How can I run a php without a web server?

You should normally be able to run a php file (after a successful installation) just by running this command:

$ /path/to/php myfile.php // unix way
C:\php\php.exe myfile.php // windows way

You can read more about running PHP in CLI mode here.

It's worth adding that PHP from version 5.4 onwards is able to run a web server on its own. You can do it by running this code in a folder which you want to serve the pages from:

$ php -S localhost:8000

You can read more about running a PHP in a Web Server mode here.

For windows system you should be able to run php by following below steps:

1. Download php version you want to use and put it in c:\php.
2. append ;c:\php to your system path using cmd or gui.
3. call $ php -S localhost:8000 command in a folder which you want to serve the pages from.

PHP is a normal sripting language similar to bash or python or perl. So a script with shebang works, at least on linux.

Example PHP file:

#!/usr/bin/env php

<?php

echo("Hello World!\n")

?>

How to run it:

$ chmod 755 hello.php  # do this only once
$ ./hello.php