PHP for Windows

How to setup PHP on Windows with multiple versions

Scoop is necessary

This guide use scoop to install this binary, if you don't have it, check this guide

Install multiple PHP versions

If you try to install directly PHP with scoop you will have the last version, if you want to manage multiple versions, you need to install php bucket

scoop bucket add php

Try to search php with scoop

scoop search php

And you will find a lot of PHP versions, you can install any specific PHP version now. But you will nts versions and standard versions, if you want to use NGINX, I advice you to install nts version for each PHP version.

Install current version.

scoop install php-nts

Install specific version.

scoop install php8.1-nts

Switch PHP version

By default, the last PHP installed is the current version, here I install PHP 8.1 at the last, so current version with php -v will be 8.1. If I want to use PHP 8.2, I have just to use this command:

scoop reset php/php-nts

And php -v give me 8.2, I can back to PHP 8.1 when I want with scoop reset php/php8.1-nts.

php.ini

You will need to activate some extensions in php.ini, you will find it for each PHP version in each directory of PHP version installed: C:/Users/USERNAME/scoop/apps/php*-nts/current/php.ini. I offer an example of php.ini but you will need to update each php.ini.

• Example for PHP 7.1
• Example for PHP 7.3
• Example for PHP 7.4
• Example for PHP 8.0
• Example for PHP 8.1
• Example for PHP 8.2

php.ini config tips.

This is a configuration for PHP 8.2, you can have different options with another PHP version.

At around line 400

; Maximum amount of memory a script may consume (128MB)
; <http://php.net/memory-limit>
memory_limit = -1

php.ini

At around line 750

; Directory in which the loadable extensions (modules) reside.
; <http://php.net/extension-dir>
; extension_dir = "./"
; On windows:
extension_dir = "ext"

php.ini

At around line 900

; Notes for Windows environments :
;
; - Many DLL files are located in the extensions/ (PHP 4) or ext/ (PHP 5+)
;   extension folders as well as the separate PECL DLL download (PHP 5+).
;   Be sure to appropriately set the extension_dir directive.
;
extension=bz2
extension=curl
;extension=ffi
extension=ftp
extension=fileinfo
extension=gd2
extension=gettext
extension=gmp
extension=intl
extension=imap
extension=ldap
extension=mbstring
extension=exif      ; Must be after mbstring as it depends on it
extension=mysqli
;extension=oci8_12c  ; Use with Oracle Database 12c Instant Client
extension=odbc
extension=openssl
;extension=pdo_firebird
extension=pdo_mysql
;extension=pdo_oci
extension=pdo_odbc
extension=pdo_pgsql
extension=pdo_sqlite
extension=pgsql
extension=shmop

; The MIBS data available in the PHP distribution must be installed.
; See http://www.php.net/manual/en/snmp.installation.php
;extension=snmp

extension=soap
extension=sockets
extension=sodium
extension=sqlite3
extension=tidy
extension=xmlrpc
extension=xsl

php.ini

Install cacert

sudo scoop install cacert

At around line 1900

curl.cainfo = "C:\Users\USERNAME\scoop\apps\cacert\current\cacert.pem"

php.ini

Composer

You can install composer if you want to use PHP packages:

scoop install composer

You can switch between composer version with

composer self-update --1 # composer v1

composer self-update --2 # composer v2

Setup Services for PHP

If you want to create VHost with NGINX and specific PHP version for each VHost, you will need to create Services. To do this, you will need NSSM (Non-Stucking Service Manager):

sudo scoop install nssm

Create service

And install a new service, here for PHP 8.2

sudo nssm install php8.2

You will have a window to create new service, two input will be important: Path and Parameter

For Path, get path of current php-nts, in this example, change USERNAME and php-nts if you set a different PHP version in Path

C:\Users\USERNAME\scoop\apps\php-nts\current\php-cgi.exe

For Parameter, you will need to create specific port with path of current php-nts, in this example change USERNAME, 9082 if you want a different port and php-nts if you set a different PHP version in Path

-b 127.0.0.1:9082 -c C:\Users\USERNAME\scoop\apps\php-nts\current\php.ini

Save the new service.

INFO

You can install another for PHP 8.1, for example:

C:\Users\USERNAME\scoop\apps\php8.1-nts\current\php-cgi.exe

For the port, I choose 9081 (for PHP 8.1)

-b 127.0.0.1:9081 -c C:\Users\USERNAME\scoop\apps\php8.1-nts\current\php.ini

Launch service

sudo nssm start php8.2

If you change some data, like with php.ini, you will need to restart Service

sudo nssm restart php8.2

Errors

cURL error 60: SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate

If you have this error, you have a problem of certificate. You can manullay download certificate but I advice to use scoop.

sudo scoop install cacert

Open C:/Users/USERNAME/scoop/apps/php*-nts/current/php.ini to update this line, at ~1900 line

curl.cainfo = "C:\Users\USERNAME\scoop\apps\cacert\current\cacert.pem"

php.ini

And restart PHP-FPM with NSSM

sudo nssm restart php[INSERT-HERE-VERSION]

WARNING

You have to do this FOR EACH PHP version you use with you VHost. If you use php artisan serve with PHP 8.2 CLI, you have a VHost with PHP 8.1 and another VHost with PHP 8.0... You have to update all php.ini files which used by VHost or live serve with Laravel or Symfony.

And you have to RESTART EACH version after php.ini file update.

PHP ini location problem

If Windows don't find php.ini assure yourself that this variable is set into Windows environnement variables for current user

PHP_INI_SCAN_DIR => [
    C:\Users\ewila\scoop\persist\php-nts
    C:\Users\ewila\scoop\apps\php-nts\current\conf.d
]

Note: theses variables change when you change your current PHP CLI version with scoop reset php/php-nts for example