Install PHP 8.4 on Rocky Linux, RHEL, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux

PHP 8.4 is available through native AppStream repositories on RHEL 10.2 and compatible Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux releases, and on CentOS Stream 10 when dnf info php8.4 confirms the package set. This guide installs PHP 8.4 from the distribution php8.4-* packages, adds common extensions, configures PHP-FPM, and verifies Apache or Nginx integration on a host that does not already run a conflicting PHP major release.

Prerequisites

• RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, or Oracle Linux 10.2+ with AppStream enabled, or CentOS Stream 10 where dnf info php8.4 confirms package availability.
• sudo command or root access for package installation and service management.
• A fresh host, or a host where unprefixed php-* packages from PHP 8.3 are not already installed. If PHP 8.3 is present, follow the upgrade guide instead.
• Outbound network access to distribution repositories.

For a full LAMP or LEMP baseline beyond the PHP-focused steps here, see install LAMP stack on Rocky Linux and install LEMP stack on Rocky Linux.

Different Install approach

This guide installs PHP 8.4 only from native AppStream php8.4-* packages. Red Hat documents that set as available since RHEL 10.2; the install command is dnf install php8.4.

Consider Remi, containers, or a separate VM when:

• dnf info php8.4 reports no matching package on your release
• You need two PHP major versions on one machine without replacing the system default
• Your organization standardizes on a community PHP packaging stream

Do not mix a native php8.4 install with an existing unprefixed PHP 8.3 package set on the same host.

The php8.4-* prefix is a versioned RPM namespace. It does not create a second parallel php binary or service name on the host.

After installation, continue with verify the installation, update packages, or uninstall if you need those workflows. To replace PHP 8.3, use upgrade PHP 8.3 to 8.4.

Install PHP 8.4 from native AppStream

This is the path tested on Rocky Linux 10.2.

Check package availability

Identify the operating system:

cat /etc/os-release

Sample output:

NAME="Rocky Linux"
VERSION="10.2 (Red Quartz)"
VERSION_ID="10.2"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el10"
PRETTY_NAME="Rocky Linux 10.2 (Red Quartz)"

VERSION_ID must be 10.2 or newer on RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux. On EL 10.0 or 10.1, dnf install php8.4 returns No match for argument. CentOS Stream 10 is a continuously delivered branch—use dnf info php8.4 on that distribution instead of relying on a 10.2 point-release value.

Confirm AppStream is enabled:

dnf repolist --enabled

Sample output:

repo id                         repo name
appstream                       Rocky Linux 10 - AppStream
baseos                          Rocky Linux 10 - BaseOS
extras                          Rocky Linux 10 - Extras

Look up the meta package:

dnf info php8.4

Sample output:

Available Packages
Name         : php8.4
Version      : 8.4.21
Release      : 1.el10_2
Repository   : appstream
Summary      : PHP scripting language for creating dynamic web sites

If php8.4 is missing, refresh enabled repository metadata with sudo dnf makecache --refresh, then run dnf info php8.4 again.

Check whether another PHP major release is already installed:

php -v

If the command reports PHP 8.3, stop here and use the upgrade guide. If php is not found, continue with a fresh install.

Install PHP 8.4

Install the meta package from AppStream:

sudo dnf install php8.4

DNF pulls in php8.4-cli, php8.4-common, and dependencies. The CLI binary remains /usr/bin/php.

Verify the version:

php -v

Sample output:

PHP 8.4.21 (cli) (built: May  5 2026 16:34:12) (NTS gcc x86_64)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Built by Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation
Zend Engine v4.4.21, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.4.21, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

See which configuration files apply:

php --ini

Sample output:

Configuration File (php.ini) Path: /etc
Loaded Configuration File:         /etc/php.ini
Scan for additional .ini files in: /etc/php.d
Additional .ini files parsed:      /etc/php.d/10-opcache.ini,
/etc/php.d/20-bz2.ini,
...

Install PHP 8.4 extensions

Core php8.4 covers a useful CLI baseline. Web applications usually need database, multibyte, XML, image, and opcode-cache extensions as separate RPMs.

Install common extensions:

sudo dnf install php8.4-mysqlnd php8.4-mbstring php8.4-xml php8.4-gd php8.4-intl php8.4-opcache

List available extension packages:

dnf list available 'php8.4-*'

Confirm modules load in the CLI:

php -m

You should see entries such as gd, intl, mbstring, mysqli, mysqlnd, pdo_mysql, and Zend OPcache when the matching packages are installed.

List installed 8.4 RPMs:

dnf list --installed 'php8.4-*'

Configure PHP-FPM

Most EL10 web stacks use PHP-FPM behind Apache or Nginx. Install FPM if your transaction did not already include it:

sudo dnf install php8.4-fpm

Keep the naming straight:

RPM package: php8.4-fpm
Service:     php-fpm.service
Binary:      /usr/sbin/php-fpm
Config:      /etc/php-fpm.conf
Pools:       /etc/php-fpm.d/

There is no php8.4-fpm.service. Enable and start php-fpm with systemctl command:

sudo systemctl enable --now php-fpm

Check that the unit is active:

systemctl status php-fpm

Sample output:

● php-fpm.service - The PHP FastCGI Process Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/php-fpm.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running)
     Status: "Ready to handle connections"

Validate the pool configuration:

php-fpm -t

Sample output:

[22-Jul-2026 07:05:28] NOTICE: configuration file /etc/php-fpm.conf test is successful

The default www pool listens on a Unix socket. Match the exact listen = assignment—not other listen.* directives such as ACL settings:

grep -E '^[[:space:]]*listen[[:space:]]*=' /etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf

Sample output:

listen = /run/php-fpm/www.sock

The configured PHP-FPM pool and the packaged Apache and Nginx integrations use the FPM configuration under /etc/php-fpm.d/. Red Hat documents PHP-FPM as the supported Apache and Nginx integration path on RHEL 10.

