PHP 8.5 becomes the default version in October
PHP 8.5 is available on Clever Cloud since January 2026, and on the FrankenPHP runtime since February 2026, through the CC_PHP_VERSION=8.5 environment variable. PHP 8.4 is still the default version for both runtimes.
In the image release that follows 1 October 2026, PHP 8.5 becomes that default. From then on, a PHP or FrankenPHP application deployed without CC_PHP_VERSION, or with CC_PHP_VERSION=8, runs PHP 8.5.
Keep your current version
If you want to stay on PHP 8.4 or an earlier version, set CC_PHP_VERSION explicitly before that date, from the Console or with Clever Tools:
clever env set CC_PHP_VERSION 8.4Applications that already pin a version, such as CC_PHP_VERSION=8.3, are not affected.
Prepare the move
Deploy a review app or a test application with CC_PHP_VERSION=8.5 to validate your code before October. Check that the extensions you rely on are available for PHP 8.5, as a few of them aren’t packaged for this version yet.
PHP 8.4 leaves active support on 31 December 2026, but keeps receiving security fixes until 31 December 2028. Pinning CC_PHP_VERSION=8.4 is a supported choice for the next two years, not a temporary workaround. PHP 8.5 gets active support until the end of 2027 and security fixes until the end of 2029, so moving now gives you a full extra year of upstream bug fixes.
Take this opportunity to check your older applications: PHP 8.2 reaches its end of life on 31 December 2026 and stops receiving security fixes then. If you run CC_PHP_VERSION=8.2, plan an upgrade before the end of the year.