Phat - XAMPP PHP Version Switcher

A simple yet powerful CLI tool to manage multiple PHP versions in XAMPP on Windows.

Features

• 🔄 Switch between PHP versions instantly
• 📦 Download and install new PHP versions automatically
• �️ Uninstall PHP versions safely
• �📋 List all installed PHP versions (local)
• 🌐 Fetch available stable PHP versions from PHP.net (global)
• ⚡ Automatic Apache configuration updates
• 🛡️ Safe backups before switching

Setup

Option 1: Install from MSI (Recommended)

Download the latest MSI installer from Releases and run it. The installer will automatically add phat to your PATH.

Option 2: Manual Installation

1. Clone or download from GitHub:

   git clone https://github.com/pphatdev/php-version-switcher.git

2. Add the folder to your system PATH:

   Settings → System → About → Advanced system settings → Environment Variables → Path → New

   Add the full path to where you cloned/extracted the files.

3. Open a new terminal and run:

   phat help

Note: Phat is designed for Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell. If using Git Bash or other bash terminals, see the Git Bash compatibility guide.

Commands

Show version

phat -v
# or
phat --version

Displays the current Phat version.

List installed versions

phat list
# or explicitly list local versions
phat list --php --local

Output example:

  Installed PHP versions:
  * 7.4.33 (active, php7)
    8.0.30 (8.0.30)
    8.2.27 (8.2.27)

List available PHP versions globally

phat list --php --global

This fetches the latest stable PHP versions available from windows.php.net (Thread-Safe x64 builds).

Output example:

  Fetching available PHP versions from windows.php.net...

  Available stable PHP versions (Thread-Safe x64):

  PHP 8.3:
    8.3.15
    8.3.14
    8.3.13

  PHP 8.2:
    8.2.27
    8.2.26

  PHP 8.1:
    8.1.31
    8.1.30

  To install a version: phat install <version>

Show current version

phat current

Displays the currently active PHP version in XAMPP.

Switch PHP version

phat switch 8.0.30
# or use the alias
phat use 8.0.30

This will:

1. Stop Apache
2. Backup current php/ → php{version}/ (e.g., php7.4.33/)
3. Rename php{target}/ → php/
4. Update Apache config (httpd-xampp.conf)
5. Start Apache

Download & install a new PHP version

phat install 8.3.6

Downloads the thread-safe x64 build from windows.php.net and extracts it to C:\xampp\php8.3.6\.

After installing, switch to it:

phat switch 8.3.6

Uninstall a PHP version

phat uninstall 8.0.30

Removes an installed PHP version from your system. This will:

1. Verify the version exists and is not currently active
2. Ask for confirmation before deletion
3. Permanently remove the PHP version directory

Note: You cannot uninstall the currently active PHP version. Switch to a different version first.

Help

phat help

Shows all available commands with examples.

How It Works

Component	Description
Directories	PHP versions are stored as C:\xampp\php{version}\. The active one is always C:\xampp\php\.
Apache config	httpd-xampp.conf is updated to load the correct php7apache2_4.dll or php8apache2_4.dll.
Module name	PHP 7.x uses php7_module, PHP 8.x uses php_module (XAMPP convention).
Backup	A backup of httpd-xampp.conf.bak is created on first switch.
Services	Apache is automatically stopped before switching and restarted after configuration updates.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11 - Required for PowerShell support
• XAMPP - Installed at C:\xampp (default location)
• PowerShell 5.1+ - Pre-installed on Windows 10/11
• .NET SDK 6.0+ - Only needed for building the MSI installer

Building the MSI Installer

If you want to build the installer from source:

1. Install the .NET SDK 6.0+

2. Build the MSI:

   dotnet build ./installer/Phat.wixproj -c Release

3. The MSI will be created in installer\bin\Release\

To specify a custom version:

dotnet build ./installer/Phat.wixproj -c Release -p:ProductVersion=1.0.0

Troubleshooting

📖 For detailed troubleshooting solutions, see TROUBLESHOOTING.md

PowerShell Execution Policy Error

If you see "cannot be loaded. The file is not digitally signed" error:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator
2. Run: Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
3. Run: Unblock-File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Phat\phat.ps1"

➡️ Full solution guide

Permission Errors

Run your terminal as Administrator if you encounter permission errors when switching PHP versions.

➡️ Full solution guide

Apache Won't Start

1. Check Apache error logs at C:\xampp\apache\logs\error.log
2. Ensure the correct PHP DLL files exist in the PHP directory
3. Verify httpd-xampp.conf has the correct PHP module configuration

➡️ Full solution guide

VHost Warnings

Apache virtual host warnings (e.g., Could not resolve host name) are unrelated to PHP switching — they come from your virtual host configuration in httpd-vhosts.conf.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs and issues
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests

Support

If you find this tool helpful, please consider:

• ⭐ Starring the repository
• 🐛 Reporting bugs
• 📝 Improving documentation

License

MIT © pphatdev

---

Made with ❤️ by pphatdev