PHP is one of the most used server-side programming languages. Many popular CMS and frameworks such as WordPress, Magento, and Laravel are written in PHP.

This guide covers the steps necessary to install PHP on Ubuntu 26.04 and integrate it with Nginx and Apache. The default Ubuntu 26.04 repositories include PHP 8.5. We will also show you how to install other PHP versions.

Quick Reference #

Prerequisites #

To follow this guide, you need to be logged in as a user with sudo privileges .

Installing PHP 8.5 with Apache #

If you are using Apache as your web server, run the following commands to install PHP and the Apache PHP module:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php

Once the packages are installed, restart Apache for the PHP module to get loaded:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Installing PHP 8.5 with Nginx #

Unlike Apache, Nginx does not have built-in support for processing PHP files. We will use PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager) to handle PHP files.

Run the following commands to install PHP and the PHP-FPM package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php-fpm

Once the installation is completed, the FPM service starts automatically. To check the status of the service, run:

sudo systemctl status php8.4-fpm

● php8.4-fpm.service - The PHP 8.5 FastCGI Process Manager
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/php8.4-fpm.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Sat 2026-04-26 09:15:22 UTC; 12s ago

You can now edit the Nginx server block and add the following lines so that Nginx can process PHP files:

server {

 # . . . other code

 location ~ \.php$ {
 include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
 fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.4-fpm.sock;
 }
}

Restart the Nginx service so that the new configuration takes effect:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Installing PHP Extensions #

PHP extensions are compiled libraries that extend the core functionality of PHP. Extensions are available as packages and can be easily installed with apt :

sudo apt install php-[extname]

For example, to install the MySQL and GD extensions, run:

sudo apt install php-mysql php-gd

Here are some of the most commonly used PHP extensions:

To install all commonly needed extensions at once:

sudo apt install php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-xml php-zip php-intl php-opcache php-bcmath

After installing a new PHP extension, restart Apache or PHP-FPM depending on your setup:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Or for Nginx with PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php8.4-fpm

To list all installed PHP modules:

php -m

Testing PHP Processing #

To confirm that the web server can process PHP files, create a new info.php file in /var/www/html:

echo '<?php phpinfo();' | sudo tee /var/www/html/info.php

Open http://your_server_ip/info.php in your browser. If PHP is configured correctly, you will see the PHP information page:

sudo rm /var/www/html/info.php

Installing Other PHP Versions #

Ondřej Surý, a Debian developer, maintains a repository that includes multiple PHP versions. This is a third-party source, so use it only if you need a different PHP version than what Ubuntu provides. To enable the repository , run:

sudo apt install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

You can now install any PHP version you need by appending the version number to the package name:

sudo apt install php[version]

For example, to install PHP 8.3 and a few common modules:

sudo apt install php8.3 php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-opcache php8.3-gd php8.3-curl php8.3-mysql php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml

Switching Between PHP Versions #

If you have multiple PHP versions installed, you can switch the default CLI version using update-alternatives:

sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php8.3

To interactively choose the default version:

sudo update-alternatives --config php

For Apache, disable the current PHP module and enable the one you want:

sudo a2dismod php8.4
sudo a2enmod php8.3
sudo systemctl restart apache2

For Nginx, update the PHP-FPM socket path in your server block to point to the correct version, then restart Nginx:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Checking the PHP Version #

To check which PHP version is installed on your system, run:

php -v

PHP 8.5.4 (cli) (built: Apr 1 2026 09:36:11) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Built by Ubuntu
Zend Engine v4.5.4, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
with Zend OPcache v8.5.4, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

PHP Configuration Files #

PHP configuration files are located at:

• Main config: /etc/php/8.5/cli/php.ini (CLI) and /etc/php/8.5/apache2/php.ini (Apache) or /etc/php/8.5/fpm/php.ini (FPM)
• FPM pool config: /etc/php/8.5/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
• Extension configs: /etc/php/8.5/mods-available/

After changing any configuration, restart the relevant service:

sudo systemctl restart php8.4-fpm

Uninstalling PHP #

To remove PHP and related packages, you can purge them and clean up dependencies:

sudo apt purge 'php*'
sudo apt autoremove

FAQ #

What PHP version does Ubuntu 26.04 include?
Ubuntu 26.04 ships with PHP 8.5 in its default repositories.

What is the difference between php and php-fpm?
The php package includes the CLI interpreter and the Apache module. The php-fpm package provides a FastCGI Process Manager used by Nginx and other web servers that do not have built-in PHP support.

Can I run multiple PHP versions at the same time?
Yes. You can install multiple PHP versions from the Ondřej Surý PPA and configure each virtual host or server block to use a different PHP version.

Do I need to restart Apache or Nginx after installing an extension?
Yes. After installing a PHP extension, restart Apache (sudo systemctl restart apache2) or PHP-FPM (sudo systemctl restart php8.4-fpm) for the extension to be loaded.

Where is the php.ini file located?
PHP uses separate php.ini files for each SAPI. The CLI config is at /etc/php/8.5/cli/php.ini, the Apache config at /etc/php/8.5/apache2/php.ini, and the FPM config at /etc/php/8.5/fpm/php.ini.

Conclusion #

We have shown you how to install PHP 8.5 on Ubuntu 26.04 with both Apache and Nginx. You can now install extensions, configure PHP, and start building your applications.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

PHP error reporting controls which errors are shown, logged, or silently ignored. Configuring it correctly is essential during development — where you want full visibility — and on production servers — where errors should be logged but never displayed to users.

This guide explains how to configure PHP error reporting using php.ini, the error_reporting() function, and .htaccess. If you are not sure which PHP version is active, first check it with the PHP version guide .

