Installing and Running PHP

Install PHP

On Linux and macOS, use your package manager. On Windows, install from windows.php.net or use XAMPP/Laragon for a local stack. Confirm the CLI works.

php --version

Run a script

Save a file ending in .php and pass it to the CLI.

php hello.php

Start the built-in server

For browser work, PHP can serve the current folder during learning.

php -S localhost:8000

Install tips

• Enable common extensions (pdo_sqlite, mbstring) as you need them
• Web hosts often run PHP for you; local CLI helps learning
• Check php -m for loaded modules
• Keep a text editor and a browser ready