Setting up modern PHP in 2026

PHP in 2026 is a different language from the one old tutorials warned you about. Types are strict, the tooling is fast, and setting it up takes ten minutes.

Install the runtime

Use your operating system’s package manager, or a version manager if you plan to juggle projects:

php -v
# PHP 8.5.x

Add Composer

Composer is the dependency manager you’ll use in every project:

composer --version
composer create-project php/html my-site

Run the dev server

PHP ships with a perfectly fine local server for development:

php -S localhost:8000 -t public

Open http://localhost:8000 and you’re running modern PHP. In the next part we tour the syntax you’ll use every day.