Fix "Your PHP Version Does Not Meet the Bitrix Requirements" Error

1. Check the PHP Versions on Your Server

First, diagnose which PHP versions are running in different environments.

For other Bitrix configuration topics, see Fix "Memcache Extension is Not Loaded", Setting mbstring.func_overload, What is bitrixsetup.php?, and Bitrix Virtual Appliance (BitrixVA).

Check PHP Version in Web Server (Apache/Nginx)

Create a PHP Info File

# Create in your Bitrix root directory
sudo nano /home/user/public_html/phpinfo.php

Add this single line:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

Save (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X) and access via browser:

http://yourdomain.com/phpinfo.php

Look for the PHP version at the top and scroll to see installed extensions. Important: Delete this file after checking:

sudo rm /home/user/public_html/phpinfo.php

Check PHP Version in CLI (Command Line)

php -v

Check PHP-FPM Version (if using Nginx)

systemctl status php7.4-fpm  # Check specific version
ls /etc/php/                  # List all installed PHP versions

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2. Install the Correct PHP Version

If your PHP version is incompatible, install a supported version for Bitrix.

For Ubuntu/Debian Systems

# Add the Ondrej Sury PHP repository (has multiple versions)
sudo apt install software-properties-common -y
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y
sudo apt update

# Install PHP 7.4 (recommended for Bitrix)
sudo apt install php7.4 php7.4-fpm php7.4-cli -y

# Set PHP 7.4 as default for CLI
sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php7.4

# Install PHP 8.0 if needed
# sudo apt install php8.0 php8.0-fpm php8.0-cli -y

For CentOS/RHEL/Fedora Systems

# Enable EPEL and Remi repositories
sudo yum install epel-release yum-utils -y
sudo yum install http://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-7.rpm -y

# Enable PHP 7.4 repository
sudo yum-config-manager --enable remi-php74

# Install PHP 7.4
sudo yum install php php-fpm php-cli -y

# Install PHP 8.0 if needed
# sudo yum-config-manager --enable remi-php80
# sudo yum install php80 php80-php-fpm php80-php-cli -y

Restart Web Services

# For Apache
sudo systemctl restart apache2

# For Nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# For PHP-FPM
sudo systemctl restart php7.4-fpm

3. Ensure the Correct PHP Version is Used for Apache/Nginx

If your server has multiple PHP versions, configure your web server to use the correct one for Bitrix.

For Apache (with mod_php or PHP-FPM)

Using mod_php (Traditional)

# Install Apache PHP module
sudo apt install libapache2-mod-php7.4

# Disable other PHP modules
sudo a2dismod php8.0 php8.1 php8.2

# Enable PHP 7.4 module
sudo a2enmod php7.4

# Restart Apache
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Using PHP-FPM (Recommended)

# Edit Apache virtual host configuration
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/your-site.conf

# Add or modify within VirtualHost section
<FilesMatch "\.php$">
    SetHandler "proxy:unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost/"
</FilesMatch>

For Nginx (with PHP-FPM)

Configure Nginx for Specific PHP Version

# Edit Nginx site configuration
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-site

# Update the PHP location block
location ~ \.php$ {
    fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    include fastcgi_params;
}

# Test configuration and restart
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

4. Ensure All Required PHP Extensions Are Installed

Bitrix requires specific PHP extensions. Install them for your PHP version.

Required Extensions for Bitrix (PHP 7.4 on Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt install php7.4-common php7.4-mysql php7.4-mbstring php7.4-xml php7.4-json \
php7.4-curl php7.4-gd php7.4-bcmath php7.4-zip php7.4-intl php7.4-soap php7.4-imagick -y

Required Extensions for Bitrix (PHP 7.4 on CentOS/RHEL)

sudo yum install php-common php-mysqlnd php-mbstring php-xml php-json \
php-curl php-gd php-bcmath php-zip php-intl php-soap php-pecl-imagick -y

Verify Extensions Are Enabled

# Check loaded extensions
php -m | grep -E "mysql|mbstring|xml|json|curl|gd|bcmath|zip|intl|soap"

# Check via web (create temporary file)
echo "<?php print_r(get_loaded_extensions()); ?>" > /tmp/ext_check.php
php -f /tmp/ext_check.php | grep -E "mysql|mbstring|xml"
rm /tmp/ext_check.php

Enable Extensions if Missing

# Edit php.ini
sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini  # For PHP-FPM
sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini  # For Apache

# Ensure these lines exist (uncommented)
extension=mysqli.so
extension=mbstring.so
extension=xml.so
extension=curl.so
extension=gd.so
extension=zip.so
extension=intl.so

# Restart PHP processor
sudo systemctl restart php7.4-fpm  # or apache2

5. Summary of Fixes

With the correct PHP version and all required extensions installed, Bitrix should no longer show the PHP version error and will run optimally!