PHP Versions

Configure which PHP version setup-php installs, including stable releases, nightly builds, special builds, and JIT configuration.

The php-version input controls which PHP version is installed on your runner. setup-php supports PHP 5.3 through 8.6 across GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners on Ubuntu, Windows, and macOS.

Supported PHP versions

PHP version	Stability	Release support	Runner support
5.3	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted
5.4	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted
5.5	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted
5.6	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
7.0	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
7.1	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
7.2	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
7.3	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
7.4	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.0	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.1	Stable	End of life	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.2	Stable	Security fixes only	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.3	Stable	Security fixes only	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.4	Stable	Active	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.5	Stable	Active	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted
8.6	Nightly	In development	GitHub-hosted, self-hosted

Specifying 8.6 installs a nightly build of PHP 8.6.0-dev from the master branch of PHP. See the nightly build section below for details.

Platform support

GitHub-hosted runners

Virtual environment	Architecture	YAML workflow label	Pre-installed PHP
Ubuntu 24.04	x86_64	ubuntu-latest or ubuntu-24.04	PHP 8.3
Ubuntu 22.04	x86_64	ubuntu-22.04	PHP 8.1
Ubuntu 24.04	aarch64	ubuntu-24.04-arm	PHP 8.3
Ubuntu 22.04	aarch64	ubuntu-22.04-arm	PHP 8.1
Windows Server 2025	x64	windows-2025	PHP 8.5
Windows Server 2022	x64	windows-latest or windows-2022	PHP 8.5
macOS Tahoe 26.x	arm64	macos-26	—
macOS Sequoia 15.x	arm64	macos-latest or macos-15	—
macOS Sonoma 14.x	arm64	macos-14	—
macOS Tahoe 26.x	x86_64	macos-26-intel	PHP 8.5
macOS Sequoia 15.x	x86_64	macos-15-intel	PHP 8.5

PHP 5.3–5.5 are only available on GitHub-hosted runners, not self-hosted runners. PHP 5.6–8.6 are supported on both. On GitHub-hosted macOS ARM64 runners (e.g. macos-14), only PHP 5.6 and above are supported.

Self-hosted runners

Host OS / virtual environment	YAML workflow label
Ubuntu 24.04	self-hosted or Linux
Ubuntu 22.04	self-hosted or Linux
Debian 13	self-hosted or Linux
Debian 12	self-hosted or Linux
Debian 11	self-hosted or Linux
Windows 7 and newer	self-hosted or Windows
Windows Server 2012 R2 and newer	self-hosted or Windows
macOS Tahoe 26.x x86_64/arm64	self-hosted or macOS
macOS Sequoia 15.x x86_64/arm64	self-hosted or macOS
macOS Sonoma 14.x x86_64/arm64	self-hosted or macOS

If the requested PHP version is pre-installed, setup-php switches to it; otherwise it installs the requested version. Operating systems based on the supported Ubuntu and Debian versions are also supported on a best-effort basis.

php-version input options

The php-version input accepts several formats:

Specific version

Provide a version string such as '8.5' or '8.4':

- name: Setup PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.5'

lowest / highest

Use lowest to install the lowest supported PHP version, or highest / latest to install the latest stable release:

- name: Setup latest stable PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: 'latest'

- name: Setup lowest supported PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: 'lowest'

nightly

Use nightly to install a nightly build from the master branch of PHP:

- name: Setup nightly PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: 'nightly'

pre-installed

Use pre-installed to activate the highest PHP version already present on the runner without downloading a new one:

- name: Use pre-installed PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: 'pre-installed'

Combine with update: true to also update it to the latest patch:

- name: Use pre-installed PHP (updated)
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: 'pre-installed'
  env:
    update: true

d.x format

Specify a major version with a wildcard to install the latest patch within that major:

- name: Setup latest PHP 8.x
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.x'

Also supports 5.x, 7.x, and 8.x.

Matrix

Use a matrix to test across multiple PHP versions:

jobs:
  run:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        php-versions: ['8.2', '8.3', '8.4', '8.5']
    steps:
    - name: Setup PHP
      uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
      with:
        php-version: ${{ matrix.php-versions }}

Auto-detection from project files

When php-version is not specified, setup-php looks for the PHP version in the following order:

1. The php-version-file input (if provided)
2. A composer.lock file — reads platform-overrides.php
3. A composer.json file — reads config.platform.php

If none of these are present, the latest stable PHP version is installed.

If your composer.lock or composer.json is in a subdirectory, set the COMPOSER_PROJECT_DIR environment variable to the subdirectory path.

php-version-file input

Specify a file that contains the PHP version to use. By default, setup-php looks for a .php-version file:

- name: Setup PHP from version file
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version-file: '.phpenv-version'

The file must either contain just the PHP version string (e.g. 8.5) or follow the asdf .tool-versions format. If the default .php-version file is not found and php-version-file is not set, the latest stable PHP version is installed.

Special builds

Nightly build

Specifying 8.6 (or nightly) installs a nightly build of PHP 8.6.0-dev compiled from the master branch:

- name: Setup nightly PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.6'
    extensions: mbstring
    coverage: xdebug

Nightly PHP versions are in active development and may contain bugs or breaking changes. Some user-space extensions may not yet support these versions.

Debug build

Production release builds without debugging symbols are installed by default. Set the debug environment variable to true to install a build with debugging symbols for PHP 5.6 and above:

- name: Setup PHP with debug symbols
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.5'
  env:
    debug: true

Debug symbol locations by platform:

• Linux — debug info files in /usr/lib/debug/.build-id, matching the build-id in the ELF section of PHP binaries
• Windows — .pdb files in the PHP installation directory
• macOS — debug symbols compiled directly into the binaries

Thread-safe build

Non-thread-safe (NTS) PHP is installed by default. Use the phpts environment variable to select a thread-safe (TS/ZTS) build:

- name: Setup thread-safe PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.5'
  env:
    phpts: ts   # ts or zts for thread-safe, nts for non-thread-safe

JIT configuration

PHP 8.0 and above support Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation. To enable JIT:

• Enable opcache in CLI mode with opcache.enable_cli=1
• Set coverage: none — JIT conflicts with Xdebug, PCOV, and other extensions that override zend_execute_ex
• Optionally tune opcache.jit and opcache.jit_buffer_size

By default, when JIT is enabled, setup-php sets opcache.jit=1235 and opcache.jit_buffer_size=256M (128M on ARM).

Tracing mode

Enable JIT in tracing mode with a 64 MB buffer:

- name: Setup PHP with JIT (tracing)
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.5'
    coverage: none
    ini-values: opcache.enable_cli=1, opcache.jit=tracing, opcache.jit_buffer_size=64M

Function mode

Enable JIT in function mode with a 128 MB buffer:

- name: Setup PHP with JIT (function)
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.5'
    coverage: none
    ini-values: opcache.enable_cli=1, opcache.jit=1235, opcache.jit_buffer_size=128M

Refer to the official PHP opcache documentation for a full list of JIT directives and their values.