How to install PHP 8.1 alongside PHP 7.4 using HomeBrew in MacOs?

To install PHP 8 alongside PHP 7.4 and have it in a sibling directory (e.g., /opt/homebrew/etc/php/8.0 or /opt/homebrew/etc/php/8.1), follow these steps:

1. Add the shivammathur/php Tap:

First, you need to add the shivammathur/php tap to access older PHP versions, including PHP 8.x.

brew tap shivammathur/php

2. Install PHP 8.1 (or PHP 8.0):

To install PHP 8.1, use the following command:

brew install shivammathur/php/php@8.1

This will install PHP 8.1 and place its configuration and binaries in a sibling directory to PHP 7.4, such as /opt/homebrew/etc/php/8.1.

If you prefer PHP 8.0, run:

brew install shivammathur/php/php@8.0

3. Check the Installation Location:

You can check where PHP 8 is installed with the following:

brew info php@8.1

This will show you the location of PHP 8.1, which should be something like /opt/homebrew/etc/php/8.1 if you are using Homebrew installed in /opt/homebrew.

4. Switch Between Versions:

You can now use the brew unlink and brew link commands to switch between PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.

• To switch to PHP 8.1:
• brew unlink php@7.4
• brew link php@8.1 --force --overwrite
• To switch back to PHP 7.4:
• brew unlink php@8.1
• brew link php@7.4 --force --overwrite

Now, PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.x will reside in sibling directories, and you can easily switch between them.