This is a tutorial for PHP 8.4 installation in CWP PHP Switcher

I've switched to direct compiler environment variables that pass flags straight to gcc, g++, and ld - eliminating pkg-config dependency that was failing across servers.

Old Method (Unstable):

pkg-config → generates flags → gcc/g++/ld
↓
Breaks when pkg-config .pc files missing/corrupted/version mismatch

New Method (Stable):

CFLAGS/CXXFLAGS/LDFLAGS → gcc/g++/ld directly
↓
No pkg-config intermediary = consistent builds everywhere

Install dependencies :

# For el9 only : 
dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

# run these for el8 and el9
dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
dnf install glibc-devel elfutils-libelf-devel
dnf install git make gcc gcc-c++ binutils glibc-devel autoconf libtool bison re2c automake libxml2-devel openssl-devel sqlite-devel bzip2-devel libcurl-devel libpng-devel libavif-devel libwebp-devel libjpeg-devel libXpm-devel freetype-devel gmp-devel libicu-devel openldap-devel oniguruma-devel libargon2-devel libtidy-devel libxslt-devel 

Build PHP 8.4 switcher :

rm -rf /usr/local/php-84
mkdir -p /usr/local/php-84
cd /usr/local/php-84
wget http://php.net/distributions/php-8.4.15.tar.gz
tar zxvf php-8.4.15.tar.gz
cd php-8.4.15
./configure --with-config-file-path=/usr/local/php --enable-cgi --with-config-file-scan-dir=/usr/local/php/php.d --with-zlib=/usr --enable-mbstring --with-zip --enable-bcmath --enable-pcntl --enable-ftp --enable-exif --enable-calendar --enable-sysvmsg --enable-sysvsem --enable-sysvshm --with-tidy --with-curl --with-iconv --with-gmp --enable-gd --with-avif --with-jpeg --with-freetype --enable-gd-jis-conv --with-webp --with-xpm --with-openssl --with-pdo-mysql=mysqlnd --with-gettext=/usr --with-bz2=/usr --with-mysqli --enable-soap --enable-phar --with-xsl --enable-posix --enable-sockets --with-external-pcre --with-libdir=lib64 --with-mysql-sock=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock --enable-intl --with-password-argon2 --enable-litespeed --with-ldap=/usr --with-ldap-sasl=/usr 
export CFLAGS="-O2 -fPIE -DPIC"
export CXXFLAGS="-O2 -fPIE -DPIC"
export LDFLAGS="-pie -Wl,--as-needed"
make -j$(nproc)
make install

After that, PHP 8.4 will be installed. You can check via the php -v command :

[root@alma]# php -v
PHP 8.4.15 (cli) (built: Dec  3 2025 01:45:34) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.4.15, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies

Hello @Sandeep B. Thank you for the tutorial.

I ran into a few problems under AlmaLinux 9.6, which this installation script has already fixed.

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail
set -x

# For el9 only :
dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

# run these for el8 and el9
dnf -y groupinstall "Development Tools"
dnf -y install glibc-devel elfutils-libelf-devel
dnf -y install git make gcc gcc-c++ \
  binutils glibc-devel autoconf libtool \
  bison re2c automake libxml2-devel openssl-devel \
  sqlite-devel bzip2-devel libcurl-devel libpng-devel \
  libavif-devel libwebp-devel libjpeg-devel \
  libXpm-devel freetype-devel gmp-devel \
  libicu-devel openldap-devel oniguruma-devel \
  libargon2-devel libtidy-devel libxslt-devel

# Build PHP 8.4 switcher:
rm -rf /usr/local/php-84
mkdir -p /usr/local/php-84
cd /usr/local/php-84
wget http://php.net/distributions/php-8.4.15.tar.gz
tar zxvf php-8.4.15.tar.gz
cd php-8.4.15

# For el9 mandatory: --with-openssl=/usr/lib64
./configure --with-config-file-path=/usr/local/php \
  --enable-cgi \
  --with-config-file-scan-dir=/usr/local/php/php.d \
  --with-zlib=/usr \
  --enable-mbstring \
  --with-zip \
  --enable-bcmath \
  --enable-pcntl \
  --enable-ftp \
  --enable-exif \
  --enable-calendar \
  --enable-sysvmsg \
  --enable-sysvsem \
  --enable-sysvshm \
  --with-tidy \
  --with-curl \
  --with-iconv \
  --with-gmp \
  --enable-gd \
  --with-avif \
  --with-jpeg \
  --with-freetype \
  --enable-gd-jis-conv \
  --with-webp \
  --with-xpm \
  --with-openssl=/usr/lib64 \
  --with-pdo-mysql=mysqlnd \
  --with-gettext=/usr \
  --with-bz2=/usr \
  --with-mysqli \
  --enable-soap \
  --enable-phar \
  --with-xsl \
  --enable-posix \
  --enable-sockets \
  --with-external-pcre \
  --with-libdir=lib64 \
  --with-mysql-sock=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock \
  --enable-intl \
  --with-password-argon2 \
  --enable-litespeed \
  --with-ldap=/usr \
  --with-ldap-sasl=/usr \
  --with-pear \
  --with-sodium

