How to Install PHP 8 on Rocky Linux 9

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open-source server-side scripting language used extensively in web development. To leverage its latest features and improvements, you can install PHP 8 on Rocky Linux 9. PHP is also a general-purpose language for creating APIs, dynamic websites, and server-side applications.

This article explains how to install and configure PHP 8 on Rocky Linux 9. You will add the required repositories, install the latest stable PHP 8 version, and set up PHP-FPM to process PHP scripts. After installation, you will test the setup to ensure PHP 8 is working.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you need to:

• Have access to a Rocky Linux 9 instance as a non-root sudo user.

Install the EPEL and Remi Repositories

Rocky Linux 9 includes PHP 8.1 and 8.2 in its default repositories. To install a newer, stable version, you must enable the Remi repository, which provides the latest PHP packages. The EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository is required as a dependency. Follow the steps below to install the EPEL and Remi repositories.

1. Update the server's package information index.

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   $ sudo dnf update -y

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2. Install the EPEL repository.

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   $ sudo dnf install epel-release -y

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3. Install the Remi repository.

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   $ sudo dnf install https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-9.rpm -y

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4. Verify the installation of EPEL and Remi repositories.

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   $ dnf repolist | grep -E 'epel|remi'

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   Output:

   epel                Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 9 - x86_64
   epel-cisco-openh264 Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 9 openh264 (From Cisco) - x86_64
   remi-modular        Remi's Modular repository for Enterprise Linux 9 - x86_64
   remi-safe           Safe Remi's RPM repository for Enterprise Linux 9 - x86_64

5. Reset the PHP module to clear existing configurations.

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   $ sudo dnf module reset php -y

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Install PHP 8 on Rocky Linux 9

With the required repositories enabled, follow the steps below to install PHP 8.4, the latest stable version, and the necessary extensions.

1. Enable the Remi repository for PHP 8.4

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   $ sudo dnf module enable php:remi-8.4 -y

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2. Install PHP 8.4

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   $ sudo dnf install php php-cli -y

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3. Install Necessary PHP Extensions.

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   $ sudo dnf install php-common php-mbstring php-xml php-curl php-zip php-opcache -y

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4. Verify the PHP Installation.

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   $ php -v

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   Output:

   PHP 8.4.5 (cli) (built: Mar 12 2025 01:55:56) (NTS gcc x86_64)
   Copyright (c) The PHP Group
   Built by Remi's RPM repository <https://rpms.remirepo.net/> #StandWithUkraine
   Zend Engine v4.4.5, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
       with Zend OPcache v8.4.5, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Install PHP-FPM

PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager) is a daemon that handles PHP scripts, improves performance, and increases scalability. It runs PHP applications with web servers like Nginx and Apache. Follow the steps below to install and configure PHP-FPM.

1. Install PHP-FPM.

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   $ sudo dnf install php-fpm -y

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2. Start the PHP-FPM service.

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   $ sudo systemctl start php-fpm

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3. Set PHP-FPM to start at system boot.

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   $ sudo systemctl enable php-fpm

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4. Check PHP-FPM Status.

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   $ sudo systemctl status php-fpm

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   Output:

   ● php-fpm.service - The PHP FastCGI Process Manager
        Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/php-fpm.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
        Active: active (running) since Sun 2025-03-30 23:59:42 UTC; 20s ago
      Main PID: 74963 (php-fpm)
        Status: "Processes active: 0, idle: 5, Requests: 0, slow: 0, Traffic: 0.00req/sec"
         Tasks: 6 (limit: 11059)
        Memory: 14.4M
           CPU: 62ms
        CGroup: /system.slice/php-fpm.service
                ├─74963 "php-fpm: master process (/etc/php-fpm.conf)"
                ├─74964 "php-fpm: pool www"
                ├─74965 "php-fpm: pool www"
                ├─74966 "php-fpm: pool www"
                ├─74967 "php-fpm: pool www"
                └─74968 "php-fpm: pool www"
   
   Mar 30 23:59:42 test-server systemd[1]: Starting The PHP FastCGI Process Manager...
   Mar 30 23:59:42 test-server systemd[1]: Started The PHP FastCGI Process Manager.

Test and Use PHP 8

Follow the steps below to verify and test your PHP 8 installation using the Apache web server. You will create a PHP information file to check the installation and ensure your server can process PHP scripts.

1. Install the Apache web server.

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   $ sudo dnf install httpd -y

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2. Start the Apache service.

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   $ sudo systemctl start httpd

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3. Enable Apache to start on Boot.

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   $ sudo systemctl enable httpd

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4. Check the status of Apache.

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   $ sudo systemctl status httpd

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   Output:

   ● httpd.service - The Apache HTTP Server
        Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
       Drop-In: /etc/systemd/system/httpd.service.d
                └─php-fpm.conf
        Active: active (running) since Mon 2025-03-31 00:00:38 UTC; 18s ago
          Docs: man:httpd.service(8)
      Main PID: 75202 (httpd)
        Status: "Total requests: 0; Idle/Busy workers 100/0; Requests/sec: 0; Bytes served/sec: 0 B/sec"
         Tasks: 177 (limit: 11059)
        Memory: 24.1M
           CPU: 79ms
        CGroup: /system.slice/httpd.service
                ├─75202 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
                ├─75203 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
                ├─75204 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
                ├─75205 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
                └─75206 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
   
   Mar 31 00:00:38 test-server systemd[1]: Starting The Apache HTTP Server...
   Mar 31 00:00:38 test-server httpd[75202]: AH00558: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using ::1. Set the 'ServerNa>
   Mar 31 00:00:38 test-server systemd[1]: Started The Apache HTTP Server.
   Mar 31 00:00:38 test-server httpd[75202]: Server configured, listening on: port 80

5. Add a rule to your firewall to allow HTTP traffic on port 80.

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   $ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http

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6. Reload the firewall to make the changes effective.

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   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

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7. Create a test file in the Apache web root directory.

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   $ sudo nano /var/www/html/info.php

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8. Add the following PHP code to this file. It will display detailed information about your PHP installation.

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   <?
   php phpinfo();
   ?>

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   Save and close the file.

9. Restart Apache.

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   $ sudo systemctl restart httpd

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10. Access your server's IP address using a web browser, such as Chrome, and load the /info.php URL path to view the PHP information page and confirm the installation of PHP 8.4.5.

    http://SERVER-IP/info.php

    

    Note

    Replace 192.0.2.11 with the actual IP address of your Rocky Linux 9 instance in the above link.

Conclusion

You have installed PHP 8.4 on your Rocky Linux 9 instance and configured it to process PHP scripts using PHP-FPM. You also installed and set up an Apache web server to serve PHP applications and tested your installation by creating a PHP information file. Your server is now ready to run the latest stable version of PHP applications. To enhance security and performance, refer to the official PHP documentation.