mysqli extension

[wdpspace]

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Question

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Hi

I'm struggling to enable mysqli in VSC on Codespaces. Running this code "php -m | grep mysqli" does not output anything, which means the mysqli extension is not enabled.

I've tried various methods (incl. sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y php-mysqli), however it does not seem to enable mysqli. I keep getting an error "PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Class "mysqli" not found".

Any help is much appreciated

[tuna4ll]

php-mysqli only installs the extension for the system PHP package. In GitHub Codespaces, VS Code may be using a different PHP installation (for example, the Dev Container image already includes its own PHP binary).

First, check which PHP executable you're actually using:

which php
php -v
php --ini

If php -m doesn't list mysqli, verify that the mysqli extension exists for that PHP installation:

php -i | grep extension_dir
ls $(php -i | awk -F'=> ' '/extension_dir/ {print $2}') | grep mysqli

If the extension is missing entirely, you'll need to install/rebuild it for the PHP version inside your Codespace rather than installing php-mysqli via apt.

Could you also share:

• the output of php -v
• the output of php --ini
• your .devcontainer/devcontainer.json (if you're using a dev container)

That should make it easier to identify why mysqli isn't being loaded.

[zxyandreay]

It looks like php-mysql may be installing the extension for Ubuntu/Debian’s PHP installation, while your Codespace is running PHP from the dev-container image instead.

First, check which PHP installation is active:

which php
php -v
php --ini
command -v docker-php-ext-install

If docker-php-ext-install returns a path, install the extension through the dev-container rather than through apt.

Create .devcontainer/Dockerfile:

# Keep the same PHP image/version currently used by your devcontainer
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/php:4-8.3-bookworm

RUN docker-php-ext-install mysqli pdo_mysql

Then update .devcontainer/devcontainer.json to build from it:

{
  "name": "PHP",
  "build": {
    "dockerfile": "Dockerfile"
  }
}

Replace the image version above with the PHP version your project requires.

After saving the files, open the VS Code Command Palette and run:

Codespaces: Rebuild Container

Then verify the extension:

php -m | grep -Ei 'mysqli|pdo_mysql'
php -r 'var_dump(class_exists("mysqli"));'

The second command should output:

bool(true)

The reason sudo apt install php-mysql may not work is that it can install the extension for /usr/bin/php, while the active Codespaces PHP binary may be under /usr/local/bin/php. The extension must be built or installed for the same PHP binary that runs your application.

Could you also share the output of these commands if it still fails?

which php
php -v
php --ini

[ludvigmaira7-cpu]

[Nayab-Mirza]

It sounds like mysqli isn't installed for the PHP version your Codespace is actually using. Installing php-mysqli with apt often won't help if it doesn't match the active PHP installation.

I'd start by checking:

which php
php -v
php --ini
php -m | grep mysqli

[shourya011]

Enabling mysqli in PHP on GitHub Codespaces
The php-mysqli package alone isn't always enough — here's how to actually fix it:

1. Check which PHP is running

bashphp -v
php --ini

php --ini shows your loaded php.ini path and the "Scan for additional .ini files" directory (usually /etc/php/8.x/cli/conf.d/). Codespaces sometimes has more than one PHP install, so make sure you're targeting the right version.
2. Install the version-matched package
Get your exact PHP version from step 1, then install explicitly:

bashsudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y php8.x-mysqli

(Replace 8.x with your actual version, e.g. php8.2-mysqli.)
3. Enable it and check the symlink

bashsudo phpenmod mysqli

Then check the conf.d directory (from step 1) for a file like 20-mysqli.ini containing extension=mysqli. If it's missing or empty, the enable step didn't complete.
4. Restart your terminal fully
Don't just re-run the command — close and reopen the terminal (or restart the Codespace). Codespaces can cache PATH/module state in an open shell session.
5. Verify

bashphp -m | grep mysqli

6.. Make it permanent
If this is a devcontainer-based Codespace, any manual apt-get install gets wiped on rebuild. Add the install to .devcontainer/devcontainer.json (in postCreateCommand) or your Dockerfile so it persists:
json"postCreateCommand": "sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y php8.x-mysqli && sudo phpenmod mysqli"
7. CLI vs web server mismatch
If you're testing via a browser/Apache/FPM instead of CLI, note that CLI and FPM often load separate conf.d directories — enabling it for CLI doesn't guarantee it's enabled for FPM. Check php --ini under whichever runtime is actually serving your script.