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Installation

php-ci is distributed exclusively as a Docker image — there is nothing to compile or install on the host beyond Docker itself. This page covers pulling the image, choosing a variant and pinning it for reproducible builds.

Prerequisites​

  • Docker Engine 20.10+ (or any CI runner that can pull from Docker Hub).
  • Network access to hub.docker.com.

Pull the image​

# Default — tracks the current stable PHP line
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:latest

# Pick a PHP minor version explicitly
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.1
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.2
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.4

Choosing a variant​

VariantExample tagUse it for
Basehimanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3Generic PHP, Laravel, libraries
Rolling latesthimanshuramavat/php-ci:latestQuick local experiments

The base image covers the vast majority of projects, including TYPO3 extension CI (functional tests can run against SQLite via pdo_sqlite). See the full tag strategy in Docker Tags.

Pin in CI

Use a precise version tag (e.g. :8.3) in pipelines, never :latest. It keeps builds reproducible and prevents a new PHP minor from silently changing your test results.

Pin to an immutable digest​

For maximum reproducibility — compliance audits, reproducible release builds — reference the image by its content digest instead of a mutable tag:

# Resolve the current digest for a tag
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3
docker inspect --format='{{index .RepoDigests 0}}' himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3

# Then reference it explicitly
docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci@sha256:<digest>

A digest is immutable: the same sha256 always resolves to the exact same bytes, even after the :8.3 tag is rebuilt with security patches.

Verify the install​

docker run --rm himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3 php --version
docker run --rm himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3 composer --version
docker run --rm himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3 php -m   # list loaded extensions

Use as a base image​

You can extend php-ci in your own Dockerfile when a project needs an extra extension or tool:

FROM himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3

# Example: add an extra system dependency and a global Composer tool
RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libsodium-dev \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
    && docker-php-ext-install sodium

RUN composer global require friendsofphp/php-cs-fixer

Keeping up to date​

Image tags are rebuilt periodically to absorb upstream PHP and OS security patches. Refresh your local copy with:

docker pull himanshuramavat/php-ci:8.3

In CI, runners pull a fresh copy on each job by default, so you automatically pick up rebuilt tags. Subscribe to the blog for release announcements.