# Deploy PHP on Light Cloud

> PHP serves web pages and apps through Apache. Light Cloud detects it from a composer.json or index.php. It runs as a container that scales with traffic and down to zero when idle.

## PHP at a glance

- **Detected from:** a `composer.json` or `index.php`
- **Runs as:** Container that scales with traffic and to zero when idle
- **Versions:** PHP 8.2 on Apache, with `mod_rewrite` on
- **Build:** `composer install --no-dev` when there is a `composer.json`
- **Start command:** Apache, serving `public/` when `public/index.php` exists, otherwise the repository root
- **Port:** 8080
- **Good to know:** The generated image adds no PHP extensions. An app that needs one, such as the `pdo_pgsql` database driver, brings its own Dockerfile, which is used as is.

## How to deploy PHP

1. **Bring the code.** Pick a repository, upload a folder, or ask Claude Code or GitHub Copilot to put it online.
2. **PHP, detected.** The files are read and the build is filled in. Every setting can be changed by hand.
3. **Built into a container.** An image is built and started, listening on the port the app expects.
4. **Live.** A light-cloud.io URL in minutes, a preview URL for every branch, and logs and metrics beside it.

## Add a database

- [PostgreSQL](https://light-cloud.com/databases/postgresql): Shared or dedicated

## Questions

### How do I deploy PHP?

Connect the repository, upload the folder, or ask Claude Code or GitHub Copilot to deploy it. Light Cloud reads the files, builds PHP and returns a live URL in minutes, with a preview URL for every branch.

### How much does it cost to host PHP?

The Free plan runs up to 3 server apps with $1 of usage a month and no card. A container is billed by the hour only while it runs, so an idle app costs nothing and a quiet one uses about $0.10 a month. Paid plans start at $5 a month with $5 of usage included.

### Can a PHP app use a database?

Yes. Create a PostgreSQL database in the same project and set its connection string as DATABASE_URL. Databases come with paid plans, from $5 a month.

### Can I use my own Dockerfile instead?

Yes. A Dockerfile at the root of the repository always wins over detection: it is built as is and runs as a container.

Docs: https://docs.light-cloud.com/platform/frameworks/php
Page: https://light-cloud.com/runtimes/php
Deploy PHP: https://console.light-cloud.com/new?repo=https://github.com/light-cloud-templates/slim-php-api-starter
Start free, no card: https://console.light-cloud.com/signup