With the release to PHP 8.2 I will introduce a new set of packages to solve most of the issues with PHP updates. There are two valid requirements: On one hand people need the latest version to use its features or to develop new applications. And on the other hand users want to run third party applications that might not yet be compatible with the latest PHP runtime. I'll make the following changes to support both use cases while still keeping the rolling release model: The php package we already provide will be updated to 8.2 and be kept up-to-date with the latest upstream releases. php7 packages will be removed as this version is end-of-life and will no longer receive security updates. A new set of php-legacy packages will be introduced which always provide the oldest version actively supported by upstream*. This version is usually one year behind the latest release, but still receives bug and security fixes. It will be possible to install and use this version alongside the latest php packages. The binaries and configuration path will have a suffix named "-legacy", which will require configuration changes if you want to switch between legacy and non-legacy versions. In contrast to e.g. the php7 package, this version will also follow a rolling release model and will receive minor and even major updates. In the end this would result in the following release schedule: php: currently 8.1 soon 8.2 December 2023: 8.3 php-legacy: currently: 8.1 December 2023: 8.2 (upstream provides security updates till December 2024; so we have some room to postpone when issues arise.) I will provide a news item once all these changes are ready for the stable repositories. For packaging: I'll take care of the module rebuilds. Most modules are already compatible or at least have patches. Similar to php7 I'll make use of split packages to build a module for both PHP branches. One exception is the uwsgi plugin which is known for being a less active project. For now it would only be possible to provide it for php-legacy. Application packages might use the virtual php-interpreter dependency which provides the minor version. As stated above switching between legacy and non-legacy versions will require user interaction. For some packages that are known for almost never being compatible with latest PHP versions, it might be easier to depend on php-legay right away. Greetings, Pierre *) https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php -- Pierre Schmitz, https://pierre-schmitz.com