Setup

Just enough tooling to run scripts, a tiny built-in server, and Composer - no Docker required for learning.

What you need

• PHP 8.4+ (8.3 works for almost everything here; I'll call out 8.4-only bits)
• Composer (PHP's package manager - think npm/pnpm)
• A terminal
• An editor (VS Code / Cursor / PhpStorm - whatever you already live in)

Check versions:

php -v
composer -V

You want something like PHP 8.4.x and Composer 2.x.

Install notes (high level)

Linux

Distro packages vary. On Ubuntu/Debian-ish you often need an Ondřej PPA or your distro's 8.4 packages. Alternatively: php.net downloads / phpenv / asdf.

Composer: getcomposer.org - the installer script is the usual path.

macOS

Homebrew is the path of least resistance:

brew install php composer

Windows

windows.php.net or Scoop/Chocolatey. WSL2 with Linux PHP is honestly nicer if you already use it for front-end work.

Extensions that matter early

When you php -m, it's nice to already have:

• pdo_sqlite or pdo_mysql (we'll use SQLite in examples)
• mbstring
• json (usually built-in)
• curl
• openssl

If something is missing later, install the matching package for your OS (php8.4-sqlite3, etc.).

First script

Create examples/hello/hello.php (already in this repo):

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

echo "Hello from PHP " . PHP_VERSION . PHP_EOL;

Run it:

php examples/hello/hello.php

Comments for the code above:

• <?php opens PHP mode - every PHP file starts with this (or a short echo tag, but we stay classic)
• declare(strict_types=1); turns on strict type checking for this file - put it at the top of everything you write
• PHP_EOL is the platform newline - nicer than hardcoding \n when printing to CLI

Built-in server

PHP ships a tiny development server. From a folder with index.php:

php -S localhost:8080 -t public

-t public sets the document root. Great for learning HTTP without nginx. Not for production. Obviously.

We'll use this for the mini router later.

Editor tips (front-end brain edition)

• Install a PHP language support / Intelephense extension
• Enable format-on-save if you like (PHP CS Fixer / Pint later - not required day one)
• Treat vendor/ like node_modules/ - never edit it by hand

Project layout we'll use

php-tutorial-2026/
  docs/          # this VitePress site
  examples/      # runnable PHP bits
  package.json   # only for the docs site

PHP examples are plain files (or tiny Composer projects). The tutorial site itself is Node/VitePress - ironic, I know 🙂

Once php examples/hello/hello.php prints a version string, you're set.

Best,

-- ł.