.0.8, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

  4. Confirm the php-fpm service is running.

     sudo systemctl status php8.0-fpm

    php8.0-fpm.service - The PHP 8.0 FastCGI Process Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/php8.0-fpm.service; enabled; vendor pr>
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2021-07-29 14:16:36 UTC; 1min 18s ago

  5. Add the following configuration to the virtual host .conf file for your domain. If a virtual host has not been configured, add it to the default NGINX file instead. These files are located in the /etc/nginx/sites-available directory.

    Note
    For more information on configuring a virtual host on NGINX, consult the Linode Guide on How to Install and Use NGINX on Ubuntu 20.04 .

    File: /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
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    server {
...
        location ~ \.php$ {
                include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
                fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock;
        }
...
}

  6. Run the NGINX syntax test to verify the new configuration is correct.

     sudo nginx -t

  7. Restart the NGINX service to apply all changes.

     sudo systemctl restart nginx

Test PHP

To confirm PHP and Apache are working together, add a PHP file named phpinfo.php to the /var/www/html/ directory. The phpinfo function allows you to view technical details about the PHP installation.

Add and Test the “PHP Info” Page

To create and display the standard “PHP Info” page, follow the below steps:

  1. Create a new file in the var/www/html/ directory named phpinfo.php.

     sudo vi /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

  2. Add the following PHP code to this file.

    File: /var/www/html/phpinfo.php
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    <?php phpinfo(); ?>

  3. Access the phpinfo.php file using a web browser. Use either the IP address of the server or the domain name of the site, for example <server_ip_address>/phpinfo.php. The “PHP Info” page should be displayed. This page contains information about the version and installation, as shown in the below screenshot. The list of .ini files and other details might vary depending on your particular installation.

    PHP Information page

  4. For security reasons, it is a good idea to remove this file when PHP behavior has been verified.

     sudo rm /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

How to Update an Existing PHP Installation

Earlier versions of PHP can easily be upgraded to version 8. All PHP-related packages should be upgraded at the same time. Otherwise, conflicts or crashes might occur. To determine whether the PHP 8.0 packages are present on the system or not, consult the Add the PHP Repository section of this guide. If the 8.0 package is not present, the ondrej/php repository must be installed first. The steps in this section explain how to upgrade PHP and PHP-FPM from version 7.4 to 8.0, using Apache as the webserver.

Note
Because PHP version 8 has many changes, it is possible old code might not work after an upgrade. It is a good idea to test any websites and applications in a development environment before putting them into production. A list of non-backward-compatible changes is available on the PHP GitHub repository .

  1. If necessary, install the ondrej/php module to access PHP version 8.0.

     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/apache2

  2. Generate a list of all currently installed PHP modules. All modules should be upgraded to version 8.0.

     dpkg --get-selections | grep -i php

    libapache2-mod-php7.4    install
php      install
php-cgi     install
...
php7.4-xmlrpc     install

  3. Upgrade the packages.

     sudo apt-get update

  4. Install the new php package. This forces an automatic upgrade to version 8.0.

     sudo apt install php

  5. Upgrade all other PHP packages, including php-fpm, to version 8. Include the 8.0 identifier when specifying the packages. The exact list depends on the specific PHP modules that are installed.

     sudo apt install php8.0-common php8.0-mysql php8.0-cgi php8.0-mbstring php8.0-curl php8.0-gd php8.0-xml php8.0-xmlrpc php-pear php8.0-fpm
    Note
    The Apache module libapache2-mod-fcgid does not have to be upgraded. The php-pear module does not require a version number.

  6. Verify the version of PHP and confirm version 8.0 is now installed.

     php -v

    PHP 8.0.8 (cli) (built: Jul  1 2021 15:26:46) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.0.8, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.0.8, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

  7. Ensure all necessary Apache modules are re-enabled and the FPM module is properly configured.

     sudo a2enmod actions fcgid alias proxy_fcgi
 sudo a2enconf php8.0-fpm

  8. Edit either the .conf file for the domain, if one exists, or the default Apache .conf file. Change the SetHandler parameter to proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost.

    File: /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf
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    <VirtualHost *:80>
...
    <FilesMatch \.php$>

        SetHandler "proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php8.0-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost"
    </FilesMatch>

...
</VirtualHost>

  9. Restart Apache and the php8.0-fpm.service using systemctl.

     sudo systemctl restart apache2
 sudo systemctl restart php8.0-fpm.service

  10. To confirm a successful upgrade, follow the instructions in the Add and Test the ‘PHP Info’ Page section. The page displays information about PHP version 8.0. There should not be any references to version 7.4.

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

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