Look in wp-includes/version.php

/**
 * The WordPress version string
 *
 * @global string $wp_version
 */
$wp_version = '2.8.4';
Answer from Paul Dixon on Stack Overflow
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WP Engine
wpengine.com › home › resources › how to check which version of php you’re using
How to Check Which Version of PHP You're Using
September 28, 2024 - While the Site Health Status page ... which version of PHP you’re using by navigating to the Tools > Site Health > Info page in the WordPress dashboard and opening the Server tab....
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weDevs
wedevs.com › blog › 409582 › how-to-update-php-version
How to Safely Update PHP Version in WordPress Without Breaking It - weDevs
August 11, 2025 - After clicking on the option, it takes you to a new page. It shows you the PHP version your WordPress site is running on. Alternatively, you can install a WordPress plugin to check the PHP version.
Discussions

How do I find out what version of WordPress is running? - Stack Overflow
I have just taken over someone's hosted WordPress site. How do I find out what version he is running? More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
WP-CLI - Selecting PHP version
On a development server I have a co-install of PHP 5.6 & 7; nginx is configured with PHP 5.6. When I type "wp" it returns several errors and at the end of the error is a message containing the More on wordpress.stackexchange.com
🌐 wordpress.stackexchange.com
October 27, 2016
How to check PHP compatibility?
The actual way to check it is to switch to PHP 8.4 and check the error log unless your site goes down. But don't do that. Create a staging site and check there. However, I don't recommend switching to 8.4 yet. There are many plugins still catching up with 8.3, which is not yet outdated and will still be supported, so the tops I recommend is 8.3. Also, when changing PHP versions it's important that you create a backup and switch version by version with some time between changing versions, until you get to the desired one. WP claims minimum supported PHP version threshold (7.4, though many plugins are still declaring 5.6). WP itself can't check if your plugin is compatible or not - and I don't count errors and warnings in regards to this. WP simply reads the text from the readme and style.css files from themes and plugins and that's it, and that's the info developers add on their own. To summarize: Don't switch to 8.4 yet, not needed. 8.3 is completely fine and will be fine and will have support until 2027. Create a staging site or copy your website elsewhere (localhost), change versions and check. Create a backup Change version by version, with some time between changes. I would also add to disable plugins when doing so, and only after enable one by one (after each change). Test all options thoroughly, inspect the error log for any errors. If you see warnings related to some plugins, inform plugin developers for warnings (these are related to future PHP updates and will not crash your website). If the outcome is good, update your live site Hope this helps and best of luck More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Wordpress
9
1
August 25, 2025
Update the PHP version
The error is the same because WordPress 6.3 requires php 7.0.0 or higher. Software has minimum system requirements that you need to meet to run them. You will need to look through the Azure support documentation to figure out how to update your php version. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with Azure so I can’t provide a step by step guide. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Wordpress
13
1
August 25, 2023
People also ask

Which PHP version is compatible with WordPress?

The minimum PHP version that is compatible with WordPress is PHP 5.2.6. Although your host may offer this as an option, it’s not necessarily the best or safest. Other PHP versions compatible with WordPress are PHP 5.3 – 5.6 and PHP 7 and higher. WordPress recommends using PHP 7.4.

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wpbuffs.com
wpbuffs.com › wordpress-php-version-check
How to Check Your WordPress PHP Version (3 Methods)
How do I know if PHP is working?

If you visit your WordPress site and everything appears to be functioning and displaying as it should, your PHP is likely working. However, if there are any issues or an update is required, you can find them listed under the Site Health tool from your WordPress dashboard.

Also, to ensure a PHP version works with your site, it’s important to check the PHP compatibility of your themes and plugins. For this, you may want to use a plugin such as PHP Compatibility Checker. Once installed, it will display errors and warnings related to your PHP version and WordPress compatibility. However, as we mentioned earlier, this plugin hasn’t been tested with the latest versions of WordPress.

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wpbuffs.com
wpbuffs.com › wordpress-php-version-check
How to Check Your WordPress PHP Version (3 Methods)
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Jetpack
jetpack.com › home › security › how to check and update your wordpress php version
How to Check and Update Your WordPress PHP Version
June 28, 2025 - Then we’ll show you how to safely check, update, and upgrade your PHP version on three different web hosts. Code is the basis for every single website. The exact programming language may vary between systems, but one thing is certain: it’s absolutely critical to the proper functioning of a site. For WordPress, that essential technology is PHP.
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SiteGround
siteground.com › kb › how_to_check_which_php_version_is_running_on_my_account
How to check which PHP version is running on my account? - SiteGround KB
April 12, 2024 - To check exactly which PHP version is used for a certain website, create a simple PHP info file (for example systeminfo.php) in the /home/customer/www/yourdomainname.com/public_html folder, containing the following code:
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WP Rocket
wp-rocket.me › home › blog › page speed and caching › how to check and update your wordpress php version easily
How to Check and Update Your WordPress PHP Version Easily
December 10, 2024 - There are 3 easy ways to determine which PHP version is your WordPress site running on: check directly from your WordPress dashboard, access it via your hosting provider’s cPanel, or create a separate PHP info file.
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Storylane
storylane.io › tutorials › how-to-check-php-version-wordpress
How to Check PHP Version WordPress: 1-Min Guide
Login to your WordPress account. ... Select the "Info" button. ... You will find the "PHP version" here.
Find elsewhere
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WP Buffs
wpbuffs.com › wordpress-php-version-check
How to Check Your WordPress PHP Version (3 Methods)
Learn how to perform a WordPress PHP version check on your website and check for compatibility issues so you can make an upgrade to the latest version.
Published   September 16, 2024
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Fixmysite
fixmysite.com › / › how to check php version in wordpress: a step-by-step guide
How to Check PHP Version in WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide
November 3, 2025 - ... Go to your dashboard and navigate to Tools → Site Health → Info → Server. The PHP version appears under server information along with other technical details about your hosting environment.
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CyberOptik
cyberoptik.net › kb › check-your-php-version-in-wordpress
How To Check Your PHP Version in WordPress | CyberOptik
Our article provides easy-to-follow steps and two ways for determining your PHP version in WordPress.
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WordPress
wordpress.org › support › update-php
Get a faster, more secure website: update your PHP today – WordPress.org Forums
June 19, 2025 - To check what version of PHP your WordPress site is using, from the WordPress Dashboard, select Tools > Site Health from the sidebar menu, and then select the Info tab.
Top answer
1 of 4
21

