Installing from packages on Arch Linux

While PHP can be installed from source, it is also available through packages on Arch Linux and derivatives that use pacman.

Third-party-support

The packages can be installed using the pacman command.

Installing packages

First, note that other related packages may be desired, such as php-apache for Apache, or php-fpm for FastCGI setups.

Before installing a package, it is recommended to ensure the system is up to date. Typically, this is done by running the command pacman -Syu.

Pacman Install Example with Apache

# pacman -S php php-apache

Pacman will automatically install all dependencies for PHP. The web server may need to be restarted in order for the changes to take effect. For example:

Restarting Apache once PHP is installed

# systemctl restart httpd

Better control of configuration

In the last section, PHP was installed with only core modules. It is very likely that additional modules will be desired, such as

• MySQL
• cURL
• GD
• etc.

These may also be installed via the pacman command.

Methods for listing additional PHP packages

# pacman -Ss php

The list of packages will include a number of packages that includes PHP extensions such as php-gd, php-intl, php-sqlite, and others. When extensions are installed, additional packages will be automatically installed as necessary to satisfy the dependencies of those packages.

Install PHP with GD

# pacman -S php-gd

After installing an extension package, the corresponding entry in /etc/php/php.ini must be uncommented to enable it. For example, after installing php-gd, uncomment the line extension=gd in /etc/php/php.ini. Restarting the web server (like Apache) is required before these changes take effect.