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Select PHP Version is the cPanel-branded view of CloudLinux’s PHP Selector. It does three things:
  1. Picks which PHP version your account runs on (anything from the oldest still-supported branch up through the latest stable release).
  2. Toggles which PHP extensions are loaded (Extensions tab).
  3. Tunes core php.ini directives like memory limit and upload size (Options tab).
It’s one of the most-used tools in cPanel. Most “this plugin needs PHP 8.2” or “the upload fails” issues end up here.
Select PHP Version landing page with the version dropdown
The PHP version applies to the whole account. Every domain, every subdomain, every script you run uses the version you pick. Per-domain selection is on the roadmap and we’ll surface it here when it ships. Until then, if one site needs a newer version and another needs an older one, you have to either pick the one both can live with, or split into separate cPanel accounts.

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Switch PHP versions

1

Pick the version from the dropdown

Top of the page. The dropdown shows every PHP version installed on the server you’re on. We keep the list current with the latest stable release (currently up to 8.5) and prune branches as they leave upstream security support, so you’ll always see the newest stable down to the oldest still-safe version.Coverage varies by server, so not every node has every version. If a specific version you need isn’t in the dropdown, open a ticket and we’ll see whether we can install it on your server.
2

Click 'set as current'

The change is instant. New PHP requests use the new version starting with the next request.
Changing PHP versions can break existing code. Plugins may need updates, deprecated functions may stop working. Test on a staging copy before switching production.
3

Optional: copy extensions across

cPanel asks if you want to copy your enabled extensions list from the old version. Almost always yes. Otherwise the new version starts with default extensions and your code may fail to load anything PEAR-shaped.

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Where to go next

Extensions

Toggle individual PHP extensions like intl, gd, mysqli, redis.

Options

Tune memory_limit, upload_max_filesize, max_execution_time, and other php.ini settings.

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What it doesn’t do

  • It doesn’t change PHP per-domain. Coming soon.
  • It doesn’t roll back automatically if a site breaks. You’re responsible for picking a working version. Take a JetBackup snapshot before risky version jumps (5.x → 8.x in particular).
  • It doesn’t manage Composer or Pecl. Those still go via SSH or via Perl Modules / PEAR Packages for their respective ecosystems.

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How it relates to PHP X-Ray

X-Ray traces requests against the current selected PHP version. If you switch versions, restart any X-Ray tasks. See X-Ray App.

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Common issues

First place to check: Errors tool. Almost always a deprecation or a missing extension. Switch back to the old version while you fix the code.
A pre-existing custom configuration in ~/php.ini or a server-level lock can disable the selector. Open a ticket; we can clear it.
The selector controls the cPanel-managed PHP handler used for HTTP requests. CLI scripts that hard-code /usr/bin/php use the system default. Use php (no path) in your shebang to pick up the cPanel-selected version, or hard-code the version-specific path under /opt/cpanel/ea-phpXX/root/usr/bin/php (replace XX with the version, e.g., 85).

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