How to switch between several PHP versions in MAMP 2.x

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mamp logoSometimes you need to test your projects against multiple versions of PHP.

If you’re using MAMP that’s fairly easy to do: head over to the MAMP Start Screen, select Preferences and see two versions to choose from.

Here I’m using MAMP 2.2 (even though 3.x has been released already) and I have PHP 5.2.17 and PHP 5.5.3.

When I switch to the other version MAMP restarts and I can refresh my browser to see my project running on the other PHP version.

Screen Shot 2014-03-20 at 08.31.06

Screen Shot 2014-03-20 at 08.31.12

That’s all good if I actually needed either version – but sadly 5.2.x is too old for me, and 5.5.x doesn’t quite work and is a bit too cutting edge. I need it to reflect my production environment.

So what is a boy to do?

The good news is that MAMP ships with several other PHP versions, and you can even download more from http://mamp.info (in the downloads section). Only two versions are displayed at a time, namely the oldest and the newest you have in a certain directory.

To make use of this feature, shut down MAMP, then find the correct folder and simply rename the versions you don’t need to something else – for example, add an x to the front. Open a Finder window and navigate to the following folder:

  • Applications/MAMP/bin/php

This is the folder that houses all your PHP versions. You’ll see something similar to this:

Screen Shot 2014-03-20 at 08.39.40

I’m renaming my oldest version and my newest version so that I’m left with PHP 5.3.27 and PHP 5.4.19:

Screen Shot 2014-03-20 at 08.43.14

Now restart MAMP and see your handy work in action. You’ll be pleased to see that you can now choose the PHP version you actually want to use:

Screen Shot 2014-03-20 at 08.50.52

I understand this hack is no longer necessary in MAMP 3 which offers better PHP version management.



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5 thoughts on “How to switch between several PHP versions in MAMP 2.x”

  1. Hello, anyone tried to update and use PHP > 5.5.3 in MAMP 2.2 ?
    Would like to keep MAMP 2.2 and add a newer PHP version on my older laptop/OSX.
    Thanks in advance.

  2. Hi pepperstreet, I’ve only tried older versions and they worked a treat, 5.5.3 came pre-installed with MAMP and also worked well. I can also tell you that when you install MAMP 3, it will install itself alongside MAMP 2 so if you want to try even newer versions of PHP, see if MAMP 3 works for you (and if not, simply keep using MAMP 2).

    Hope this helps!

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