How to Install PHP and PHP-FPM on Ubuntu 24.04

We are going to show you how to install PHP and PHP-FPM on Ubuntu 24.04. PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, is a popular open-source programming language used mostly for online development, for example on WordPress hosting. The only PHP implementation of PHP FastCGI that is really helpful for websites with a lot of traffic is PHP. At the end of this guide, you should be ready to go with PHP running on your server on our VPS hosting. 

Before that, check our instruction on how to set up a server on Ubuntu. 

PHP working scheme

Prerequisites

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Before we start, please confirm you have the following:

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS installed on the server
• A user account with the sudo access
• An essential command-line operation understanding
• A reliable internet connection for downloading software packages

To ensure that your system is up to date, run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Install Apache

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Launch the Apache web server using the following command:

sudo apt install apache2

Install PHP

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Let's begin with installing the PHP package in Ubuntu 24.04 server.

First, open a terminal on your Ubuntu system.

PHP and common modules are included in the installation action:

sudo apt install php

That command installs the core PHP package, the command-line interface, and common libraries.

Make sure the installation works:

php -v

Start with PHP Installation

Install PHP Extensions

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PHP extensions are the way to go to extending PHP installation with certain functions. Start by installing extensions:

sudo apt install php-curl php-mbstring php-xml

Short description:

• php-mysql: Allows MySQL database connection

• php-gd: Adds ability to manipulate images

• php-curl: Makes possible to communicate with servers

• php-mbstring: Provides multibyte string support

• php-xml: Enables XML support

• php-zip: Enables ZIP support

Additional extensions can be installed as you see fit for your projects. You can search them using:

apt-cache search php-

Install and Configure PHP-FPM

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PHP-FPM is essential when dealing with high-traffic websites. To install and configure it:

1. Install the package:

sudo apt install php-fpm

2. Launch PHP-FPM service. Depending on the installation, version number may differ.

sudo systemctl start php8.3-fpm

3. Tell PHP-FPM to go on boot:

sudo systemctl enable php8.3-fpm

4. Verify PHP-FPM is working:

systemctl status php8.3-fpm

This will output a response that says "Active (Running)" if everything is working as expected.

Test PHP and PHP-FPM

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To ensure that PHP and PHP-FPM are both running with no problems, create a test file then serve it via the website's server. Let's say it uses Apache in this example:

1. Generate PHP Info File. To show PHP settings using the phpinfo() function, do the following:

mkdir -p /var/www/html
echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/info.php

2. Set Up Apache for PHP-FPM. Ensure Apache is made compatible for PHP-FPM, by first finding Apache configuration file (usually /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf) then inserting:

<FilesMatch \.php$>
    SetHandler "proxy:unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost/"
</FilesMatch>

Remember we must alter specific PHP version and socket path to suit individual settings of the server.

3. Activate PHP and PHP-FPM. Enable PHP and PHP-FPM following these instructions:

sudo apt install libapache2-mod-php
sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif

4. Reboot Apache. Apply changes by restarting Apache server:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

5. Access PHP Info Page. First open your web browser and go to:

http://your_server_ip/info.php

Replace [server_ip] with the server IP address or domain. You can see details of your PHP installation.

This is Where You Can Check Your PHP Current Status

Install Multiple PHP Versions

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You may need to run different programs for specific projects, and each one may need a distinct set of features. Here's how to handle and work with different PHP versions on Ubuntu 24.04.

First, add PHP repository:

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

Install PHP versions you need:

sudo apt install php8.1 php8.1-fpm

Deselect one PHP version and select the other:

sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php8.1

If you are using multiple PHP versions, ensure that your web server is pointing to the appropriate PHP-FPM socket.

Securing PHP and PHP-FPM: Best Practices

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As a web developer, you are aware of how crucial it is to use both PHP and PHP-FPM in secure and reliable web applications. We'll go over some security measures in this part that you should use when utilizing PHP and PHP-FPM.

1. Keep PHP and PHP-FPM Updated

PHP and PHP-FPM should be up to date. Doing regular updates will eliminate known security breaches and provide overall security improvements. You need to check for updates as often as possible then update the system as soon as the updates are available.

2. Configure PHP Securely

To configure PHP securely, start by disabling unnecessary and potentially dangerous functions, such as exec, shell_exec, and eval, in the PHP configuration file (php.ini). Use open_basedir directive to restrict PHP’s access to specific directories, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive files. Set display_errors to Off in production to avoid exposing error messages that could provide insights to attackers. Limit file upload sizes and execution times to reduce the risk of resource exhaustion attacks. Besides, ensure that PHP runs under a dedicated, restricted user account with minimal permissions to prevent privilege escalation. Regularly update PHP to the latest stable version to patch vulnerabilities and improve security.

3. Use Safe Error Reporting

To ensure an error-free application, it is quite handy locating and correcting code bugs in a development environment. In production environment, you have the possibility to hide the PHP errors by setting the display_errors directive to be off, and you should also set the log_errors directive to be On, thus this will help you prevent PHP from showing errors to the users whereas your server will log it in a safe location without problems to users.

4. Implement Input Validation

Being aware of the input validations is quite crucial during the programming of your software. Make sure that all deficiencies are tested and only SQL statements containing their SQL equivalent that can produce outwardly neutral queries via prepared statements is considered safe.

5. Secure PHP-FPM Configuration

PHP-FPM is required to run using a non-usual user account with minium rights. Furthermore, access to the PHP-FPM socket or port should be very limited to the web application.

6. Enable open_basedir

You need to bind open_basedir directive in order to restrict access files within the given directory. In this case, if you attempt to visit a forbidden directory and the request is accidentally transmitted to the server, PHP will prevent you from doing so.

7. Use HTTPS

We need to secure web calls by making apps HTTPS-only, which is the only prominent way to block all the known hacking tricks.

Installing PHP on Ubuntu 24.04 is Rewarded

Conclusion

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With this guide, you've successfully set up PHP and PHP-FPM on Ubuntu 24.04. Your server is now configured for dynamic web applications. To maintain security and performance, remember to keep the system and packages regularly updated.

If you liked this instruction, please check our Cloud Servers or low-latency US VPS to boost your cloud workflow!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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How do I install PHP and PHP-FPM on Ubuntu 24.04? 

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You can install both the core PHP and the FastCGI Process Manager (FPM) with a single command. Update your repositories and run: sudo apt update && sudo apt install php php-fpm This will install the default version, which is currently PHP 8.3.

How do I enable FPM in PHP? 

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If you are using Nginx, FPM is enabled by default; you just need to point your server block to the socket file (usually /run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock). If you are using Apache, you must explicitly enable the configuration and the required proxy modules:

1. sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif

2. sudo a2enconf php8.3-fpm

3. sudo systemctl restart apache2

How to know if PHP-FPM is installed and running? 

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To verify installation, check the version: php-fpm8.3 -v To check if the service is active and running, use: sudo systemctl status php8.3-fpm You should see a green "active (running)" status.

How do I enable PHP-FPM extensions? 

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Extensions are typically shared between the CLI and FPM.

1. Install the extension: sudo apt install php8.3-[extension_name] (e.g., php8.3-mysql or php8.3-gd).

2. Restart the FPM service: unlike Apache mod_php, you must restart the FPM service for changes to take effect:
   sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm

Where is the PHP-FPM configuration file located? 

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The main global configuration file is at /etc/php/8.3/fpm/php-fpm.conf. However, the pool configuration (where you set process managers, children, and listen sockets) is located at /etc/php/8.3/fpm/pool.d/www.conf.