# These settings will break on el9 - AlmaLinux 9.6
# export CFLAGS="-O2 -fPIE -DPIC"
# export CXXFLAGS="-O2 -fPIE -DPIC"
# export LDFLAGS="-pie -Wl,--as-needed"

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/lib64/pkgconfig
export CFLAGS="-O2"
export CXXFLAGS="-O2"
export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/lib64 -Wl,--as-needed"

make -j$(nproc)
make install

# ---------- remove old .ini from PHP 5.x, 7.x -----
rm -f /usr/local/php/php.d/sodium.ini

# ---------- PECL IMAGICK INSTALL ----------
echo "Installing Imagick dependencies…"
dnf -y install ImageMagick ImageMagick-devel

echo "Installing Imagick via PECL…"
/usr/local/bin/pecl install imagick

echo "Adding imagick.ini…"
mkdir -p /usr/local/php/php.d
echo "extension=imagick.so" > /usr/local/php/php.d/imagick.ini

echo "PHP CLI build with Imagick completed successfully!"
php -v
php -m | grep imagick

--with-openssl=/usr/lib64
--with-pear
--with-sodium
without the switches and with the recommended FLAG settings, PHP 8.4.15 did not compile properly.

And it may also be necessary to remove the old sodium.ini if it was left in the directory from PHP 5.x, 7.x.

rm -f /usr/local/php/php.d/sodium.ini

But with the above settings, all parts of PHP 8.4.15 are compiling properly in AlmaLinux 9.6.

[root@vps ~]# php -i | grep -i sodium
Configure Command =>  './configure'  '--with-config-file-path=/usr/local/php' '--enable-cgi' '--with-config-file-scan-dir=/usr/local/php/php.d' '--with-zlib=/usr' '--enable-mbstring' '--with-zip' '--enable-bcmath' '--enable-pcntl' '--enable-ftp' '--enable-exif' '--enable-calendar' '--enable-sysvmsg' '--enable-sysvsem' '--enable-sysvshm' '--with-tidy' '--with-curl' '--with-iconv' '--with-gmp' '--enable-gd' '--with-avif' '--with-jpeg' '--with-freetype' '--enable-gd-jis-conv' '--with-webp' '--with-xpm' '--with-openssl=/usr/lib64' '--with-pdo-mysql=mysqlnd' '--with-gettext=/usr' '--with-bz2=/usr' '--with-mysqli' '--enable-soap' '--enable-phar' '--with-xsl' '--enable-posix' '--enable-sockets' '--with-external-pcre' '--with-libdir=lib64' '--with-mysql-sock=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' '--enable-intl' '--with-password-argon2' '--enable-litespeed' '--with-ldap=/usr' '--with-ldap-sasl=/usr' '--with-pear' '--with-sodium'
sodium
sodium support => enabled
libsodium headers version => 1.0.18
libsodium library version => 1.0.18

[root@vps ~]# php -i | grep -i openssl
Configure Command =>  './configure'  '--with-config-file-path=/usr/local/php' '--enable-cgi' '--with-config-file-scan-dir=/usr/local/php/php.d' '--with-zlib=/usr' '--enable-mbstring' '--with-zip' '--enable-bcmath' '--enable-pcntl' '--enable-ftp' '--enable-exif' '--enable-calendar' '--enable-sysvmsg' '--enable-sysvsem' '--enable-sysvshm' '--with-tidy' '--with-curl' '--with-iconv' '--with-gmp' '--enable-gd' '--with-avif' '--with-jpeg' '--with-freetype' '--enable-gd-jis-conv' '--with-webp' '--with-xpm' '--with-openssl=/usr/lib64' '--with-pdo-mysql=mysqlnd' '--with-gettext=/usr' '--with-bz2=/usr' '--with-mysqli' '--enable-soap' '--enable-phar' '--with-xsl' '--enable-posix' '--enable-sockets' '--with-external-pcre' '--with-libdir=lib64' '--with-mysql-sock=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' '--enable-intl' '--with-password-argon2' '--enable-litespeed' '--with-ldap=/usr' '--with-ldap-sasl=/usr' '--with-pear' '--with-sodium'
SSL Version => OpenSSL/3.5.1
libSSH Version => libssh/0.10.4/openssl/zlib
openssl
OpenSSL support => enabled
OpenSSL Library Version => OpenSSL 3.5.1 1 Jul 2025
OpenSSL Header Version => OpenSSL 3.5.1 1 Jul 2025
Openssl default config => /etc/pki/tls/openssl.cnf
openssl.cafile => no value => no value
openssl.capath => no value => no value
OpenSSL support => enabled