Multi PHP Installation (PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.3) on Ubuntu

This document explains how to install and configure multiple PHP versions on Ubuntu without using Docker. We will use PHP-FPM for configuring web servers like Apache and Nginx.

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1. Install PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.3

1. Add the PHP repository and update the system:

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

2. Install PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.3 along with common extensions:

   sudo apt install php7.4 php7.4-cli php7.4-fpm php7.4-mysql php7.4-curl php7.4-xml php7.4-mbstring
   sudo apt install php8.3 php8.3-cli php8.3-fpm php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-xml php8.3-mbstring

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2. Add PHP to update-alternatives

1. Add both PHP versions to update-alternatives:

   sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/php php /usr/bin/php7.4 1
   sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/php php /usr/bin/php8.3 2

2. Choose the desired PHP CLI version:

   sudo update-alternatives --config php

   Select the PHP CLI version as needed.

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3. Configure Apache for Multi PHP

1. Enable PHP-FPM module and configuration:

   sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
   sudo a2enconf php7.4-fpm
   sudo a2enconf php8.3-fpm
   sudo systemctl restart apache2

2. Configure Virtual Hosts in Apache:

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

   PHP 7.4:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName example.com
       DocumentRoot /var/www/html/php7_app
   
       <Directory /var/www/html/php7_app>
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   
       <FilesMatch \.php$>
           SetHandler "proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost"
       </FilesMatch>
   </VirtualHost>

   PHP 8.3:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName php8.example.com
       DocumentRoot /var/www/html/php8_app
   
       <Directory /var/www/html/php8_app>
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   
       <FilesMatch \.php$>
           SetHandler "proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost"
       </FilesMatch>
   </VirtualHost>

3. Enable example.com.conf with a2ensite enable:

   sudo a2ensite enable example.com

4. Restart Apache:

   sudo systemctl restart apache2

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4. Configure Nginx for Multi PHP

1. Open Nginx configuration:

   sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

2. Add the following server block:

   PHP 7.4:

   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name php7.example.com;
       root /var/www/html/php7_app;
   
       index index.php index.html;
   
       location / {
           try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
       }
   
       location ~ \.php$ {
           include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
           fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
           fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
           include fastcgi_params;
       }
   }

   PHP 8.3:

   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name php8.example.com;
       root /var/www/html/php8_app;
   
       index index.php index.html;
   
       location / {
           try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
       }
   
       location ~ \.php$ {
           include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
           fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
           fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
           include fastcgi_params;
       }
   }

3. Test and restart Nginx:

   sudo nginx -t
   sudo systemctl restart nginx

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5. Test PHP Versions

1. Create an info.php file in the root directory of each application:

   sudo nano /var/www/html/php7_app/info.php
   sudo nano /var/www/html/php8_app/info.php

2. Add the following content to the files:

   <?php
   phpinfo();
   ?>

3. Access through a browser:

• PHP 7.4: http://php7.example.com/info.php
• PHP 8.3: http://php8.example.com/info.php

This way, you can run multiple PHP versions simultaneously on an Ubuntu server using Apache or Nginx.