Ubuntu 26.04 ships PHP 8.5 in its default APT repository, and PHP-FPM handles PHP execution through a FastCGI process pool that scales independently of the web server. This guide installs PHP 8.5 with common extensions, configures PHP-FPM, and integrates it with Nginx so PHP requests are processed efficiently. By the end, you'll have PHP and PHP-FPM running with Nginx serving a verified PHP page.

Install PHP

PHP 8.5 is available in Ubuntu 26.04's default APT repository.

1. Update the APT package index:

$ sudo apt update

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2. Install PHP:

$ sudo apt install php -y

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3. Verify the installed version:

$ php --version

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Install PHP Extensions

Extensions add capabilities like database connectivity, image processing, and archive handling.

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