No topic mentionning "PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library ‘php_imagick.dll’ " has ever got an answer from wp engine team. I can confirm this still happens with the latest version of local wp. Maybe it is due to changing php version or from nginx to apache. But there is absolutely no way to fix it.
The file shown as missing is of course exactly where it is supposed to be.
There should at least be a ressource to help people set their server in a working state.
At least if you are using XAMPP or any other AMP software. You know that if you uninstall everything and reinstall you are back in a working state of affairs. Local works on black magic and no steps are given to reset a server so that it works.
Steps to reproduce
use local by flywheel, have server going to shits. Have no mods answering ever on every related topic (even if you stay polite like the other ones did).
Environment Info
Describe your environment.
What Operating System are you using?
Windows
What versions of site software (Nginx, Apache, PHP, MySQL) is used?
went from nginx to apache
updating php from time to time (works on no versions)
What version of Local is installed?
latest
Supporting info
[16-Apr-2025 19:17:07 UTC] PHP Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library ‘php_intl.dll’ (tried: C:/Users/hi/AppData/Roaming/Local/lightning-services/php-8.3.17+1/bin/win64/ext\php_intl.dll (Le module spécifié est introuvable), C:/Users/hi/AppData/Roaming/Local/lightning-services/php-8.3.17+1/bin/win64/ext\php_php_intl.dll.dll (Le module spécifié est introuvable)) in Unknown on line 0
Sorry that you encountered this error, @rsepierre.
I found similar reports of this where one or more moderators replied (for example here), but so far I have not been able to reproduce this issue.
I just tried again on my Windows 11 machine and could not generate an, “Unable to load dynamic library ‘php_imagick.dll’” error when starting a new site, switching Apache<->nginx, or switching PHP versions as you describe.
We’d love to help if you can share more information or steps to reproduce the issue. It might help us to have your full logs, as well as any other details you can share, for example:
What’s your exact version of Windows?
Is it 32-bit or 64-bit?
Do newly created sites work for you?
When they stop working, what exact changes did you just make?
What causes this error to appear — starting a site, opening the site shell, or some other action?
Anything else you’ve noticed that causes this behaviour.
There should at least be a ressource to help people set their server in a working state. At least if you are using XAMPP or any other AMP software. You know that if you uninstall everything and reinstall you are back in a working state of affairs.
In case you need it in the future, this page explains how to uninstall Local if you ever want to attempt a reinstall like you’ve done with XAMPP and similar:
There is also a guide to import previously created sites into a fresh copy of Local (see “restore from only Local site files”):
Thank you for getting back to me with this thread. I guess I stumbled upon most of the other thread he cited.
I am sure that a new install will most likely never show this behaviour. I am guessing that if you change some server configurations such as changing php version, switching nginx<->apache (which I did once to be able to use .htaccess files. I guess some point it might accumulate junk that deviate from a clean configuration even though all those changes were made via the local GUI.
I think there should be a way to “start fresh” for one server. Delete the configuration entirely and set something new with the exact same database, files, domain name etc. Considering local wp can create environments on the fly it should be doable. We have one folder with all files in it and the BDD next to it.
I would consider uninstalling and reinstalling localWP, but I would then need to export and reimport every project one by one. With any AMP configuration you export all databases and reimport them in one go. You probably don’t even need to move the files around. I would have to do it 30 times on local.
I take this opportunity to bump my other thread you answered on a while ago. If this feature was implemented it would be very easy to do the clean uninstall/reinstall and reimport all localwp projects with no headackes : Manually add local projects from folders
I am guessing that if you change some server configurations such as changing php version, switching nginx<->apache (which I did once to be able to use .htaccess files. I guess some point it might accumulate junk that deviate from a clean configuration even though all those changes were made via the local GUI.
I spent some dedicated time trying to reproduce this again with no luck today. I was able to switch between multiple versions of PHP, toggle between nginx and Apache several times, make edits to themes and plugins, use WP-CLI, and browse the site frontend and backend without encountering errors specific to php_intl.dll, php_imagick.dll or other dlls.
But I appreciate that it’s appearing for you, and proving annoying! If you happen to find steps that trigger the error consistently, please share them. I’d be happy to investigate further.
If this feature was implemented it would be very easy to do the clean uninstall/reinstall and reimport all localwp projects with no headackes : Manually add local projects from folders
Thank you again for sharing that. I can see the value in being able to add sites without manual imports. I can’t make promises about adding features, but I will again share this with the Local team to consider.