On a system where

  • you can't change the /usr/bin/php symlink
  • you can't change the PATH to point to a different version (because the php executables don't reside in distinct /lib/ directories)
  • WP_CLI_PHP has no effect

(like my Arch Linux with php(8), php7 installed from extra and wp-cli installed from AUR. I'm using php7 vs php8 here, but this should work for any versions.)

…a workaround may be to call the wp phar executable with php7 cli:

whereis wp
# /usr/bin/wp

php7 /usr/bin/wp cli info
# PHP binary:     /usr/bin/php7
# PHP version:    7.4.25

for convenience you can add a bash alias in your .bashrc:

alias wp-php7='php7 /usr/bin/wp'
# or override wp altogether
alias wp='php7 /usr/bin/wp'
2 of 4
13

Got the same problem! Just switch the php version. On my server PHP5.6 was default for apache, while CLI was configured with PHP7.1. After installing WP-CLI, with wp --info I got this result:

PHP binary: /usr/bin/php7.1
PHP version: 7.1.5-1+deb.sury.org~xenial+1
php.ini used: /etc/php/7.1/cli/php.ini
WP-CLI root dir: phar://wp-cli.phar

And when i used the wp core install command i got the error: Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress. The problem is just the mix between the different versions: we have just to switch completely to 5.6 or 7.1. In my case problem was solved simply by writing on the shell:

sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php5.6

And then wp --info

PHP binary: /usr/bin/php5.6
PHP version: 5.6.30-10+deb.sury.org~xenial+2
php.ini used: /etc/php/5.6/cli/php.ini
WP-CLI root dir: phar://wp-cli.phar

Problem solved! WP-CLI worked like a charm.

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WordPress
developer.wordpress.org › reference › functions › wp_check_php_version
wp_check_php_version() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org
is_array( $response ) ) { return false; } set_site_transient( 'php_check_' . $key, $response, WEEK_IN_SECONDS ); } if ( isset( $response['is_acceptable'] ) && $response['is_acceptable'] ) { /** * Filters whether the active PHP version is considered ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/wordpress › how to check php compatibility?
How to check PHP compatibility? : r/Wordpress
August 25, 2025 - I would recommend switching to PHP 8.3 or even PHP 8.2. From the WordPress PHP versions Compatibility page you can see that WP is only beta-compatible with PHP 8.4. ... Make a backup. Enable WP_DEBUG, WP_DEBUG_LOG in your wp-config.php. Switch the PHP version. Check if there are any errors ...
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Wpmet
wpmet.com › check-and-update-php-version-in-wordpress
How to Check and Update PHP Version in WordPress Website
January 12, 2025 - How to update the PHP version in WordPress using Dreamhost · Now choose your from the select PHP version dropdown menu and click on change PHP version. If you’re a cPanel server user then you can just Log in to your cPanel. Then click the MultiPHP Manager link in the Software section of cPanel. Check the box for the site or sites you wish to update.
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Dwi'n Rhys
dwinrhys.com › home › how to find the wordpress php version running on your website
How to find the WordPress PHP version running on your website - Dwi'n Rhys
September 10, 2024 - Whilst that means you can update WordPress, you may have a few issues upgrading plugins. It is less of a concern, but should be fixed if you’re on an unsafe version of PHP. To see the PHP version, you can check the Site Health Screen.
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Kinsta®
kinsta.com › home › resource center › blog › wordpress tips › how to check your wordpress version (4 methods)
How to Check Your WordPress Version (4 Methods)
October 1, 2025 - The file you’re looking for is called version.php. When you find it, double click it to open it. Be careful not to edit anything; you’re just looking for a certain line of code. ... That code contains the variable $wp-version. Scroll down until you see it, or press ctrl+F to search the file for that line. Once you find it, it will look like “$wp-version = ‘x.x.x;”, where the number on the right is your WordPress version.
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ThemeIsle
themeisle.com › blog › how to check and update your wordpress php version
How to Check and Update Your WordPress PHP Version
September 19, 2023 - Some hosting providers automatically upgrade PHP to the latest version for you, so this may not even be something you need to worry about. To check your current WordPress PHP version, navigate to your admin dashboard and go to Tools > Site Health:
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WordPress.com
wordpress.com › home › troubleshooting › php environment
PHP environment – WordPress.com Support
December 23, 2025 - Some plugins and themes may tell you that to function, they need you to modify the php.ini file. However, this is not possible here at WordPress.com.