Install PHP on Ubuntu 24.04

Step 1: Update the system

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install PHP

sudo apt install php -y

This installs PHP and, if there is no web server yet, Apache with libapache2-mod-php. If you use Nginx, install PHP-FPM instead: sudo apt install php-fpm.

Step 3: Check the install

php -v

Step 4: Install PHP modules (optional)

The pattern is php-<module>:

sudo apt install php-{module_name}

Install several at once:

sudo apt install php-{mysql,gd,xml,curl,mbstring,zip}

Show the loaded modules:

php -m

If you use Apache, restart it after you add modules: sudo systemctl restart apache2. With PHP-FPM, restart php8.3-fpm.

Step 5: Uninstall PHP

Remove PHP and its settings:

sudo apt remove --purge php

Remove all the PHP packages (use the wildcard with care):

sudo apt remove --purge 'php*'

Clean up the packages that are no longer needed:

sudo apt autoremove

Change settings

The main file for the command line is /etc/php/8.3/cli/php.ini. For Apache it is /etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini and for PHP-FPM /etc/php/8.3/fpm/php.ini. Common values to change: memory_limit, upload_max_filesize, post_max_size and max_execution_time.

Quick recap

• sudo apt install php, then php -v.
• Add modules with sudo apt install php-<module>.
• Remove with sudo apt remove --purge php.