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.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf update -y
   

2. Install the EPEL repository.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf install epel-release -y
   

3. Install the Remi repository.

   console Copy

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

4. Verify the installation of EPEL and Remi repositories.

   console Copy

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

   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.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf module reset php -y
   

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

   console Copy

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

2. Install PHP 8.4

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf install php php-cli -y
   

3. Install Necessary PHP Extensions.

   console Copy

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

4. Verify the PHP Installation.

   console Copy

   $ php -v
   

   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.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf install php-fpm -y
   

2. Start the PHP-FPM service.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl start php-fpm
   

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

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl enable php-fpm
   

4. Check PHP-FPM Status.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl status php-fpm
   

   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.

   console Copy

   $ sudo dnf install httpd -y
   

2. Start the Apache service.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl start httpd
   

3. Enable Apache to start on Boot.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl enable httpd
   

4. Check the status of Apache.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl status httpd
   

   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.

   console Copy

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

6. Reload the firewall to make the changes effective.

   console Copy

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload
   

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

   console Copy

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

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

   php Copy

   <?
   php phpinfo();
   ?>
   

   Save and close the file.

9. Restart Apache.

   console Copy

   $ sudo systemctl restart httpd
   

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.