How to Install mcrypt for php on Mac OSX Lion 10.7 Development Server

January 14, 2012 34 Comments

mcrypt-osx-error-lion-php

The mcrypt extension is missing. Please check your PHP configuration.

The above error appears after you successfully get phpMyAdmin up and running on OS X, generally you don’t have to worry about it, you only need to address the error if you are going to use a web application that requires it, for example Magento, the shopping cart software.

mcrypt is a file encryption method using secure techniques to exchange data.

Xcode

Get Xcode from the Apple app store, free download version, then install it from the /Applications folder it will be called ‘Install Xcode’ or just Xcode.app. You need this to use the compilers to compile the source code that you will download.

Getting it on in OS X Lion

This tutorial works mostly in the Terminal, launch it from /Applications/Utilities, cd to home account and make a directory that you will work in, call it mcrypt

cd ~ ; mkdir mcrypt ; cd mcrypt

Get libmcrypt 2.5.8 from Sourceforge

Get the php code in a tar.gz format- (version 5.3.1 and 5.3.6 work ok, I had issues with 5.3.9 and 5.3.10)

Find out your current version of php and download the appropriate version:

php -v

Move both of these files that you downloaded into your working directory – mrcypt in this instance and go back to Terminal

cd ~/mcrypt

Expand both files:

tar -zxvf libmcrypt-2.5.8.tar.gz

tar -zxvf php-5.3.6.tar.gz

Remove the compressed archives

rm *.gz

Configuring libmcrypt

Change directory into libmcrypt

cd libmcrypt-2.5.8

Libmcrypt needs to be configured, enter

./configure

make

sudo make install

With the libmcrypt configured now ready, time for to make the mcrypt extension.

Compile mcrypt php Extension

cd ../php-5.3.6/ext/mcrypt/

/usr/bin/phpize

Output should be:
Configuring for:
PHP Api Version: 20090626
Zend Module Api No: 20090626
Zend Extension Api No: 220090626

./configure

make

sudo make install

The result of this should be:

Installing shared extensions: /usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20090626/

Enabling mcrypt.so php Extension

Open etc/php.ini and add the line below at the end

extension=mcrypt.so

If there is no php.ini file, then you need to make one from php.ini.default in the same location like so:

sudo cp /etc/php.ini.default /etc/php.ini

And allow write capability

chmod u+w  php.ini

Then add the line as above.

Restart Apache

sudo apachectl restart

That’s it, check your phpMyadmin login page or create and browse to a phpinfo.php to see if it loaded correctly, if it didn’t load you may need to declare the extensions directory in /etc/php.ini

extension_dir = "/usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20090626/"

php-extension-directory-lion-mcrypt

Hopefully it wasn’t too much of a nightmare…

tales-from-the-mcrypt-lion-osx-php

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Bdocsutton

Hello Neil, That’s a great exposition, thank you, it answers a lot of questions I would have. I am already using PHP and phpmyadmin on my Mac very successfully, and had bookmarked this thread to be alerted to an answer to the mcrypt installation question (no probs other than the msg, everything else in my phpmyadmin is fine) and so I got this today.

I do want to use PayPal security now, and now that you have published this “how-to” I’d like to complete the phpmyadmin installation with mcrypt.

So – one query on your mcrypt installation workflow, probably exposing my unfamilarity with the Mac, as a recent convert from Windows (and luvvin’ it); since I am already using PHP and phpmyadmin, where should I do the mcrypt downloading and compilation? I guess the php.ini tells PHP where to look, but since you talk about creating a new mcrypt folder where your mcrypt AND PHP DOWNLOAD are stored, I won’t have the PHP part to do. E.g. do I have to compile the mcrypt download into any existing php or phpmyadmin folder, or can it be anywhere and/or just in its own folder like other applications?

That’s it – I’m generally aware there is no such thing as a quick or stupid question since very often the answer can be a lot longer than the question. If I have achieved a rare stupid question result, apologies!

Best regards, and then you already for the current thread,

Brian

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

Hi Brian, the folder can be anywhere and is a temporary holding spot for the source files, after the process is finished can be removed.

Bdocsutton

Hi Neil,
I should have replied sooner but i had a University delivery trip that intervened! The mcrypt installation went fine (once I had the presence of mind to install the Xcode I had downloaded, all 2 Gig of it! – ./configure couldn’t be found without it) Of course on a re-read I should have realised the download folder can be anything; also that even though I already have it, PHP has to be downloaded (but not installed) whiolesale so that the ../php-5.3.6/ext/mcrypt/subfolder can be found and installed. Like I said I’m a Mac newbie and the Terminal command line technique is new to me having not been Unix person.Thanks again – you probably wonder how “ordinary” people manage; it’s buy finding guys like you, of course!Best, Brian

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

it might not be there, if its not make a copy of ‘etc/php.ini.default’ name it php.ini and leave it in /etc

Reed

Did as you suggested. Then used 2nd method above (declared the extensions directory in /etc/php.ini). mcrypt is installed. Thank you!

