Homebrew makes managing packages on macOS easy. However, Apple’s new silicon is based on ARM64 architecture. This means that not every package or app can run natively (yet). Thankfully, Rosetta 2 helps bridge the gap by “translating software” so it can run on this new architecture.
While setting up my new MacBook Pro, I ran into this error while trying to install PHP 7.4:
brew install [email protected]
Error: Cannot install under Rosetta 2 in ARM default prefix (/opt/homebrew)! To rerun under ARM use: arch -arm64 brew install ...
Turns out, PHP 7.4 wanted nothing to do with Rosetta, so I needed to specify the architecture first:
arch -arm64 brew install [email protected]
Then I updated the PATH in my .zshconfig , so the terminal can find PHP 7.4:
echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/sbin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
I restarted my terminal and verified the PHP version:
php -v
Now I see PHP 7.4:
PHP 7.4.27 (cli) (built: Dec 16 2021 18:02:37) ( NTS ) Copyright (c) The PHP Group Zend Engine v3.4.0, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies with Zend OPcache v7.4.27, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies
Switch Between PHP Versions
Switching between versions of PHP is the same process: install (you only have to install once) and then update the PATH. Here are some examples:
PHP 8.1
brew install php
Update the path:
echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/php/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/php/sbin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
PHP 8.0
brew install [email protected]
Update the path:
echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/sbin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
PHP 7.4
arch -arm64 brew install [email protected]
Update the path:
echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/sbin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
Because PHP 7.3 and below are no longer supported, Homebrew won’t let you install:
arch -arm64 brew install [email protected]
Will throw an error:
Error: [email protected] has been disabled because it is a versioned formula!
Gotchas
You may need to unlink/link PHP version using Homebrew if you see an error like:
Error: Could not symlink include/php/TSRM/TSRM.h Target /usr/local/include/php/TSRM/TSRM.h is a symlink belonging to php. You can unlink it: brew unlink php
You could solve for this by trying:
brew unlink php brew link [email protected]
I hope you found this quick tip helpful, and if you have anything to add, please drop a comment below.
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