Windows PHP Helper

Installs and switches PHP versions on Windows. It supports PHP 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5.

Each version is installed in a separate directory. The active version is exposed through the stable modules\php junction, so applications only need one PHP path.

Requirements

• Windows PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell 7
• HTTPS access to downloads.php.net, xdebug.org, and curl.se
• Write access to the modules directory next to this repository

If Windows blocks local scripts, allow signed remote scripts for the current user:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned

A machine or group policy can override this setting.

Directory structure

your-folder/
├── windows-php/
│   ├── bin/                 Convenience entrypoints by PHP version
│   ├── extensions/          Bundled Redis, Imagick, and rdkafka builds
│   ├── tests/
│   └── windows-php.ps1      Main script
└── modules/
    ├── php82/
    ├── php83/
    ├── php84/
    ├── php85/
    └── php -> phpXX         Active directory junction

Add your-folder\modules\php to the user PATH once:

$phpPath = 'C:\dev\modules\php'
$userPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('Path', "$userPath;$phpPath", 'User')

Replace C:\dev with the actual parent directory. Open a new terminal after changing PATH.

Usage

Activate a version. It is installed first when missing:

.\windows-php.ps1 8.5

Download the latest patch release, replace the selected installation, and activate it:

.\windows-php.ps1 8.5 -Update

The version-specific entrypoints provide the same commands:

.\bin\8.5\activate.ps1
.\bin\8.5\update.ps1

Commands can be started from any current directory. An update is prepared and validated before the existing installation is replaced. A failed download or validation leaves the existing version unchanged. Treat each phpXX directory as disposable: an update replaces its php.ini and any files added manually. Xdebug output is kept separately in modules\xdebug\profiler.

PHP is installed as NTS x64. The configuration enables the bundled PHP extensions plus Redis, Imagick, rdkafka, Xdebug, and OPcache. Xdebug is disabled by default and listens on 127.0.0.1:9003 when enabled.

Verification

Run the smoke test in both shells when changing the scripts:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\tests\smoke.ps1
pwsh.exe -NoProfile -File .\tests\smoke.ps1

Updating this project

git pull