Setting Your PHP Settings in Command Line

When you are running a PHP file from the command line, there may be times when you need to make changes to the PHP settings. In this guide, we will show you how to specify the php.ini file, and change a PHP setting in the command line. If you are not working in the command line, you can change your PHP settings in cPanel.

(For developers or sysadmins experienced with the command line, get High-Availability and Root Access for your application, service, and websites with Cloud VPS Hosting).

Specify the php.ini File in Command Line

1. Connect to your server using SSH.
2. You can specify the php.ini file in the command line by using the following syntax:

   php -c [Path to php.ini file] [Path to .php file]

   For example:

   php -c /home/userna5/public_html/php.ini /home/userna5/public_html/example.php

   Now the example.php file will run, with the limitations set in the php.ini file located here: /home/userna5/public_html

Change PHP settings

1. Connect to your server using SSH.
2. You can specify php.ini settings in the command line with this syntax:

   php -c [Path to php.ini file] [Path to .php file] -d [PHP setting]

   For example:

   php -c /home/userna5/public_html/php.ini /home/userna5/public_html/example.php -d memory_limit=256M

   In this example, you can see I am setting the memory limit to 256 Megabytes. Here are some other PHP settings that are often modified:

   max_execution_time

   max_input_time

   upload_max_filesize

Congratulations, now you know how to set the php.ini file, and change your PHP settings from the command line!