Quick Reference #

PHP Error Levels #

PHP categorizes errors into levels. Each level has a name (constant) and a numeric value. You can combine levels using bitwise operators to control exactly which errors are reported.

The most commonly used levels are:

• E_ERROR — fatal errors that stop script execution (undefined function, missing module)
• E_WARNING — non-fatal errors that allow execution to continue (wrong function argument, missing include)
• E_PARSE — syntax errors detected at parse time; always stop execution
• E_NOTICE — minor issues such as using an undefined variable; useful during development
• E_DEPRECATED — warnings about features that will be removed in future PHP versions
• E_ALL — all errors and warnings; recommended during development

For a full list of error constants, see the PHP error constants documentation .

Configure Error Reporting in php.ini #

The php.ini file is the main configuration file for PHP. Changes here apply globally to all PHP scripts on the server. After editing php.ini, restart the web server for the changes to take effect.

To find the location of your active php.ini file, run:

php --ini

Enable Error Reporting #

Open php.ini and set the following directives:

; Report all errors
error_reporting = E_ALL

; Display errors on the page (development only)
display_errors = On

; Display startup sequence errors
display_startup_errors = On

Log Errors to a File #

To write errors to a log file instead of displaying them, set:

; Disable displaying errors
display_errors = Off

; Enable error logging
log_errors = On

; Set the path to the log file
error_log = /var/log/php/error.log

Make sure the directory exists and is writable by the web server user. To create the directory:

sudo mkdir -p /var/log/php
sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/log/php

Recommended Development Configuration #

error_reporting = E_ALL
display_errors = On
display_startup_errors = On
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php/error.log

Recommended Production Configuration #

error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED
display_errors = Off
display_startup_errors = Off
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php/error.log

This reports all serious errors while suppressing deprecation notices, and logs everything without displaying anything to users.

Configure Error Reporting at Runtime #

You can override php.ini settings within a PHP script using the error_reporting() function and ini_set(). Runtime changes apply only to the current script.

To enable all errors at the top of a script:

<?php
ini_set('display_errors', '1');
ini_set('display_startup_errors', '1');
error_reporting(E_ALL);

To report all errors except notices:

<?php
error_reporting(E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE);

To suppress all error output (not recommended for debugging):

<?php
error_reporting(0);

Runtime configuration is useful during development when you do not have access to php.ini, but it should not replace proper server-level configuration on production systems.

Configure Error Reporting in .htaccess #

If you are on a shared hosting environment without access to php.ini, you can configure PHP error reporting via .htaccess (when PHP runs as an Apache module):

php_flag display_errors On
php_value error_reporting -1
php_flag log_errors On
php_value error_log /var/log/php/error.log

Using -1 for error_reporting enables all possible errors, including those added in future PHP versions.

View PHP Error Logs #

Once log_errors is enabled, errors are written to the file specified by error_log. To monitor the log in real time, use the tail -f command:

tail -f /var/log/php/error.log

If no error_log path is set, PHP writes errors to the web server error log:

• Apache: /var/log/apache2/error.log
• Nginx + PHP-FPM: /var/log/nginx/error.log and /var/log/php/php-fpm.log

For related service commands, see how to start, stop, or restart Apache and how to start, stop, or restart Nginx .

Troubleshooting #

Errors are not displayed even with display_errors = On
Confirm you are editing the correct php.ini file. Run php --ini or call phpinfo() in a script to see which configuration file is loaded and the current value of display_errors.

Changes to php.ini have no effect
The web server must be restarted after editing php.ini. For Apache, run sudo systemctl restart apache2. For Nginx + PHP-FPM, restart Nginx and your versioned PHP-FPM service (for example, sudo systemctl restart nginx php8.3-fpm).

No errors appear in the log file
Check that the log file path is writable by the web server user (www-data or nginx), and that log_errors = On is set in the active php.ini.

ini_set('display_errors', '1') has no effect
Fatal parse errors (E_PARSE) occur before any PHP code runs, so ini_set() cannot catch them. Enable display_errors in php.ini or .htaccess to see parse errors.

Error suppression operator @ hides errors
PHP’s @ prefix suppresses errors for a single expression. If errors from a specific function are missing from logs, check whether the call is prefixed with @.

FAQ #

What is the difference between display_errors and log_errors?
display_errors controls whether errors are output directly to the browser or CLI. log_errors controls whether errors are written to the error log file. On production, always set display_errors = Off and log_errors = On.

Which error_reporting level should I use?
Use E_ALL during development to catch every possible issue. On production, use E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED to log serious errors while suppressing deprecation notices that do not require immediate action.

How do I check the current error reporting level?
Call error_reporting() with no arguments: it returns the current bitmask as an integer. You can also check it in the output of phpinfo().

Can I log errors to a database instead of a file?
Not directly via php.ini. Use a custom error handler registered with set_error_handler() and set_exception_handler() to send errors to a database, email, or external logging service.

Where is php.ini located?
Run php --ini from the command line or add <?php phpinfo(); ?> to a script and load it in a browser. The “Loaded Configuration File” row shows the active path. Common locations are /etc/php/8.x/cli/php.ini (CLI) and /etc/php/8.x/apache2/php.ini (Apache).

Conclusion #

During development, set error_reporting = E_ALL and display_errors = On in php.ini to see all errors immediately. On production, set display_errors = Off and log_errors = On to log errors silently without exposing details to users.

Make changes in php.ini for permanent server-wide configuration, use error_reporting() and ini_set() for per-script overrides, or use .htaccess on shared hosting without php.ini access.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.