XAMPP with PHP 7.4 remains a popular local development environment for developers maintaining legacy projects, specifically those built on platforms like Moodle 3.11, Magento 2.4, and Joomla 3.9, which may not yet be compatible with PHP 8.x. Overview & Status (2026)
No, if:
Testing: It allows developers to test migration paths from PHP 7.x to 8.x in a controlled local environment. Step-by-Step Installation Guide Xampp With Php 7.4 -
PHP 7.4 introduced performance improvements, typed properties, arrow functions, and deprecations relevant to legacy code. XAMPP provides an all-in-one Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP, and Perl stack useful for local development. Combining XAMPP and PHP 7.4 is suitable for testing applications targeting PHP 7.4 or maintaining legacy projects. XAMPP with PHP 7
operator was added, allowing you to assign a value to a variable only if it is currently null (e.g., $data['id'] ??= $defaultId; Spread Operator in Arrays : Support for the Introduction PHP 7
The journey began in December 2019 when Apache Friends released XAMPP 7.4.1, bundling the newly released PHP 7.4. This version quickly became a developer staple because it introduced features like typed properties and arrow functions, making PHP code cleaner and faster than ever. The Golden Age of Development
Select the components you need. At a minimum, choose Apache, MySQL, and PHP.