Introduction

setup-php is a GitHub Action that sets up PHP with extensions, php.ini configuration, coverage drivers, and tools for your CI/CD workflows.

What is setup-php?

setup-php is a GitHub Action that provides a cross-platform interface to configure PHP environments in your CI/CD workflows. It supports Ubuntu, Windows, and macOS on both GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners, and handles the differences between platforms automatically.

With a single step in your workflow, you can:

• Install a specific PHP version (5.3 through 8.6, including nightly builds)
• Add PHP extensions from packages, PECL, or git repositories
• Configure php.ini values
• Set up code coverage drivers (Xdebug or PCOV)
• Install popular tools like Composer, PHPUnit, PHPStan, and 50+ more

- name: Setup PHP
  uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
  with:
    php-version: '8.5'
    extensions: mbstring, intl
    ini-values: post_max_size=256M, max_execution_time=180
    coverage: xdebug
    tools: php-cs-fixer, phpunit

OS/Platform support

Both GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners are supported on the following operating systems.

GitHub-hosted runners

Virtual environment	Arch	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

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 on the runner, 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 support

setup-php supports PHP 5.3 through 8.6 across all supported platforms, with some variation by runner type.

• GitHub-hosted runners (non-ARM): PHP 5.3 to PHP 8.6
• GitHub-hosted macOS ARM64 (macos-14): PHP 5.6 to PHP 8.6
• Self-hosted runners: PHP 5.6 to PHP 8.6

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 in the php-version input installs a nightly build of PHP 8.6.0-dev from the master branch of PHP. These builds may contain bugs and breaking changes.

Explore setup-php

Quickstart

Get PHP configured in your GitHub Actions workflow in minutes with a complete working example.

Configuration

Full reference for all inputs, outputs, and environment flags.

Extensions

Install PHP extensions from packages, PECL, or git repositories.

Tools

Set up 50+ PHP tools globally, including PHPUnit, PHPStan, and Composer.