Alaa Amer

Setting Up Optimal PHP Development Environment in 2025

Setting Up Optimal PHP Development Environment in 2025

Technical Guide by Alaa Amer – Professional Web & App Developer

Setting up a proper PHP development environment is the foundation of any successful project. In this article, I'll show you how to build a professional and flexible development environment.

2️⃣ Different Methods to Install PHP

a) Ready Solutions (Easy)

• XAMPP: Most popular and easiest for beginners
• WAMP: Dedicated for Windows system
• MAMP: Suitable for macOS system

b) Manual Installation (Advanced)

# On Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2 php mysql-server

# On macOS using Homebrew
brew install [email protected] mysql nginx

c) Using Docker (Latest)

version: "3.8"
services:
  php:
    image: php:8.2-fpm
    volumes:
      - ./src:/var/www/html

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: secret

4️⃣ Setting Up Composer for Package Management

# Download Composer
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php

# Global installation
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

# Verify installation
composer --version

Using Composer:

{
  "require": {
    "monolog/monolog": "^2.0",
    "guzzlehttp/guzzle": "^7.0"
  }
}

6️⃣ Configuring PHP for Development

; php.ini for development
display_errors = On
error_reporting = E_ALL
log_errors = On
max_execution_time = 300
memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 64M

💼 Summary: Professional Development Environment

The right development environment saves you hours of time and makes your work more productive and enjoyable.

Next Step: Start with a simple project to test your new environment.

📩 Need help with setup? Contact me