How to set php 8.0 as default version in ubuntu server

For some reason, i have to install PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.0 in the same ubuntu server. By default when i install php 7.4, it shows it is the default version when use the command php -v.

But i want to run composer using PHP 8.0 now to install one of my application in the server. Server cant find any php version now, so i cant install my application using composer.

How did i install PHP 8.0

I have used sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php this repository to install latest version of 8.0 in the server, I can make it work with caddy server and even site is running fine in my testing environment. << you can check out this URL to make sure my 8.0 is running fine in server.

Anyway i have removed PHP 7.4 from server to make sure does it help me to set 8.0 as default one, but no i can't get it to work.

php --version

Screen Shot Image of php version result from the server

Help me out to set PHP 8.0 as default version in server now. Thanks.

1 Answer

You will likely need to do two things:

1. Set the alternative version to your 8.0 installation:

   sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php8.0

2. Confirm you have the CLI (Command Line Interface) package installed:

   sudo apt install php8.0-cli

From here you should be good to go.