Steps to Create a phprc file via SSH

The default settings that come with every PHP installation are usually suitable for the majority of websites. It is quite uncommon for a website’s requirements to necessitate changing PHP settings. In this instance, changing the PHP settings for your website may be accomplished by generating a php.ini (phprc) file.

php.ini is the usual filename for a PHP configuration file.

An FTP client would be the easiest way to generate a phprc file, but you could also make one by signing in to the server via SSH. The procedures to build this phprc file over SSH are described in this post.

Steps to Add a phprc file using SSH

1. Using SSH, log into your server.

2. Type ‘pwd’ to confirm that you are in your users directory:

[server]$ pwd
/home/example_username

In this directory, a single command can be run to create the /.php folder as well as the /7.2 folder that is present inside of it. Remember to first check the version of PHP your site is using. In the below example, we have assumed that the site is using PHP 7.2. If your site is running PHP 7.1, name the directory as 7.1 instead.

3. Execute the below command:

[server]$ mkdir -p ~/.php/7.2

4. Run the below code to change your directory into these two new folders you just created:

[server]$ cd .php/7.2

• After running pwd, you will see the entire filepath you just created:

[server]$ pwd
/home/example_username/.php/7.2

5. Create the phprc file without an extension, in this folder.

You can run a few programs for creating this file. In this example, a program called nano is used.

6. Execute the below code to create the phprc file:

[server]$ nano phprc

A text editor will pop up.

7. Next, edit the file with the help of your PHP customizations.

8. Close the file and go back to your shell.

How to Kill off running PHP processes?

After saving your changes, it is essential to kill off all running PHP processes. This helps your new settings to get updated. Check the below article for instructions on killing off all running PHP processes:

Killing off PHP processes

How to Confirm Your Changes?

After editing the file and killing off all PHP processes, it is important to confirm if the values have updated. This can be done by creating a phpinfo.php file.

If your changes aren’t updated, try killing off your PHP processes again.

Conclusion

The phprc file is used for any domains under this specific username which also run the specific version of PHP you selected in step#3 while creating the directory.

For example, if the user has three domains from which two are running PHP 7.2 and the third is running PHP 7.1, only the first two domains that run 7.2 would be affected by the phprc file. You will need to create a separate phprc file for the PHP 7.1 site.