Xdebug works on CLI but Apache wont load it

Question

For the love of my life, I cannot figure this one out: I've compiled xdebug from source code and while the CLI will show me that it is active the webserver will not.

This is the process I went through.

phpize 
./configure --enable-xdebug
make 
make install
mv `compiled module` `desired location` 

Then I edited php.ini to include:

zend_extension=/usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so
xdebug.default_enable=1
xdebug.remote_enable=1
xdebug.mode = develop
xdebug.log_level = 7
xdebug.var_display_max_data = -1
xdebug.cli_color = 1;
xdebug.var_display_max_depth = -1
xdebug.collect_params = 3
xdebug.max_nesting_level=200

Followed by: apachectl restart

Here is the summary:

OS: Mac OS Big Sur 11.2.3 PHP: 7.3.24 Xdebug: 3.0.3

I've already checked that the zend_extension=location and the compiled module is there

The webserver is loading the correct php.ini There is only one php binary in my system.

There is no Brew setup here. I like to compile and install my own binaries to know what's going on under the hood.

This is the output of for php -v

Ares@MacBook-Pro ~ % php -v
WARNING: PHP is not recommended
PHP is included in macOS for compatibility with legacy software.
Future versions of macOS will not include PHP.
PHP 7.3.24-(to be removed in future macOS) (cli) (built: Dec 21 2020 21:33:25) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) 1997-2018 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v3.3.24, Copyright (c) 1998-2018 Zend Technologies
    with Xdebug v3.0.3, Copyright (c) 2002-2021, by Derick Rethans

Here is php -i (removed non-relevant parts)

php -i
phpinfo()
PHP Version => 7.3.24-(to be removed in future macOS)

System => Darwin MacBook-Pro.local 20.3.0 Darwin Kernel Version 20.3.0: Thu Jan 21 00:07:06 PST 2021; root:xnu-7195.81.3~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64
Build Date => Dec 21 2020 21:31:03
Server API => Command Line Interface
Virtual Directory Support => disabled
Configuration File (php.ini) Path => /etc
Loaded Configuration File => /etc/php.ini
Scan this dir for additional .ini files => (none)
Additional .ini files parsed => (none)
PHP API => 20180731
PHP Extension => 20180731
Zend Extension => 320180731
Zend Extension Build => API320180731,NTS
PHP Extension Build => API20180731,NTS
Debug Build => no
Thread Safety => disabled
Zend Signal Handling => enabled
Zend Memory Manager => enabled
Zend Multibyte Support => provided by mbstring
IPv6 Support => enabled
DTrace Support => disabled

Registered PHP Streams => https, ftps, compress.zlib, compress.bzip2, php, file, glob, data, http, ftp, phar
Registered Stream Socket Transports => tcp, udp, unix, udg, ssl, tls, tlsv1.0, tlsv1.1, tlsv1.2
Registered Stream Filters => zlib.*, bzip2.*, convert.iconv.*, string.rot13, string.toupper, string.tolower, string.strip_tags, convert.*, consumed, dechunk

This program makes use of the Zend Scripting Language Engine:
Zend Engine v3.3.24, Copyright (c) 1998-2018 Zend Technologies
    with Xdebug v3.0.3, Copyright (c) 2002-2021, by Derick Rethans


 _______________________________________________________________________


Configuration
....

Core

PHP Version => 7.3.24-(to be removed in future macOS)

