FAQ

General

What is PHM?

PHM (PHP Manager) is a binary package manager for PHP on macOS. It provides precompiled PHP packages that install in seconds — no Homebrew, no MacPorts, no local compilation required.

Is PHM free?

Yes. PHM is open-source software released under the MIT license. Both the CLI tool and the package repository are freely available on GitHub.

Does PHM work on Linux?

No. PHM is designed exclusively for macOS. Linux users should use their distribution’s package manager — for Ubuntu/Debian, the Ondrej Sury PPA provides excellent PHP packages.

Does PHM work on Intel Macs?

Yes. PHM provides precompiled packages for both Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (amd64) Macs running macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer.

Does PHM replace Homebrew?

Not entirely. PHM replaces Homebrew only for PHP-related packages. You may still want Homebrew for databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), tools (nginx, Redis server), and other non-PHP software.

Installation

How do I install PHM?

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/phm-dev/phm/main/scripts/install-phm.sh | bash
export PATH="/opt/php/bin:$PATH"

Where does PHM install PHP?

PHP is installed to /opt/php/. Each version has its own directory:

/opt/php/8.5/ — PHP 8.5
/opt/php/8.4/ — PHP 8.4
/opt/php/bin/ — symlinks to the active version

Can I have multiple PHP versions installed simultaneously?

Yes. PHM installs each PHP version in a separate directory. You can have PHP 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5 all installed at the same time with no conflicts.

How do I switch between PHP versions?

Two options:

Per-project (recommended): Use Symfony CLI with a .php-version file — phm install symfony, then symfony php -v
Globally: Use phm use 8.5 to set the system-wide default

How do I uninstall PHM?

phm destruct

This removes all PHM-installed packages and the PHM binary itself.

Packages

What PHP versions are available?

PHM supports PHP 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5. New patch versions are built automatically within hours of release on php.net.

What extensions are available?

Over 40 extensions including: Redis, Xdebug, ImageMagick, MongoDB, AMQP, APCu, igbinary, intl, mbstring, GD, pcov, and many more. See the full package list.

How do I install Composer?

phm install composer

PHM downloads Composer from getcomposer.org and sets it up automatically. No manual curl or mv needed.

How often are packages updated?

Daily. GitHub Actions workflows check for new PHP versions and extension releases every day at 3:00 UTC. If a new version is found, packages are built and published automatically.

Can I install a specific PHP patch version?

Yes:

phm install php8.5.4-cli    # specific patch version
phm install php8.5-cli      # latest 8.5.x (recommended)

Troubleshooting

PHP process crashes silently after installing a PECL extension

This is a macOS code signing issue. PHM packages are built as a consistent set with valid signatures. If you compile an extension with pecl install, the unsigned .so file can invalidate the PHP process signature, causing macOS kernel protection to kill it.

Solution: Use phm install instead of pecl install for all available extensions. If an extension is not available in PHM, request it.

`php: command not found` after installation

You need to add PHM’s bin directory to your PATH:

# Add to ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bashrc)
export PATH="/opt/php/bin:$PATH"

# Reload
source ~/.zshrc

Homebrew PHP conflicts with PHM

PHM installs to /opt/php/bin, which is separate from Homebrew’s /opt/homebrew/bin. If both are in your PATH, ensure /opt/php/bin comes first:

export PATH="/opt/php/bin:$PATH"

How do I report a bug or request a feature?

PHM CLI issues: github.com/phm-dev/phm/issues
Package/extension issues: github.com/phm-dev/php-packages/issues

FAQ