Anonymous

Hi,

I followed these instructions, but now I even get more of these mcrypt-error messages.

See this screenshot: https://skitch.com/lifeform/g391u/localhost-127.0.0.1-phpmyadmin-3.4.9

Any idea on where I might have gone wrong / what the error can be ?

Thanks.

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

have you tried the extensions directory declaration as in the bottom of the post?

Bodger

Perfect series, thanks!
And good luck with your rankings!
Fgoellner

Thanks for this great series of instructions. Followed carefully up to
cd ../php-5.3.6/ext/mcrypt/ Ended up with ../ext – there is no file called mcrypt.Please help!

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

its a directory and is in /php-5.3.X/ext/mcrypt/ – take a look from the finder view

Fgoellner

It’s not. I looked from the finder and have no idea. In ext/ is …, ldap, libxml, mbstring, mssql, mysql, mysqli, mysqlnd, …
I followed all the instrructions carefully and everything else worked as it should. The only difference I can think of is that I installed the most actual version of xcode (Version 4.2.1 (4D502)).
Before, I followed the istructions to set up AMP with Lion and after that phpmyadmin. Everything went well up to this missing directory mcrypt.
Thanks for your help!

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

re-download php-5.3.6.tar.gz and expand it and look again

Fgoellner

Thanks for all your help!
Yes, there it was. I continued up to the result of: Installing shared extensions: /usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20090626/But in /etc is no php.ini I found php.ini.default, which I changed as in your instruction. But after restarting several times apache, mcrypt is still not included. There is another file called php.ini.default-5.2-previous in /etc.Please help again.
http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

have you declared the extensions directory in php.ini as stated in the post?
Fgoellner

I declared it in php.ini.default because there is no php.ini in /etc – only ‘php.ini.default’ and ‘php.ini.default-5.2-previous’
http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

what you have to do is make a copy of php.ini.default and name it php.ini and then it should be ok…..

sudo cp /etc/php.ini.default /etc/php.ini

then restart apache

sudo apachectl restart
Fgoellner

That was it!
Thanks a great lot!

http://twitter.com/HEY_GERMANO Sarah German

Great writeup, thanks!
guest

It worked for me! Thank you!
http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

you don’t have to use the php version which you have installed the earlier versions 5.3.5 and 5.3.6 definitely work regardless if you have a later version on your OS, to clean up just remove the source folder where you downloaded the 2 packages into
Rob Ganly

Thanks, worked perfectly.

Best,

Rob Ganly
http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

it doesn’t show that way in mine either but it is loaded try a phpinfo.php file with –

Then do a find for mcrypt
http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

is Xcode installed?

Wch70

I get the exact same thing as vd5283. I do have Xcode installed.

kedi

i’ve found a solution.. here: http://superuser.com/questions/155188/snow-leopard-make-command-not-found-even-though-xcode-is-installed

Wch70

I am very new at this and barely have any idea what I’m doing with this stuff. Thank you for your suggestion kedi, that did get me a little further along, as I did have to install the Unix Command Line Tools. But now I have another issue. When I enter the line /usr/bin/phpize I get a new error and I have no idea how to fix it:
==================================================Configuring for:
PHP Api Version: 20090626
Zend Module Api No: 20090626
Zend Extension Api No: 220090626
Cannot find autoconf. Please check your autoconf installation and the $PHP_AUTOCONF environment variable. Then, rerun this script.==================================================Any help is greatly appreciated. I’ve been at this for a good while and I’m quite frustrated at this point. This all started from trying to set up a local dev environment on my Mac. Something I thought would (should) be simple has turned into a nightmare that’s eaten up days of my life.

http://www.fine.sk/ Onefine

I had exactly same problems as you Wch70. We are missing autoconf installation. This copy/paste to terminal, and it will install it. Then you could continue.. On this link is code: http://www.mattvsworld.com/blog/2010/02/install-the-latest-autoconf-and-automake-on-mac-os-10-6/

ksnj

Thank you. This worked like a charm.
Yang

Very great! thank you very much!
I have some questions.does directly using MAMP have any differences than this way approaching AMP server?
speed security &ect?

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

not really – you may need to use separate port numbers and is not advisable to run both simultaneously

Jon

Hello, followed all of your instructions but got to:

Open etc/php.ini and add the line below at the endwhich etc folder is this? There’s hundreds of them on my computer. I’ve also done a search for php.ini.default and that does not exist anywhere on my computer.

Thanks

http://coolestguyplanettech.com Neil Gee

Use the Go menu in the Finder – > Go To Folder… and type in /etc

Fefloors

Hi Everyone,

I’ve come across a problem. When I enter;

/usr/bin/phpizeI get the following response.
       Configuring for:

       PHP Api Version: 20090626

       Zend Module Api No: 20090626

       Zend Extension Api No: 220090626


      Cannot find autoconf. Please check your autoconf installation and the


$PHP_AUTOCONF environment variable. Then, rerun this script

I have installed xcode 4.3.2 (along with the command line tools) and I can’t seem to find an answer for this problem.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

onefine

I have same problem..