Directive => Local Value => Master Value
allow_url_fopen => On => On
allow_url_include => Off => Off
arg_separator.input => & => &
arg_separator.output => & => &
auto_append_file => no value => no value
auto_globals_jit => On => On
auto_prepend_file => no value => no value
browscap => no value => no value
default_charset => UTF-8 => UTF-8
default_mimetype => text/html => text/html
disable_classes => no value => no value
disable_functions => no value => no value
display_errors => STDOUT => STDOUT
display_startup_errors => On => On
doc_root => no value => no value
docref_ext => no value => no value
docref_root => no value => no value
enable_dl => Off => Off
enable_post_data_reading => On => On
error_append_string => no value => no value
error_log => no value => no value
error_prepend_string => no value => no value
error_reporting => 22527 => 22527
expose_php => On => On
extension_dir => /usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731 => /usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731
file_uploads => On => On
hard_timeout => 2 => 2
highlight.comment => <font style="color: #FF8000">#FF8000</font> => <font style="color: #FF8000">#FF8000</font>
highlight.default => <font style="color: #0000BB">#0000BB</font> => <font style="color: #0000BB">#0000BB</font>
highlight.html => <font style="color: #000000">#000000</font> => <font style="color: #000000">#000000</font>
highlight.keyword => <font style="color: #007700">#007700</font> => <font style="color: #007700">#007700</font>
highlight.string => <font style="color: #DD0000">#DD0000</font> => <font style="color: #DD0000">#DD0000</font>
html_errors => Off => Off
ignore_repeated_errors => Off => Off
ignore_repeated_source => Off => Off
ignore_user_abort => Off => Off
implicit_flush => On => On
include_path => .: => .:
input_encoding => no value => no value
internal_encoding => no value => no value
log_errors => On => On
log_errors_max_len => 1024 => 1024
mail.add_x_header => Off => Off
mail.force_extra_parameters => no value => no value
mail.log => no value => no value
max_execution_time => 0 => 0
max_file_uploads => 20 => 20
max_input_nesting_level => 64 => 64
max_input_time => -1 => -1
max_input_vars => 1000 => 1000
memory_limit => 128M => 128M
open_basedir => no value => no value
output_buffering => 0 => 0
output_encoding => no value => no value
output_handler => no value => no value
post_max_size => 8M => 8M
precision => 14 => 14
realpath_cache_size => 4096K => 4096K
realpath_cache_ttl => 120 => 120
register_argc_argv => On => On
report_memleaks => On => On
report_zend_debug => Off => Off
request_order => GP => GP
sendmail_from => no value => no value
sendmail_path => /usr/sbin/sendmail -t -i => /usr/sbin/sendmail -t -i
serialize_precision => -1 => -1
short_open_tag => Off => Off
SMTP => localhost => localhost
smtp_port => 25 => 25
sys_temp_dir => no value => no value
syslog.facility => LOG_USER => LOG_USER
syslog.filter => no-ctrl => no-ctrl
syslog.ident => php => php
track_errors => Off => Off
unserialize_callback_func => no value => no value
upload_max_filesize => 2M => 2M
upload_tmp_dir => no value => no value
user_dir => no value => no value
user_ini.cache_ttl => 300 => 300
user_ini.filename => .user.ini => .user.ini
variables_order => GPCS => GPCS
xmlrpc_error_number => 0 => 0
xmlrpc_errors => Off => Off
zend.assertions => -1 => -1
zend.detect_unicode => On => On
zend.enable_gc => On => On
zend.multibyte => Off => Off
zend.script_encoding => no value => no value
zend.signal_check => Off => Off

.... 

xdebug

__   __   _      _                 
\ \ / /  | |    | |                
 \ V / __| | ___| |__  _   _  __ _ 
  > < / _` |/ _ \ '_ \| | | |/ _` |
 / . \ (_| |  __/ |_) | |_| | (_| |
/_/ \_\__,_|\___|_.__/ \__,_|\__, |
                              __/ |
                             |___/ 

Version => 3.0.3
Support Xdebug on Patreon, GitHub, or as a business: https://xdebug.org/support

           Enabled Features<br/>(through 'xdebug.mode' setting)           
Feature => Enabled/Disabled
Development Aids => ✔ enabled
Coverage => ✘ disabled
GC Stats => ✘ disabled
Profiler => ✘ disabled
Step Debugger => ✘ disabled
Tracing => ✘ disabled

