# PHP version switching not working
**URL:** https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300
**Category:** Application Support
**Created:** [July 26, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300 "2025-07-26T12:25:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@juliaset](https://community.kinsta.com/u/juliaset)
#### Post date: [July 26, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300/1 "2025-07-26T12:25:57Z")
The PHP version switching feature in DevKinsta is not working. Despite setting a site to use PHP 8.3 in the DevKinsta interface, the actual containers continue to run PHP 7.4.33, preventing the use of PHP 8+ syntax in WordPress development.
## Environment Details
- **DevKinsta Version** : 2.13.4
- **Operating System** : macOS
- **Docker Version** : 28.3.2, build 578ccf6
- **Site Name** : ncwit
- **Expected PHP Version** : 8.3
- **Actual PHP Version** : 7.4.33
## Current Docker Images
All DevKinsta images are version 1.3.6 and appear to be 16 months old:
```auto
kinsta/devkinsta_mailhog 1.3.6 f060baef253c 16 months ago 392MB
kinsta/devkinsta_adminer 1.3.6 0e94ac87d142 16 months ago 94.8MB
kinsta/devkinsta_nginx 1.3.6 b123f3cff7e8 16 months ago 53.3MB
kinsta/devkinsta_db 1.3.6 fb86d6cbbb8a 16 months ago 397MB
kinsta/devkinsta_fmp 1.3.6 edc7803a86f1 16 months ago 647MB
```
## Steps Taken to Reproduce/Fix
1. **Changed PHP version in DevKinsta interface** :
2. **Verified the issue** :
3. **Attempted complete rebuild** :
4. **Checked for updates** :
## Expected Behavior
When I set a site to use PHP 8.3 in the DevKinsta interface, the actual PHP runtime in the containers should be PHP 8.3, allowing the use of PHP 8+ language features.
## Actual Behavior
The DevKinsta interface shows PHP 8.3 is selected, but the containers continue to run PHP 7.4.33. This creates a development/production environment mismatch since our production servers run PHP 8+.
## Impact
- Cannot use PHP 8+ syntax features in local development
- Development environment doesn’t match production environment (PHP 8+)
- wp-cli fails due to PHP syntax errors when code uses PHP 8+ features
- Blocks local WordPress development workflow
## Questions
1. **Are the 1.3.6 Docker images the latest available?** If not, how can I force DevKinsta to download newer images?
2. **Is there a manual way to update the Docker images** that DevKinsta uses?
3. **Should PHP version switching work with the current version of DevKinsta?** If so, what might be preventing it from working correctly?
4. **Are there any configuration files or settings** I can check/modify to troubleshoot this issue?
5. **Is there a recommended alternative** for local WordPress development with reliable PHP 8+ support?
Please let me know what additional information or diagnostic steps would be helpful to resolve this issue.
---
### Author:  [@ShawnC](https://community.kinsta.com/u/ShawnC)
#### Post date: [July 27, 2025, 12:50am UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300/4 "2025-07-27T00:50:32Z")
Continuing the discussion from [PHP version switching not working](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300/2):
Howdy @juliaset 👋,
Thank you kindly for sharing those details.
Please find answers to each of your questions below, as well as steps to switch the PHP version in command line.
1. **Are the 1.3.6 Docker images the latest available?**
Yes, these are the latest
2. **Is there a manual way to update the Docker images** that DevKinsta uses?
You can delete the images and relaunch DK. That should force it to update the images. But, 1.3.6 are the latest.
3. **Should PHP version switching work with the current version of DevKinsta?** If so, what might be preventing it from working correctly?
It is technically switching the PHP version as intended. However, the switcher just switches the PHP-FPM version. It doesn’t relink the PHP executable for commands run via the command line.
4. **Are there any configuration files or settings** I can check/modify to troubleshoot this issue?
Please follow the steps I’ll provide below.
5. **Is there a recommended alternative** for local WordPress development with reliable PHP 8+ support?
DevKinsta supports PHP 8+, and can be reliably used to develop a WordPress site. The alternative would be to set up a local LAMP/LEMP stack if they want.
I tried the following on my instance of DevKinsta, and it worked.
If you’d like to switch the PHP version used when executing `PHP` commands from the terminal, you can do the following:
`docker exec -u root -it devkinsta_fpm bash`
Then, run the following:
`update-alternatives --config php`
That should allow you to select which PHP version to use…
Alternatively, you can set the PHP version in a non-interactive way by specifying the PHP binary to use.
For example, to immediately set PHP 8.3 for use, you can run the following:
`update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php8.3`
---
### Author:  [@juliaset](https://community.kinsta.com/u/juliaset)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300/5 "2025-07-28T14:40:18Z")
Thank you so much for the detailed response and clear explanation of how DevKinsta handles PHP versions.
Following your instructions, I was able to set the PHP CLI to 8.3 and am able to run wp-cli again. Issue resolved!
---
### Author:  [@system](https://community.kinsta.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300/6 "2025-07-31T02:41:07Z")
This topic was automatically closed 2 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
---
### Author:  [@ShawnC](https://community.kinsta.com/u/ShawnC)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/php-version-switching-not-working/5300/7 "2025-07-31T14:19:29Z")
@juliaset
No problem friend.
I’m glad that worked out.
Stay awesome 🤙