Installing PHP 8.4 on Debian 12 via Sury Repository

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PHP 8.4 is a development/pre-release version of PHP introducing new features and performance improvements. This guide explains how to install PHP 8.4 on Debian 12 (Bookworm) using the Sury APT repository, which maintains up-to-date PHP builds.

PHP 8.4 is under active development (alpha/beta as of May 2025). Do not use it in production environments.

Prerequisites

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Ensure your system is up to date and has required tools installed.

Update System Packages

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apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install Required Packages

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Install required packages for managing repositories and certificates:

apt install -y apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates curl gnupg2

Add Sury PHP Repository

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Sury's repository contains all current PHP versions, including pre-release builds.

Import Sury GPG Key

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curl -fsSL https://packages.sury.org/php/apt.gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/sury-php.gpg

Add the Repository to APT Sources

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echo "deb https://packages.sury.org/php/ $(lsb_release -sc) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sury-php.list

Update Package Index

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apt update

Install PHP 8.4 and Extensions

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Now install PHP 8.4 and common extensions.

apt install -y php8.4 php8.4-cli php8.4-fpm php8.4-mysql php8.4-zip php8.4-xml php8.4-gd php8.4-curl php8.4-mbstring php8.4-bcmath php8.4-soap php8.4-readline php8.4-intl php8.4-common

You can add or remove extensions based on your application’s needs.

Verify PHP Installation

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Check the installed PHP version:

php -v

Output:

root@vps:~# php -v
PHP 8.4.7 (cli) (built: May  9 2025 07:02:39) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.4.7, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.4.7, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Conclusion

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You’ve now successfully installed PHP 8.4 on Debian 12 using the Sury APT Repository.