Is there any way to test PHP locally without installing a server?

Question

I'm looking for something like http://phpfiddle.org/, but completely local. I don't want to commit to installing something as complex as Apache, then PHP on top of that, just to try out code when I'm offline. Is there anything that can run PHP 5.5 on the local machine without installing an entire server underneath it?

http://www.php.net/manual/en/features.commandline.webserver.php ? — DCoder, Feb 01 '14 at 08:13
The purpose of / and reason for using a complete server is to get as close to a production environment as possible so you're sure in the end that your code works in the real world. Without Apache there to toss out request errors you'll be handicapped as far as debugging. — oucil, Feb 01 '14 at 09:14
Using VirtualBox to run a VM that replicates the production environment and versions on your local development box is pretty common practise these days: it allows you to run PHP , MySQL, etc in a sandbox on your development machine — Mark Baker, Feb 01 '14 at 09:44

score 118 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 24 '17 at 14:08

118

There's no need for a server if using PHP 5.5+ - it has a built-in server (http://www.php.net/manual/en/features.commandline.webserver.php)

Just use:

$ cd ~/public_html
$ php -S localhost:8000

edited Mar 24 '17 at 14:08

WD40

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answered Feb 01 '14 at 08:18

Eugen Dimboiu

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is this the same on Windows? – Ky - Feb 01 '14 at 08:36
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Yes , you just need to install php on your system and the server is bundled with php 5.5+ – Eugen Dimboiu Feb 01 '14 at 08:46
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fyi, PHP 5.4+ has it - well it does here. – Ryan Vincent Mar 25 '16 at 11:47
This worked well for me on Mac, thanks! I'm also looking for a solution to run WordPress locally without installing MAMP or XAMPP. Admin rights required at work to install software, and IT is outsourced/offsite and difficult to work with. Is there such thing as a portable MySQL? – Paul Shryock Jan 30 '17 at 17:52
Portable sql = sqlite - but wordpress doesn't work on it as far as I know. This is just for testing scripts and other simple stuff - it's not a fully fledged server – Eugen Dimboiu Jan 30 '17 at 17:54
Just use `Ctrl-C` to stop it afterwards. – Strategy Thinker Jan 15 '20 at 03:12

score 6 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 10 '18 at 19:05

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As a minimalistic solution, on the command line you can also start php in interactive shell with php -a that will execute the commands you enter line by line. I often use it for testing small snippets of code.

edited Mar 10 '18 at 19:05

Randall

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answered Feb 01 '14 at 08:23

Attila Fulop

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I did this in XAMPP but it wouldn't run anything I typed – Ky - Feb 03 '14 at 02:39
Wow, that's odd. What happens when you type `echo "Hello\n";` and then ENTER? – Attila Fulop Feb 03 '14 at 08:29
It creates a blank new line after `echo "Hello\n";` and then does nothing. If I press `Ctrl+C`, it re-prints all the code I typed, but doesn't run any of it, and brings me back to the general shell – Ky - Feb 04 '14 at 13:36
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You're right, it seems it doesn't work properly on windows. See: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17362209/no-output-from-php-interactive-on-windows – Attila Fulop Feb 05 '14 at 08:57
Oh do I have to type the ``? – Ky - Feb 06 '14 at 13:43
Unfortunately I don't know, I'm not using windows. On Linux/OSX I don't have to – Attila Fulop Feb 06 '14 at 17:33

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 03 '15 at 20:29

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You can download a portable webserver http://www.usbwebserver.net/en/ and use this script under it https://github.com/websiteduck/Run-PHP-Code

answered Jul 03 '15 at 20:29

Uchiha Itachi

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 01 '14 at 08:17

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You can install either XAMPP or WAMP server locally if you find it complicated to configure PHP for Apache.

answered Feb 01 '14 at 08:17

vlad1918

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Alright, I have XAMPP running and got the shell open, but when I use `php -a` for the interactive shell, nothing I type does anything :/ – Ky - Feb 01 '14 at 18:03

Attila Fulop · Answer 5 · 2014-02-05T12:13:12.100

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You should try phpsh as well. It is a php interactive shell from the facebook developer folks with history, tab completion and quick access to documentation.

The project is maintained on github.

edited Feb 05 '14 at 12:13

answered Feb 05 '14 at 08:59

Attila Fulop

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score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 25 '16 at 11:43

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Use psysh which is a wonderful tool for the purpose you described.

If your project is on Laravel, then it's "built in", as tinker, so you can invoke it as php artisan tinker.

answered Mar 25 '16 at 11:43

Attila Fulop

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 01 '14 at 08:13

I really dont think so. but it isnt so complex as you think.

if you are on windows - just download: http://www.wampserver.com/ - it will install the whole server for you (mysql&phpmyadmin,php5).

on linux - got to google: install lamp to [your-linux] -- and follow the simple instructions

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 28 '19 at 13:53

For Windows Users:

Check out the ezPHP GitHub project. Per the project description...

EzPHP is an alternative to Xamp/Wamp. EzPHP is the easiest way to setup a PHP development environment for learning PHP programming on Windows.

The scope of this project is to provide a single .exe file that will get you a PHP developing server.

Link - https://github.com/marcomilon/ezphp

Setting it up was simple. Download the exphp.exe file and drop it in a folder. When you run the exe, it will launch the server and generate a public_html folder and index.php file. Follow the instructions in the command window and navigate to http://localhost:8080. Now you can start developing in the public_html folder and refresh your browser to see your changes.

The linked site does not have the exphp.exe file. Where or how can it be downloaded? — user2707695, Apr 26 '22 at 09:51

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 22 '21 at 21:09

This is what I do for simple pages:

Download php in zip and extract (PHP 8.0.2 ~25MB)

Then run

> php.exe path\to\your\index.php>path\to\the\output\index.html

Open the result index.html with your favorite browser

You have to find a workaround for your _GETs though.

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 01 '16 at 16:05

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If you use a development environment, like Aptana Studio, you might as well click on the Run As, and run it in your preferred browser. You need WAMP/XAMPP to be installed and running in order to do so.

answered Mar 01 '16 at 16:05

omrakhur

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Is there any way to test PHP locally without installing a server?

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