Use PHP 8.4 with Apache or Nginx (optional)

Both web servers talk to the same php-fpm service. Only one should bind to port 80 during quick local tests.

Apache

Install Apache if it is not already present:

sudo dnf install httpd

EL10 ships FastCGI handling in /etc/httpd/conf.d/php.conf. Start both services:

sudo systemctl enable --now httpd php-fpm

Create a small test script under the Apache document root:

echo '<?php echo "PHP " . PHP_VERSION . " via " . php_sapi_name(); ?>' | sudo tee /var/www/html/test.php

Request it locally with curl command:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1/test.php

Sample output:

PHP 8.4.21 via fpm-fcgi

Remove the test file when you are done: sudo rm /var/www/html/test.php.

Nginx

Install Nginx:

sudo dnf install nginx

The packaged upstream and location blocks live in /etc/nginx/conf.d/php-fpm.conf and /etc/nginx/default.d/php.conf. Nginx serves files from /usr/share/nginx/html by default—not /var/www/html.

echo '<?php echo "PHP " . PHP_VERSION . " via " . php_sapi_name(); ?>' | sudo tee /usr/share/nginx/html/test.php

Start PHP-FPM and Nginx:

sudo systemctl enable --now php-fpm nginx

Test:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1/test.php

Sample output:

PHP 8.4.21 via fpm-fcgi

Delete the test page afterward: sudo rm /usr/share/nginx/html/test.php.

Verify the PHP 8.4 installation

Run these checks after installation.

CLI version:

php -v

Configuration paths:

php --ini

Loaded modules:

php -m

FPM build and SAPI:

php-fpm -i | grep -E '^(PHP Version|Server API|Loaded Configuration File)'

Sample output:

PHP Version => 8.4.21
Server API => FPM/FastCGI
Loaded Configuration File => /etc/php.ini

Service state:

systemctl status php-fpm

Pool syntax check:

php-fpm -t

A successful installation should show:

• php -v reporting PHP 8.4.x
• Expected extensions in php -m
• php-fpm.service in active (running) state
• php-fpm -t reporting a successful configuration test
• A web-server curl test returning PHP 8.4 through fpm-fcgi when Apache or Nginx is configured

Confirm php-fpm remains enabled after reboot:

systemctl is-enabled php-fpm

Update PHP 8.4 packages

Update installed PHP 8.4 packages from AppStream. The wildcard updates the meta package, CLI, FPM, and extension RPMs without naming every installed package manually.

sudo dnf upgrade 'php8.4*'

When packages are already current, DNF reports Nothing to do.

Restart PHP-FPM after a server-side package update so running workers use the newly installed binaries:

sudo systemctl restart php-fpm
php -v

This handles minor package updates within PHP 8.4. Major-version upgrades from PHP 8.3 belong in upgrade PHP 8.3 to 8.4, not in this fresh-install guide.

Uninstall PHP 8.4

Back up application code and configuration before you proceed.

Stop and disable PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl disable --now php-fpm

Preview removal of every installed php8.4-* package:

sudo dnf remove --assumeno 'php8.4*'

Read the full transaction. DNF can remove unused dependencies along with the selected packages.

Remove the PHP 8.4 package family after you review the list:

sudo dnf remove 'php8.4*'

If Apache or Nginx was installed only as a PHP dependency, DNF may propose removing those web-server packages as well.

Confirm removal:

php -v

Sample output when the CLI package is gone:

bash: php: command not found

rpm -q php8.4

Sample output:

package php8.4 is not installed

DNF removes package-owned files. Modified RPM configuration files may be preserved with names such as .rpmsave; manually created files can also remain. Review the PHP configuration paths after removal before deleting anything.

Optional check for preserved RPM configuration files:

sudo find /etc \
  \( -name '*.rpmsave' -o -name '*.rpmnew' \) \
  -path '*php*'

Troubleshoot PHP 8.4 installation

Useful journal commands—see view logs with journalctl for unit filters and follow mode:

journalctl -u php-fpm

journalctl -u httpd

journalctl -u nginx

References

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 — Installing and using dynamic programming languages
• RHEL 10.2 release notes — PHP 8.4 available
• Rocky Linux 10.2 release notes
• Rocky Linux documentation — PHP and PHP-FPM — General PHP-FPM concepts; use the RHEL 10 documentation above for native php8.4-* AppStream package names
• PHP supported versions

Summary

Native PHP 8.4 on Enterprise Linux lives in AppStream as php8.4-* RPMs in RHEL 10.2 and compatible Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux releases; on CentOS Stream 10, confirm availability with dnf info php8.4. Install php8.4, add extensions such as php8.4-mysqlnd and php8.4-fpm, and manage the service as php-fpm—not php8.4-fpm. Apache and Nginx use the packaged FastCGI configuration against /run/php-fpm/www.sock. Use dnf upgrade 'php8.4*' for updates within PHP 8.4 and dnf remove 'php8.4*' to uninstall the full package family. To replace PHP 8.3, follow upgrade PHP 8.3 to 8.4 instead of this fresh-install guide.