How to Locate and Install a PHP Version or Extension

Last modified: September 26, 2024


Overview

EasyApache 4 allows the use of multiple versions of PHP. This document explains how to locate and install a PHP version or a PHP extension.

Determine a user domain PHP version

You can determine a user domain PHP version with one of the following methods:

  • Use WHM’s MultiPHP Manager interface (WHM » Home » Software » MultiPHP Manager). This interface allows you to see and change a user’s default PHP version. This is the easiest method to determine a user’s PHP version.

  • Use cPanel’s MultiPHP Manager interface (cPanel » Home » Software » MultiPHP Manager).

  • Run the following command, where USERNAME is the cPanel account username and DOMAIN is the domain:

    grep phpversion /var/cpanel/userdata/USERNAME/DOMAIN

    The output should resemble the following example:

    phpversion: ea-php81
  • Use WHM API 1’s php_get_vhost_versions function.

  • Use UAPI’s LangPHP::php_get_vhost_versions function.

Install a PHP version

EasyApache 4 supports PHP version 7.4 and PHP 8.1 through 8.3.

The cPanel default profile includes PHP versions 8.1 and 8.2.

Note:

EasyApache 4 adheres to the php.net supported versions timeline. The profiles that we supply in WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM » Home » Software » EasyApache 4) only provide PHP versions that php.net currently supports. RPMs for unsupported versions of PHP will remain the WebPros International, LLC mirrors and servers, but we will not provide any further updates.

You can install a PHP version on your system with one of the following methods:

  • Use WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM » Home » Software » EasyApache 4) to select the version of PHP that you wish to load.
    Note:

    You can only install cPanel-provided PHP packages in the EasyApache 4 interface. You must use a package manager to install custom PHP packages.

  • Use your package manager’s install command to install your desired PHP version.

Vendor-provided PHP versions

EasyApache 4 allows you to use PHP versions that WebPros International, LLC does not provide on non-Ubuntu systems. These PHP versions must be a Software Collection Library (SCL) package and cannot start with the ea- prefix that EasyApache 4 uses.

  • You cannot use the EasyApache 4 interface (WHM » Home » Software » EasyApache 4) to install vendor-provided versions of PHP. You must use a package manager to install these packages on your system. For more information, read our Package Manager Basics documentation.
  • After you install the packages, you can use WHM’s MultiPHP Manager interface (WHM » Home » Software » MultiPHP Manager) and WHM’s MultiPHP INI Editor interface (WHM » Home » Software » MultiPHP INI Editor) to make changes.
Important:
  • The DSO PHP handler is not available with Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® (RHEL) and CloudLinux™ PHP packages.
  • PHP packages require a vendor prefix in order to install in EasyApache 4.
  • Not all vendor-provided PHP packages will contain all of the files that EasyApache 4’s MultiPHP system requires. You may experience additional limitations.

Find a PHP module or extension

You can find a PHP module or extension with one of the following methods:

  • Use WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM » Home » Software » EasyApache 4).
  • To determine if the package is already installed, run the rpm -qa | grep -i package command, where package represents part of the name of the package that you wish to install.
  • To determine if the package is available, run the yum list package or dnf list package command, where package represents part of the name of the package that you wish to install.

Install a PHP module or extension

EasyApache 4’s packages for PHP modules and extensions use the ea-php##-php-module naming convention, where ## represents the PHP version number and module represents the name of the PHP module.

Install a PHP module or extension on your system with one of the following methods:

  • Use WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM » Home » Software » EasyApache 4).
  • Install the package on the command line with the following command:
    Operating SystemCommand
    CentOS 7yum install ea-php82-php-gd
    AlmaLinux OS and Rocky Linux™dnf install ea-php82-php-gd
    Ubuntu®apt install --purge ea-php82-php-gd

    The above example installs the ea-php82-php-gd package, where 82 represents the PHP version and gd represents the extension name.
Important:

When you install a newer version of PHP, the system automatically selects the extensions used with your older versions, if compatible.

Additional Documentation