"module, fileinfo, is not installed" etc .. (but has a solution)

I recently updated to Local 6, and the age old error that I saw on my WordPress dashboard today was:-

“The optional module, fileinfo, is not installed, or has been disabled.”

I’m running Windows 10
Local by Flywheel 6.10+5452
PHP 7.41
WordPress 5.8

And all of my tricks from the past, … didn’t work this time round.

In other words, I found the PHP.INI file on my system, but re-editing it did no good: because the file gets over-written at Local start.

Dug deeper, and I think that the PHP parser takes it’s instructions from a file called [ php.ini.hbs ] located off of your [ local directory ] path.

Howtoo: (or a Howtoo that worked for me!)

Open your website’s path, by clicking the ~\Local Sites[your web sites name] (>) arrow thing found in the Local by Flywheels control screen.

This opens Microsoft’s [ File-Explorer ] showing your raw files.
Mine expands as follows, … [ C:\Users\terry\Local Sites\writeon\ ] obviously yours will be different.

Close-down the program [ Local by Flywheel ]

Now, in Explorer, navigate to the folder called [ \conf ] and then [ \php ]

The fake PHP.INI file you want to edit in this directory is called php.ini.hbs

Notepad will do fine in editing it, (so open it with that.)
This is familiar, but on about line 90, find these strings of text:-

.. other entries ..
.. other entries ..
.. other entries ..
extension=php_soap.dll
extension=php_mysqli.dll
extension=php_pdo_mysql.dll
{{/if}}

Add this line of text ( extension=php_fileinfo.dll ), above the {{if}}, so it now looks like this.

.. other entries ..
.. other entries ..
.. other entries ..
extension=php_soap.dll
extension=php_mysqli.dll
extension=php_pdo_mysql.dll
extension=php_fileinfo.dll
{{/if}}

Save the file. Restart Local, and then [ Start ] your website as normal.

As I say, my error-message about my Sites Heath vanished, (again!)

Hope yours does the same.

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