Setup Guide for PHP 8.4 + Symfony 7.3 + SQLite on WSL2

This guide covers setting up PHP 8.4, Symfony 7.3, SQLite on WSL2 (Ubuntu), managing the project with GitHub, and running tests with GitHub Actions.

Environment

• Windows 11 + WSL2 (Ubuntu)
• PHP 8.4
• Symfony 7.3
• SQLite

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1. Install PHP 8.4

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.4-cli php8.4-sqlite3 php8.4-curl php8.4-xml php8.4-mbstring php8.4-zip php8.4-intl php8.4-opcache

Verify PHP installation:

php -v

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2. Install Composer

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

Verify Composer installation:

composer --version

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3. Install Symfony CLI

curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/symfony/stable/setup.deb.sh' | sudo -E bash
sudo apt install symfony-cli

Verify Symfony CLI installation:

symfony -v

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4. Create Symfony Project

symfony new my_project --version="7.3.*" --webapp
cd my_project

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5. Configure SQLite

Edit .env:

DATABASE_URL="sqlite:///%kernel.project_dir%/var/data_%kernel.environment%.db"
# DATABASE_URL="postgresql://app:!ChangeMe!@127.0.0.1:5432/app?serverVersion=16&charset=utf8"

Create the database:

php bin/console doctrine:database:create

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6. Run the Server

symfony server:start

Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser to verify.

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7. Set up GitHub Repository

Edit .env.dev to set a non-sensitive APP_SECRET:

APP_SECRET="THIS_IS_FOR_DEV_SO_NOT_REALLY_SECRET"

Create a repository on GitHub and push your project:

git init
git branch -M main
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git remote add origin git@github.com:<username>/<repo-name>.git
git push -u origin main

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8. Configure GitHub Actions for Testing

Install PHP-CS-Fixer:

composer require --dev friendsofphp/php-cs-fixer

Create .github/workflows/ci.yml in your project root:

name: CI

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
    symfony-tests:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest

        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4

            - name: Set up PHP 8.4
              uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
              with:
                  php-version: "8.4"
                  extensions: sqlite, intl, mbstring, xml, zip
                  coverage: none

            - name: Install dependencies
              run: composer install --prefer-dist --no-progress

            - name: Check coding standards (optional)
              run: PHP_CS_FIXER_IGNORE_ENV=1 vendor/bin/php-cs-fixer fix --dry-run --diff

            - name: Run tests (PHPUnit)
              run: vendor/bin/phpunit

Currently, PHP-CS-Fixer does not officially support PHP 8.4, thus PHP_CS_FIXER_IGNORE_ENV=1 is set to bypass version checks temporarily.

Commit and push your changes to trigger tests via GitHub Actions.

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9. Run PHPUnit Tests

Symfony 7.3 includes PHPUnit 12 by default:

php bin/phpunit

Ensure all tests pass successfully.

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10. Run PHPStan check

composer require --dev phpstan/phpstan
composer require --dev phpstan/phpstan-doctrine
composer require --dev phpstan/phpstan-symfony
vendor/bin/phpstan analyse src --level=max

if you encounter issues, you may need to fix them, ignore them on /phpstan.dist.neon config , or lower the level.

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Your Symfony setup on WSL2 is now complete, including GitHub management and automated testing with GitHub Actions.