phpvm is a lightweight PHP Version Manager that allows you to easily install, switch between, and manage multiple PHP versions via the command line.

Example:

$ phpvm version
phpvm version 1.5.0

PHP Version Manager for macOS and Linux
Author: Jerome Thayananthajothy <[email protected]>
Repository: https://github.com/Thavarshan/phpvm

Usage: phpvm help

$ phpvm use 8.2
Switching to PHP 8.2...
Switched to PHP 8.2.
$ php -v
PHP 8.2.10
$ phpvm use 8.1
Switching to PHP 8.1...
Switched to PHP 8.1.
$ php -v
PHP 8.1.13

• Install and manage multiple PHP versions.
• Seamlessly switch between installed PHP versions.
• Auto-switch PHP versions based on project .phpvmrc.
• Supports macOS (via Homebrew) and Linux distributions including WSL.
• Smart repository detection for RHEL/Fedora systems with automatic setup guidance.
• Enhanced error handling with actionable solutions when PHP packages are missing.
• Intelligent package availability checking before attempting installations.
• Enhanced cross-platform compatibility with improved shell support.
• Works with common shells (bash, zsh).
• Comprehensive version commands (phpvm version, phpvm --version, phpvm -v).
• Post-install validation with helpful warnings for missing binaries.
• Enhanced Homebrew integration with better link failure detection.
• Informative, color-coded feedback with timestamps for logs.
• Includes unit tests with BATS for automated testing.
• Helper functions for better maintainability and reduced code duplication.

To install or update phpvm, run one of the following commands:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Thavarshan/phpvm/main/install.sh | bash

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Thavarshan/phpvm/main/install.sh | bash

This script will download and set up phpvm in ~/.phpvm and automatically update your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile) with the following lines:

export PHPVM_DIR="$HOME/.phpvm"
export PATH="$PHPVM_DIR/bin:$PATH"
[ -s "$PHPVM_DIR/phpvm.sh" ] && . "$PHPVM_DIR/phpvm.sh"

Run the following command:

command -v phpvm

If the installation was successful, it should output the path to phpvm.

To install a specific version of PHP:

phpvm install 8.1

Smart Repository Detection: On RHEL/Fedora systems, phpvm automatically detects if PHP packages are available in your current repositories. If not, it provides step-by-step instructions to enable the necessary repositories (like Remi's repository) before installation.

To switch between installed versions:

phpvm use 8.0

To switch back to the system PHP version (Homebrew default on macOS):

phpvm system

Verify the active version with:

php -v

To check the phpvm version and get information:

phpvm version
# or
phpvm --version
# or
phpvm -v

Create a .phpvmrc file in your project directory to specify the desired PHP version:

echo "8.1" > .phpvmrc

When you navigate to that project directory and run:

phpvm auto

phpvm will automatically detect and switch to the version specified in the .phpvmrc file.

To list all installed PHP versions:

phpvm list

This will show all installed PHP versions and indicate the currently active one.

phpvm includes built-in self-tests to verify everything is working correctly:

phpvm test

This will run a series of tests on your system to ensure all phpvm functions are working properly.

To completely remove phpvm, run:

rm -rf ~/.phpvm

Then remove the following lines from your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile):

export PHPVM_DIR="$HOME/.phpvm"
export PATH="$PHPVM_DIR/bin:$PATH"
[ -s "$PHPVM_DIR/phpvm.sh" ] && . "$PHPVM_DIR/phpvm.sh"

If you experience issues with phpvm, try the following:

• Run phpvm test to verify all functions are working correctly
• Check the phpvm version with phpvm version or phpvm --version
• Ensure your shell profile is sourcing phpvm.sh
• Restart your terminal after installing or updating
• Verify that the required package manager is installed:
  • Homebrew for macOS
  • apt, dnf, yum, or pacman for Linux
• Check for permission issues during the installation or PHP version switching process
• For Linux systems, you may need to use sudo for installation and switching
• On WSL systems, ensure you're using bash shell compatibility
• If you encounter Homebrew link issues on macOS, try manually relinking: brew unlink [email protected] && brew link --force [email protected]
• Refer to the Changelog for recent updates and fixes

If you encounter "PHP packages not found" errors on RHEL-family distributions, phpvm will automatically provide setup instructions. You can also manually enable the required repositories:

# Install Remi's repository
sudo dnf install https://rpms.remirepo.net/fedora/remi-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).rpm

# Enable the repository
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled remi

# Enable specific PHP version (example for PHP 8.3)
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled remi-php83

# Install EPEL repository
sudo dnf install epel-release

# Install Remi's repository
sudo dnf install https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-$(rpm -E %rhel).rpm

# Enable the repositories
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled remi
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled remi-php83  # for PHP 8.3

If you prefer to avoid repository management, you can install Homebrew on Linux:

# Install Homebrew on Linux
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Add to your shell profile
echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Now phpvm will use Homebrew instead of dnf/yum
phpvm install 8.3

phpvm features comprehensive testing across multiple platforms and scenarios. The project includes extensive GitHub Actions workflows that test every aspect of the script.

phpvm includes built-in self-tests that validate all core functionality:

# Run the built-in tests
phpvm test

# Get detailed system information for debugging
phpvm info

The built-in test framework verifies:

• Output and formatting functions
• System detection and OS compatibility
• PHP version installation (mocked)
• Version switching and validation
• Auto-switching based on .phpvmrc
• Input validation and security
• System PHP integration

The project features a streamlined CI/CD pipeline with comprehensive testing workflows:

Comprehensive testing workflow including:

• Multi-Distribution Testing: 13 Linux distributions across 4 package managers
  • Ubuntu: 20.04, 22.04, 24.04
  • Debian: 11 (Bullseye), 12 (Bookworm)
  • RHEL/CentOS: Rocky Linux 8 & 9, AlmaLinux 8 & 9, Fedora 38 & 39
  • Arch Linux: Latest
  • Alpine Linux: 3.18, 3.19
• Cross-Platform Testing: Ubuntu and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon)
• PHP Usage Testing: Installation, version switching, and auto-detection
• Performance Testing: Startup time, concurrent operations, load testing
• Integration Testing: End-to-end workflows, installation simulation, error recovery

Specialized security validation including:

• Input validation and injection prevention
• Path traversal protection
• Privilege escalation prevention
• Buffer overflow protection
• File permission security
• Environment variable security
• Symlink attack prevention

Release testing and validation for new versions.

The testing suite covers:

• All supported Linux distributions with their native package managers
• macOS versions across Intel and Apple Silicon architectures
• WSL environments (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
• Package managers: apt, dnf, yum, pacman, Homebrew, Linuxbrew
• Security scenarios: malicious input, path traversal, privilege escalation
• Performance scenarios: load testing, memory usage, scalability
• Edge cases: corrupted files, permission issues, network failures
• Error recovery: state corruption, missing dependencies

# Run built-in tests
./phpvm.sh test

# Test input validation
./phpvm.sh install "invalid..version"  # Should fail gracefully

# Test system information
./phpvm.sh info

# Test with debug output
DEBUG=true ./phpvm.sh version

To enable debug output, set the DEBUG environment variable to true:

DEBUG=true phpvm install 8.1

phpvm is maintained by Jerome Thayananthajothy.

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

phpvm is provided as-is without any warranties. Use it at your own risk.