This is because VM Code still checking /usr/bin/php directory which is php5

You have to configure the path to the PHP executable in the user settings file. Follow the following steps to change it

1. Go to File > Preferences > User Settings > Settings.json

2. Change the value of php.validate.executablePath according to the installed directory of php7.

   "php.validate.executablePath": "/Applications/MAMP/bin/php/php7.0.14/bin/php"

3. Relaunch VM Code

4. If the problem remains same, then add the path to PHP7 to your environment variables, run where php and php --version to verify. To add path in your macos sierra do the following:

   • Within the Terminal, run vim ~/.bash_profile

   • Type i and then paste the following at the top of the file:

     export PATH=/user/local/bin:$PATH
     

   • Hit ESC, Type :wq, and hit Enter.

   • In Terminal run source ~/.bash_profile
   • In Terminal, type in which php again and look for the updated string.
   • If everything went successful, it should output the new path to MAMP PHP install.
   • In case it doesn't output the correct path, try closing the terminal window (exit fully) and open again, it should apply the changes (Restart in short)

It's possible you installed it with Homebrew.

If so, you can try:

brew search php

This will tell you if it's at least installed. Depending on your Homebrew setup, the location can vary.

I just updated to the Mac OS Sonoma beta, and it broke my PHP setup. I ended up using the following command to install using Homebrew:

brew install php

When it completes installation, it will show you the path it installed PHP on your machine right in the output.

You can also now run your original command and it should show your PHP location:

which php

In my case, I was trying to fix a PHP environment error in VS Code. After doing both of those commands above, I grabbed the path from the output and put it into my VS Code settings.

I'm not sure if your use case is the same, but a few more options to try.

The new version of PHP needs to be in your $PATH and the path to the new version of php needs to be listed before /usr/bin. If the new version of php (the executable) is installed in /usr/local/bin/ you should be in good shape, otherwise you need to either link the new php executable there (ln -s /path/to/newphp /usr/local/bin/php) or add it's location to your $PATH (export PATH=/path/to/newphp:"${PATH}") (<- add this to your ~/.bash_profile).

One other possibility to check... is the new version of php named php? It's possible that it will be named something like php5 or some such thing. If so you'll need to create a a link or use that name on the command line.

If you have both versions of PHP installed, you can switch between versions using the link and unlink brew commands.

For example, to switch between PHP 7.4 and PHP 7.3

brew unlink [email protected]
brew link [email protected]

PS: Both versions of PHP have to be installed for these commands to work.

Install php

brew install php@7.2

Install the required PHP to your PATH

echo 'export PATH="/usr/local/opt/php@7.2/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
echo 'export PATH="/usr/local/opt/php@7.2/sbin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile

Then make sure it's all working

php -v
php --version

This command will show you where your ini file is loaded

php --ini