XF 2.2 Help, to upgrade to PHP 8.1 or newer

[Nordgard]

.
My web host will from January 16th no longer use PHP 7, and I have to upgrade my forum to PHP 8.1 or newer
But how do I do that?
And what about all my add-ons that I use. Will they still work?


Thanx

Update: I figured it out

 

[TPerry]

Well, without knowing what add-ons you use.. nobody can tell you for sure..
But if you can use the 8.0.x line, you should (if all your add-ons and XF is up to day) be pretty much assured you will be OK.
As for "how do I do that"? again, more information is needed before you can tell for sure. Did you roll out your own LAMP stack on a VPS/dedicated server? Are you using shared hosting? If so, what panel are they using?
With cPanel, the upgrade to php 8.0 is a fairly easy process, and should be have the instructions on your hosting provider site, or at least the ability to submit a ticket to them to inquire (that's part of what you pay for on shared hosting).

 

[Paul B]

As far as XF is concerned, PHP 8.1 is not yet approved so it's not guaranteed to work but ensure you are on the latest release which is 2.2.12.

 

[Nordgard]

Thanx. I figured it out.

Exiting to see if my Holiday Theme still works

 

[Kirby]

As far as XF is concerned, PHP 8.1 is not yet approved so it's not guaranteed to work but ensure you are on the latest release which is 2.2.12.

Hopefully this can be addressed within the next few months as PHP 8.0 has already reached end of active support ...

 

[Frode789]

Hopefully this can be addressed within the next few months as PHP 8.0 has already reached end of active support ...

And PHP 8.2 is also released..

 

[MySiteGuy]

"EOL" is not a big deal with any variant of Redhat Linux such as CentOS, Rocky and AlmaLinux. This means all cPanel base servers, as well as many others.

Redhat has security backports until the following dates:
RH 7.x June 30, 2024
RH 8.x May 31, 2029
RH 9.x May 31, 2032

Too many hosting companies "tech" guys don't seem to know the difference between EOL of PHP from php.net, and PHP from their Linux vendors. Sad!

 

[Kirby]

"EOL" is not a big deal with any variant of Redhat Linux such as CentOS, Rocky and AlmaLinux [...] Redhat has security backports

I respectfully disagree. Backporting Security Fixes (while nice and absolutely needed) is vastly different from Active Support

 

[MySiteGuy]

I respectfully disagree. Backporting Security Fixes (while nice and absolutely needed) is vastly different from Active Support

I agree it different, but I don't see that making a case for upgrading soon. Older versions of PHP which currently work with Xenforo are not going stop working. What active support is needed when its a stable environment? The extended support cycle covers not only security issues, but also urgent and critical bugs.

I avoid leaning towards leading edge for it's own sake, and creating more work. Consistency and stability are higher on my priorities.

I not saying people shouldn't not plan for upgrading. Its that I don't view it as an immediate or short term requirement. Plan it, make sure addons support the new version, and stage everything to test first.

 

[Tonny Kluften]

Numerous web hosts will delete PHP7 from their servers forcing users to use 8.1. So if XF don't support it users will have problems. In my opinion, it's no good for any (paid) software to only work PHP versions that are not supported on big web hosts.

 

[ISPr_Winter]

I'm using XenForo with PHP 8.1 and it's been fine so far.

 

[Tonny Kluften]

I now use 8.2 and it looks ok so far.

 

[Black Tiger]

I agree it different, but I don't see that making a case for upgrading soon.

Well, you might want to think again, because use of that option is limited.
Because most panels, including cPanel and Directadmin (not sure about Plesk) create their own rpm's or use source compiling for php (from php.net) for compatibility.
So even cPanel says php 7.4 is EOL and use the php.net supported versions. Shortly said, the OS will do nothing about it anymore as the OS php versions are not even used.

Unless Cloudlinux is used, which is a totally different story anyway.

Odd is though that hosts which do have php 7.4 now suddenly go to 8.1 instead of just adding php versions, so one can choose between 8.0, 8.1 and 8.2 for example. Once supported by the panel, at least with cPanel and DA such php choice option is easy for hosters to make available for their customers.

Working fine so far is not the same as supported. If you use Xenforo on php 8.2 and things go wrong, you're on your own.

 

[duderuud]

I now use 8.2 and it looks ok so far.

I would not recommend it. Latest official supported version is 8.0.

Our forum runs 8.1 without any issues but again, not supported.

 

[rdn]

I now use 8.2 and it looks ok so far.

I haven't tried 8.2 yet; that is great if it works fine.

 

[trigatch4]

Thanx. I figured it out.

Exiting to see if my Holiday Theme still works

How do you like the Holiday Theme? I saw that and it looks like a really nice base to customize from...