How do I update PHP on centos droplet

Heya, @kenloomis

You should always back up your site and config files before upgrading PHP, some older CMS or frameworks may need updates to stay compatible.

Here’s the cleanest way to update PHP on a CentOS Droplet:

1. Check your current PHP version**

php -v

2. Enable the Remi repository (it provides newer PHP versions)

sudo yum install -y epel-release
sudo yum install -y https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-7.rpm

(Replace 7 with 8 or 9 depending on your CentOS version.)

3. See available PHP versions**

sudo yum module list php

4. Enable the desired version

For example, to switch to PHP 8.2:

sudo yum module reset php -y
sudo yum module enable php:remi-8.2 -y

5. Update PHP and common extensions

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install -y php php-cli php-fpm php-mysqlnd php-xml php-json php-opcache

6. Restart web server

If you’re using Apache:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

If you’re using Nginx with PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php-fpm
sudo systemctl restart nginx

You should now see the new version.

php -v

Hope that this helps!