How to install PHP 7.1, 7.2 and 5.6 as PHP-FPM and FastCGI for ISPConfig 3 on Debian 9

Updated: 11 October 2026 · Applies to: ISPConfig 3.2+ on Debian 11 to 13 and Ubuntu 22.04/24.04

Debian 9 and PHP 5.6/7.x are end of life. ISPConfig 3 can offer several PHP versions at the same time; each website picks its version in its settings. On current systems the ISPConfig autoinstaller sets this up for you.

New server: choose PHP versions during installation

The autoinstaller supports Debian 11 to 13 and Ubuntu 22.04/24.04. Show the options first, then install:

wget -O - https://get.ispconfig.org | sh -s -- --help
wget -O - https://get.ispconfig.org | sh -s -- --use-php=system,8.2,8.3

--use-php lists the extra PHP versions to install as PHP-FPM and FastCGI; system is the distribution's own version.

Existing server: add a PHP version

1. Install the version from the repository the autoinstaller set up, for example: apt install php8.3-fpm php8.3-cgi php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-gd php8.3-intl php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml php8.3-zip
2. In ISPConfig, open System › Additional PHP Versions and click Add new PHP version.
3. Enter a name (for example PHP 8.3), then on the FastCGI Settings tab the binary /usr/bin/php-cgi8.3 and the php.ini directory /etc/php/8.3/cgi, and on PHP-FPM Settings the service php8.3-fpm, the php.ini directory /etc/php/8.3/fpm and the pool directory /etc/php/8.3/fpm/pool.d.
4. Save. In each website's settings you can now choose PHP 8.3.