If you’re like me and like to wait until all the bugs are sorted out with a new PHP version before upgrading, then you probably need to update your PHP version on your system. I should have done this since February last year but I got caught up with other stuff.

This guide works with Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04 and 18.04.

But have no fear, the process is not that difficult at all. Just follow these steps.

Update and Upgrade your System

Update your system by typing the following code in a terminal window: sudo apt update and press ENTER (the ENTER key on the keyboard).

Next, type sudo apt upgrade and press ENTER. When prompted “Do you want to continue? [Y/n]” type “y” then press ENTER.

Add Ondrej Sury’s Repo

If you haven’t done so, add Ondrej Sury’s repository by typing:

• sudo apt installsoftware-properties-common then pressing “y” then ENTER
• Wait for the installation to complete
• type sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php then press ENTER

Update Again

Update your system (Again) by typing: sudo apt update and press ENTER.

Install PHP 8.1

Type sudo apt install php8.1 then press ENTER.

When prompted “Do you want to continue? [Y/n]” type “y” then press ENTER and wait for the installation to complete.

Verify PHP 8.1 is Installed

Type php --version and press ENTER. You will see the PHP version below.

Install PHP 8.1 Extensions

This is the last step. You will need extensions for you various PHP scripts to work. To install PHP 8.1 extensions, type the following command:
sudo apt install php8.1-EXTENSION_NAME where EXTENSION_NAME is the name of the extension (zip, mysql, gd, curl, etc.).

For example, if you wanted to install the mysql extension for use with WordPress, you would type sudo apt install php8.1-mysql then press ENTER.

To install multiple extensions at once, you would type sudo apt install php8.1-{xml,mysql,zip,gd} for example. Replace the extensions in the curly braces with the actual names of the extensions you want to install.

Thanks to Computing for Geeks.com, here’s a command with commonly used PHP extensions:
sudo apt install php8.1-{bcmath,xml,fpm,mysql,zip,intl,ldap,gd,cli,bz2,curl,mbstring,pgsql,opcache,soap,cgi}.

Now you’re all set and ready to use PHP 8.1. Happy coding guys and gals!

Tags: cli, php, ubuntu