Errors with SQLite when launching tests

[misaert]

Hi @bpolaszek,

I try to launch tests but I have errors like:

  Schema-Tool failed with Error 'An exception occurred in driver: could not find driver' while executing DDL: CREATE TABLE User (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT NOT NULL, name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL)

  at vendor/doctrine/orm/src/Tools/ToolsException.php:19

I suppose it is because I don't have SQLite in my laptop.

I tried to install it but no success:

sudo apt install sqlite3

Same issue.

I tried to enable to PDO SQLite extension but I can't find it in APT with sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php for the packages php8.X-sqlite.

I tried to install it manually but no success too. I have this error:

PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'sqlite3' (tried: /usr/lib/php/20220829/sqlite3 (/usr/lib/php/20220829/sqlite3: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory), /usr/lib/php/20220829/sqlite3.so (/usr/lib/php/20220829/sqlite3.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)) in Unknown on line 0

Do I forget something?

Thanks,

Mickaël

[bpolaszek]

Sounds weird, have you tried installing it via PECL? Something like pecl install sqlite (unsure about the correct syntax)

[bpolaszek]

Claude says:

Why you’re seeing “could not find driver”

• Doctrine’s Schema Tool is trying to use SQLite via PDO, but the PHP PDO SQLite driver isn’t loaded.
• Installing the sqlite3 CLI tool alone isn’t enough; you need the PHP extension that provides pdo_sqlite and sqlite3.
• The warning you got (“Unable to load dynamic library ‘sqlite3’ … cannot open shared object file”) means PHP is trying to load the module, but the .so file isn’t installed (or you enabled the wrong ini for the wrong PHP version).

Fix on Ubuntu/Debian (with or without Ondřej’s PPA)

Pick the option that matches your setup:

Option A: Install the meta-package (installs for the default PHP version)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php-sqlite3

This will install the right sqlite3/pdo_sqlite module for your system’s default PHP version (CLI, FPM, Apache).

Option B: Install for a specific PHP version

Find your CLI PHP version first:

php -v

Then install the matching package (examples):

# If php -v shows 8.2
sudo apt install php8.2-sqlite3

# If php -v shows 8.3
sudo apt install php8.3-sqlite3

If you use Ondřej’s PPA (ppa:ondrej/php), the package names are still php8.2-sqlite3, php8.3-sqlite3, etc. There is no php8.X-sqlite; the correct name ends with -sqlite3.

Enable and verify the extension

Usually apt enables it automatically. If not, enable and restart services:

# Enable for all SAPIs
sudo phpenmod sqlite3

# If you use PHP-FPM
sudo systemctl restart php8.2-fpm  # or php8.3-fpm

# If you use Apache with mod_php
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Confirm from CLI (Doctrine commands run under CLI):

php -m | grep -i -E "sqlite|pdo"
# You should see both: sqlite3 and pdo_sqlite

Or:

php --ri sqlite3
php --ri pdo_sqlite

Important notes and common pitfalls

• Multiple PHP versions: If you have several PHP versions installed, you must install the -sqlite3 package for the exact version your CLI uses. composer test/bin/console/vendor/bin/doctrine typically use the CLI’s php.
• Don’t manually add extension=sqlite3 to php.ini unless you know what you’re doing. The Debian/Ubuntu packages drop an INI into /etc/php/<ver>/<sapi>/conf.d/20-sqlite3.ini. Manually adding the line without the module installed causes the “cannot open shared object file” warning you saw.
• Web vs CLI: Your web SAPI (FPM/Apache) and CLI can load different INI sets. Always verify with php -i (CLI) and phpinfo() (web) if needed.

If you’re still stuck

1. Check which INI is trying to load sqlite3:

   php --ini

   Look for 20-sqlite3.ini and 20-pdo_sqlite.ini symlinks under /etc/php/<ver>/cli/conf.d/.
2. Ensure the module file exists:

   ls /usr/lib/php/*/sqlite3.so
   ls /usr/lib/php/*/pdo_sqlite.so

   If missing, the php<ver>-sqlite3 package isn’t installed for that version.
3. Reinstall for your PHP version:

   sudo apt install --reinstall php<your-version>-sqlite3

Doctrine config reminder

If your tests use SQLite, your DSN should be something like:

• File database: sqlite:///%kernel.project_dir%/var/app.db
• In-memory: sqlite:///:memory:

Once pdo_sqlite is present, rerun your tests. The Schema Tool should work without the driver error.