How to install ImageMagick PHP module on Ubuntu and Debian

ImageMagick is a command-line tool used for image manipulation tasks such as format conversion, resizing, and transformation. In PHP, the Imagick extension provides a binding to ImageMagick, allowing developers to utilize these features directly in PHP scripts. It supports more formats and advanced features than the default GD library.

The php-imagick package integrates ImageMagick with PHP, enabling image processing in web applications. It simplifies workflows by allowing format conversion, layer manipulation, transparency handling, and effect application within PHP. This ensures efficient image optimization for various purposes.

Installing Imagick on Ubuntu or Debian involves setting up the necessary packages and configuring PHP to load the extension. Proper installation ensures that PHP can process images with ImageMagick without compatibility issues, allowing seamless operation in server-side environments.

1. Open terminal from the application launcher or via the <ctrl> + <alt> + <t> keyboard shortcut.
2. Update the apt package list.

   $ sudo apt update
   [sudo] password for user:
   Hit:1 http://jp.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu disco InRelease
   Hit:2 http://jp.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu disco-updates InRelease
   Hit:3 http://jp.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu disco-backports InRelease
   Hit:4 http://jp.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu disco-security InRelease
   Reading package lists... Done
   Building dependency tree
   Reading state information... Done

   Updating the package list ensures you are installing the latest available versions of software packages.

3. Install the php-imagick package.

   $ sudo apt install --assume-yes php-imagick
   Reading package lists... Done
   Building dependency tree
   Reading state information... Done
   The following additional packages will be installed:
     fontconfig-config fonts-dejavu-core fonts-droid-fallback fonts-noto-mono ghostscript gsfonts
     imagemagick-6-common libavahi-client3 libavahi-common-data libavahi-common3 libcups2
     libcupsfilters1 libcupsimage2 libfftw3-double3 libfontconfig1 libgomp1 libgs9 libgs9-common
     libijs-0.35 libjbig0 libjbig2dec0 libjpeg-turbo8 libjpeg8 liblcms2-2 liblqr-1-0 libltdl7
     libmagickcore-6.q16-6 libmagickwand-6.q16-6 libpaper-utils libpaper1 libtiff5 libwebp6
     php-common php7.2-cli php7.2-common php7.2-json php7.2-opcache php7.2-phpdbg php7.2-readline
     poppler-data ttf-dejavu-core
   Suggested packages:
     fonts-noto ghostscript-x cups-common libfftw3-bin libfftw3-dev liblcms2-utils
     libmagickcore-6.q16-6-extra php-pear poppler-utils fonts-japanese-mincho | fonts-ipafont-mincho
     fonts-japanese-gothic | fonts-ipafont-gothic fonts-arphic-ukai fonts-arphic-uming fonts-nanum
   The following NEW packages will be installed:
     fontconfig-config fonts-dejavu-core fonts-droid-fallback fonts-noto-mono ghostscript gsfonts
     imagemagick-6-common libavahi-client3 libavahi-common-data libavahi-common3 libcups2
     libcupsfilters1 libcupsimage2 libfftw3-double3 libfontconfig1 libgomp1 libgs9 libgs9-common
     libijs-0.35 libjbig0 libjbig2dec0 libjpeg-turbo8 libjpeg8 liblcms2-2 liblqr-1-0 libltdl7
     libmagickcore-6.q16-6 libmagickwand-6.q16-6 libpaper-utils libpaper1 libtiff5 libwebp6
     php-common php-imagick php7.2-cli php7.2-common php7.2-json php7.2-opcache php7.2-phpdbg
     php7.2-readline poppler-data ttf-dejavu-core
   0 upgraded, 42 newly installed, 0 to remove and 2 not upgraded.
   Need to get 23.3 MB of archives.
   ##### snipped

4. Check if Imagick is loaded in PHP.

   $ php --modules | grep imagick
   imagick

   The above command confirms if the Imagick module is installed and active in PHP.

5. Restart the web server (for Apache or PHP-FPM, depending on your setup).

   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2

   For Nginx with PHP-FPM, use:

   $ sudo systemctl restart php*-fpm

6. (Optional) Create a test file to verify the Imagick extension using phpinfo().

   $ sudo nano /var/www/html/info.php

7. Add the following PHP code.

   <?php
   phpinfo();
   ?>

8. Access the file via browser.

   http://your-server-ip/info.php

9. (Optional) Test image processing by creating a PHP script.

   $ sudo nano /var/www/html/test_imagick.php

10. Add the following PHP code.

    <?php
    $imagick = new Imagick();
    $imagick->readImage('/path/to/sample-image.jpg');
    $imagick->resizeImage(200, 200, Imagick::FILTER_LANCZOS, 1);
    $imagick->writeImage('/path/to/resized-image.jpg');
    echo "Image resized successfully!";
    ?>

11. Access the script in your browser.

    http://your-server-ip/test_imagick.php