Directive => Local Value => Master Value
xdebug.auto_trace => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.cli_color => 0 => 0
xdebug.client_discovery_header => no value => no value
xdebug.client_host => localhost => localhost
xdebug.client_port => 9003 => 9003
xdebug.cloud_id => no value => no value
xdebug.collect_assignments => Off => Off
xdebug.collect_includes => (setting removed in Xdebug 3) => (setting removed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.collect_params => (setting removed in Xdebug 3) => (setting removed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.collect_return => Off => Off
xdebug.collect_vars => (setting removed in Xdebug 3) => (setting removed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.connect_timeout_ms => 200 => 200
xdebug.coverage_enable => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.default_enable => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.discover_client_host => Off => Off
xdebug.dump.COOKIE => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.ENV => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.FILES => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.GET => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.POST => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.REQUEST => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.SERVER => no value => no value
xdebug.dump.SESSION => no value => no value
xdebug.dump_globals => On => On
xdebug.dump_once => On => On
xdebug.dump_undefined => Off => Off
xdebug.file_link_format => no value => no value
xdebug.filename_format => no value => no value
xdebug.force_display_errors => Off => Off
xdebug.force_error_reporting => 0 => 0
xdebug.gc_stats_enable => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.gc_stats_output_dir => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.gc_stats_output_name => gcstats.%p => gcstats.%p
xdebug.halt_level => 0 => 0
xdebug.idekey => no value => no value
xdebug.log => no value => no value
xdebug.log_level => 7 => 7
xdebug.max_nesting_level => 256 => 256
xdebug.max_stack_frames => -1 => -1
xdebug.mode => develop => develop
xdebug.output_dir => /var/tmp/ => /var/tmp/
xdebug.overload_var_dump => (setting removed in Xdebug 3) => (setting removed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.profiler_append => Off => Off
xdebug.profiler_enable => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.profiler_enable_trigger => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.profiler_enable_trigger_value => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.profiler_output_dir => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.profiler_output_name => cachegrind.out.%p => cachegrind.out.%p
xdebug.remote_autostart => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_connect_back => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_enable => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_host => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_log => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_log_level => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_mode => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_port => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.remote_timeout => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.scream => Off => Off
xdebug.show_error_trace => Off => Off
xdebug.show_exception_trace => Off => Off
xdebug.show_local_vars => Off => Off
xdebug.show_mem_delta => (setting removed in Xdebug 3) => (setting removed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.start_upon_error => default => default
xdebug.start_with_request => default => default
xdebug.trace_enable_trigger => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.trace_enable_trigger_value => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.trace_format => 0 => 0
xdebug.trace_options => 0 => 0
xdebug.trace_output_dir => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3) => (setting renamed in Xdebug 3)
xdebug.trace_output_name => trace.%c => trace.%c
xdebug.trigger_value => no value => no value
xdebug.var_display_max_children => 128 => 128
xdebug.var_display_max_data => 512 => 512
xdebug.var_display_max_depth => 3 => 3

And this is the output for the headers in phpinfo() from the webserver with no mention of xdebug. Obviously, when trying to use xdebug functions through the webserver they will throw a fatal error since the functions are not defined.

Build Date  Dec 21 2020 21:31:03
Server API  Apache 2.0 Handler
Virtual Directory Support   disabled
Configuration File (php.ini) Path   /etc
Loaded Configuration File   /etc/php.ini
Scan this dir for additional .ini files (none)
Additional .ini files parsed    (none)
PHP API 20180731
PHP Extension   20180731
Zend Extension  320180731
Zend Extension Build    API320180731,NTS
PHP Extension Build API20180731,NTS
Debug Build no
Thread Safety   disabled
Zend Signal Handling    enabled
Zend Memory Manager enabled
Zend Multibyte Support  provided by mbstring
IPv6 Support    enabled
DTrace Support  disabled
Registered PHP Streams  https, ftps, compress.zlib, compress.bzip2, php, file, glob, data, http, ftp, phar
Registered Stream Socket Transports tcp, udp, unix, udg, ssl, tls, tlsv1.0, tlsv1.1, tlsv1.2
Registered Stream Filters   zlib.*, bzip2.*, convert.iconv.*, string.rot13, string.toupper, string.tolower, string.strip_tags, convert.*, consumed, dechunk
Zend logoThis program makes use of the Zend Scripting Language Engine:
Zend Engine v3.3.24, Copyright (c) 1998-2018 Zend Technologies

Any ideas of what might be going on?

I've already looked at most other similar questions without luck.

Answer 1

After banging my head against the wall for a few hours, I was finally able to figure out what the problem was.

There was an error message about xcode not being code signed:

Failed loading /usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so:  dlopen(/usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so, 9): no suitable image found.  Did find:
    /usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so: code signature in (/usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so) not valid for use in process using Library Validation: mapped file has no cdhash, completely unsigned? Code has to be at least ad-hoc signed.

I was able to codesign it with my Apple Developer Certificate. However, after that the message changed to:

Failed loading /usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so:  dlopen(/usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so, 9): no suitable image found.  Did find:
    /usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so: code signature in (/usr/local/php/extensions/xdebug.so) not valid for use in process using Library Validation: mapping process is a platform binary, but mapped file is not

As it turns out, MacOS 11 requires library validation for everything. My solution, although not recommended if you don't know what you are doing is to disable library validation systemwide for it be able to load.

You can do it with the following command:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool true

Then you can restart apache and the module will load, after that you can reactivate library validation with

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool false

Happy debugging