How to List Installed PHP Modules on Ubuntu Linux

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to list all compiled and installed PHP extensions on Ubuntu Linux.

A few days ago, I upgraded from PHP 7.2 to PHP 7.3, and all related extensions were installed with PHP 7.2, supporting my WordPress websites and blogs. I wanted to upgrade only the extensions currently installed with PHP 7.2.

Learning to list installed PHP modules on Ubuntu Linux can be useful for various reasons, such as troubleshooting PHP-related issues or determining if a specific module is installed and available.

It can also help you identify which modules must be added or removed based on your PHP requirements. In addition, knowing which modules are installed can help you optimize the performance of your PHP applications and websites.

Overall, being able to list installed PHP modules is an essential skill for anyone working with PHP on Ubuntu Linux.

List PHP Compiled Extensions

PHP / PHP-FPM has a list of all extensions that are compiled by default on Ubuntu. But not necessarily installed and in use. Extensions that are compiled with PHP installation are available to be used when necessary.

With a standard PHP install, not every library is compiled and installed — so if some functions are not working, you should look at what PHP extensions are compiled and installed.

So, to list compiled PHP / PHP-FPM extensions, run the commands below

php -m

That should show you something similar to the list below:

[PHP Modules]
calendar
Core
ctype
curl
date
dom
exif
fileinfo
filter
ftp
gd
gettext
hash
iconv
igbinary
imagick
json
libxml
mbstring
mysqli
mysqlnd
openssl
pcntl
pcre
PDO
pdo_mysql
Phar
posix
readline
redis
Reflection
session
shmop
SimpleXML
sockets
sodium
SPL
standard
sysvmsg
sysvsem
sysvshm
tidy
tokenizer
wddx
xml
xmlreader
xmlrpc
xmlwriter
xsl
Zend OPcache
zip
zlib

[Zend Modules]
Zend OPcache

List PHP Installed Extension

Now, to find out what PHP / PHP-FPM extensions are installed, you run the commands below:

dpkg --get-selections | grep -i php

You should see a similar list below:

php                                             install
php-common                                      install
php-igbinary                                    install
php-imagick                                     install
php-redis                                       install
php7.2-cli                                      install
php7.2-common                                   install
php7.2-curl                                     install
php7.2-fpm                                      install
php7.2-gd                                       install
php7.2-json                                     install
php7.2-mbstring                                 install
php7.2-mysql                                    install
php7.2-opcache                                  install
php7.2-readline                                 install
php7.2-tidy                                     install
php7.2-xml                                      install
php7.2-xmlrpc                                   install
php7.2-zip                                      install

That’s how you know which extensions are installed

So, if you only want to install PHP 7.3 extensions of what is currently installed with  PHP 7.2, use the commands above to list installed PHP extensions, then install those PHP 7.3 versions.

That’s it!

Congratulations! You have learned how to list PHP extensions to determine which are compiled and installed.

You may also like the post below: