DEV Community

Cover image for Setting Up a Basic PHP Development Environment on Fedora 44
Jean Dias
Jean Dias

Posted on

Setting Up a Basic PHP Development Environment on Fedora 44

#development #fedora #php #docker

This guide shows how to configure a basic PHP development environment on Fedora 44 using mise for version management, PHP 8.5, ZSH with Oh My ZSH, and Docker Engine.

The goal is to create a clean and flexible setup for local PHP development, allowing you to manage PHP versions per project while also having Docker available for containers, databases, queues, and other services.

1. Update the system

Start by updating all system packages:

sudo dnf update -y
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

After the update finishes, reboot the system if Fedora installs a new kernel or important system libraries:

sudo reboot
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Install basic development tools

Install common utilities such as Git, Vim, cURL, ZSH, and basic build tools:

sudo dnf install -y vim curl git zsh gcc gcc-c++ make pkgconf-pkg-config
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Check the installed versions:

git --version
vim --version
zsh --version
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. Install and configure Oh My ZSH

Install Oh My ZSH to improve the terminal experience:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

During the installation, the script may ask whether you want to set ZSH as your default shell. Choose:

Y
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

You may also be asked for your password to confirm the shell change.

If you need to change the shell manually later, run:

chsh -s "$(which zsh)"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Then log out and log back in.

4. Install PHP build dependencies

Because PHP installed through mise is usually compiled locally, you need development libraries and build dependencies.

Install the required packages:

sudo dnf install -y \
  autoconf \
  bison \
  clang \
  gd-devel \
  libcurl-devel \
  libpq-devel \
  libxml2-devel \
  libzip-devel \
  oniguruma-devel \
  openssl-devel \
  readline-devel \
  re2c \
  sqlite-devel \
  libsodium-devel \
  libicu-devel \
  bzip2-devel \
  libjpeg-turbo-devel \
  libpng-devel \
  libwebp-devel \
  freetype-devel
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

These packages provide support for common PHP extensions such as:

  • curl
  • gd
  • intl
  • mbstring
  • openssl
  • pdo_pgsql
  • pdo_sqlite
  • readline
  • sodium
  • zip

5. Install mise

mise is a version manager for development tools and languages. It can replace tools like ASDF, NVM, pyenv, rbenv, and similar version managers.

Enable the mise COPR repository and install it:

sudo dnf copr enable jdxcode/mise -y
sudo dnf install -y mise
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Verify the installation:

mise --version
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

6. Activate mise in ZSH

Add mise activation to your ZSH configuration:

echo 'eval "$(mise activate zsh)"' >> "${ZDOTDIR-$HOME}/.zshrc"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Reload your shell:

exec zsh
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Then run:

mise doctor
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This command helps verify whether mise is correctly configured.

7. Install PHP 8.5 with mise

Install PHP 8.5 globally:

mise use --global php@8.5
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This command installs the latest available PHP 8.5 patch release and sets it as the global default version.

Check the installed PHP version:

php -v
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

You should see something similar to:

PHP 8.5.x
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Check PHP modules:

php -m
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Check PHP configuration:

php --ini
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

8. Configure PHP per project

For project-specific PHP versions, go to your project folder:

mkdir ~/Projects/my-php-app
cd ~/Projects/my-php-app
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Set PHP 8.5 only for this project:

mise use php@8.5
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This creates or updates a mise.toml file in the project directory.

Example:

[tools]
php = "8.5"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Now, whenever you enter this project folder, mise will use PHP 8.5.

Verify it:

php -v
mise current
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

9. Install Composer

Composer is the standard dependency manager for PHP.

Install Composer using the official installer:

php -r "copy('https://getcomposer.org/installer', 'composer-setup.php');"
php composer-setup.php
php -r "unlink('composer-setup.php');"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Move Composer to a global executable path:

sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Verify the installation:

composer --version
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

10. Install Docker Engine

First, remove conflicting Docker packages if they exist:

sudo dnf remove -y \
  docker \
  docker-client \
  docker-client-latest \
  docker-common \
  docker-latest \
  docker-latest-logrotate \
  docker-logrotate \
  docker-selinux \
  docker-engine-selinux \
  docker-engine
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Add the official Docker repository:

sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile https://download.docker.com/linux/fedora/docker-ce.repo
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Install Docker Engine, Docker CLI, containerd, Buildx, and Docker Compose plugin:

sudo dnf install -y \
  docker-ce \
  docker-ce-cli \
  containerd.io \
  docker-buildx-plugin \
  docker-compose-plugin
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Enable and start Docker:

sudo systemctl enable --now docker
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Verify Docker:

sudo docker run hello-world
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

11. Run Docker without sudo

Add your user to the Docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker "$USER"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Apply the group change:

newgrp docker
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Test Docker without sudo:

docker run hello-world
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

If this does not work immediately, log out and log back in.

12. Verify Docker Compose

Docker Compose is installed as a Docker CLI plugin.

Check the version:

docker compose version
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example usage:

docker compose up -d
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

13. Create a basic PHP test project

Create a simple PHP file:

mkdir -p ~/Projects/php-test
cd ~/Projects/php-test
mise use php@8.5
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Create index.php:

cat > index.php <<'PHP'
<?php

echo "PHP version: " . PHP_VERSION . PHP_EOL;
PHP
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Run it:

php index.php
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Start PHP’s built-in development server:

php -S localhost:8000
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Open in the browser:

http://localhost:8000
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

14. Optional: create a Docker Compose file for local development

Inside your project folder, create a compose.yaml file:

cat > compose.yaml <<'YAML'
services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:17
    container_name: php_dev_postgres
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: app
      POSTGRES_USER: app
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: secret
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  redis:
    image: redis:8
    container_name: php_dev_redis
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"

volumes:
  postgres_data:
YAML
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Start the services:

docker compose up -d
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Check running containers:

docker compose ps
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Stop the services:

docker compose down
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

15. Useful commands

Check the active PHP version:

php -v
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

List mise-managed tools:

mise ls
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Show the current active tool versions:

mise current
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Install tools defined in a project:

mise install
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Update system packages:

sudo dnf update -y
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Update mise-managed tools:

mise upgrade
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Check Docker status:

systemctl status docker
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Final setup summary

After completing this setup, Fedora 44 will have:

  • Updated system packages
  • Git, Vim, cURL, and ZSH
  • Oh My ZSH
  • mise for runtime version management
  • PHP 8.5 installed through mise
  • Composer
  • Docker Engine
  • Docker Compose plugin
  • A basic structure for local PHP development

This setup is suitable for PHP projects using frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, Slim, or custom PHP applications.

Top comments (0)