Modifying PHP Settings

ServBay includes a PHP environment with flexible configuration options. This article will detail how to modify PHP settings in ServBay, including the locations of php.ini and php-fpm.conf files, as well as common configuration items. Depending on the PHP version, these files are located in the /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/<version> directory. Additionally, PHP module configuration files (such as xdebug.ini) are located in the /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/<version>/conf.d directory.

Important Note

Please do not manually modify configuration files. All configuration files are automatically generated by ServBay, and manual modifications risk being overwritten. Please make changes through the UI.

Overview

In ServBay, PHP configuration files are stored in different directories based on the version. For example, PHP 8.3 configuration files are located in the /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/8.3 directory. Here are the detailed locations of these configuration files:

• php.ini: /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/8.3/php.ini
• php-fpm.conf: /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/8.3/php-fpm.conf
• PHP module loading configuration files: /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/8.3/conf.d/

Modifying via ServBay’s UI

ServBay provides a powerful graphical management interface where users can modify various configuration parameters. After clicking save, changes are automatically applied and take effect in real time, eliminating the need for manual parameter editing.

Open Language from the left navigation, select the PHP version you wish to modify, and an editing menu will appear on the right. A typical interface is shown in the image below.

The interface is divided into three different configuration items, corresponding to PHP-FPM, PHP, and PHP modules. Below, these will be explained one by one.

PHP FPM

Tip

php-fpm.conf corresponds to the performance of PHP in web services, and all configurations will take precedence over (override) php.ini.

However, settings here will not affect the performance of code in the CLI.

First is the PHP FPM configuration interface. Whether it's Caddy or NGINX, PHP in ServBay web services runs using FPM. In this interface, you can configure the number of FPM processes, memory limits, log error levels, whether to display error information in the browser, etc.

For example, if we want to change the Memory Limit in the web from 64M to 1G, we simply select 1G in the Memory Limit dropdown menu and save. This modification will not affect the php.ini configuration, and PHP scripts running in CLI mode will still be controlled by php.ini.

Assuming php.ini has a Memory Limit of 512M, but PHP FPM is configured with a Memory Limit of 128M, then the same script can use 512M of memory in CLI and 128M in web.

php.ini

Tip

Settings in php.ini are global, affecting both CLI and web contexts. However, in the web context, php.ini settings might be overridden by php-fpm.conf.

The PHP configuration section corresponds to the configuration items in php.ini, which is PHP's core configuration file.

Here, you can configure most php.ini options, such as post_max_size affecting post forms and upload_max_filesize affecting uploaded file sizes, as well as disable_functions and disable_classes.

Note that because settings are global, if you want to configure open_basedir, it's recommended to place all website projects in /Applications/ServBay/www to avoid setting multiple directories.

For detailed configuration fields, refer to the official php.ini documentation.

Extension Modules

ServBay comes with a variety of common PHP extension modules, such as xDebug, OPcache, Image Magick, Redis, MongoDB, Phalcon, Swoole, etc. For a detailed list of modules, refer to PHP Extension Module List.

Enabling PHP extension modules is very simple, just toggle the switch and click save. For modules like xDebug that have additional configuration items, these can be easily modified directly.

Modifying via Manual Configuration File Editing

WARNING

Editing configuration files manually is only suitable for temporary changes to certain configuration items.

We do not recommend manually modifying PHP configuration files because all changes will be overwritten by ServBay.

php.ini Configuration

The php.ini file is PHP's main configuration file, used to set various runtime options for PHP.

Common Configuration Items

Below are some common php.ini configuration items and how to modify them:

1. Modify Memory Limit:

   memory_limit = 256M

2. Modify Upload File Size Limit:

   upload_max_filesize = 50M
   post_max_size = 50M

3. Modify Timezone Settings:

   date.timezone = "Asia/Hong_Kong"

4. Enable Error Display:

   display_errors = On
   error_reporting = E_ALL

5. Modify Maximum Execution Time:

   max_execution_time = 300

php-fpm.conf Configuration

The php-fpm.conf file is used to configure PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager) runtime parameters.

Common Configuration Items

Below are some common php-fpm.conf configuration items and how to modify them:

1. Modify Process Pool Settings:

   [www]
   listen = /Applications/ServBay/tmp/php-cgi-8.3.sock
   listen.backlog = -1
   listen.allowed_clients = 127.0.0.1
   ;listen.owner = www
   ;listen.group = www
   listen.mode = 0666
   ;user = www
   ;group = www
   pm = dynamic
   pm.max_children = 10
   pm.start_servers = 2
   pm.min_spare_servers = 1
   pm.max_spare_servers = 6
   pm.max_requests = 1024
   pm.process_idle_timeout = 10s

2. Enable Slow Log:

   request_slowlog_timeout = 5s
   slowlog = /Applications/ServBay/logs/php/8.3/slow.log

3. Modify Error Log Path:

   error_log = /Applications/ServBay/logs/php/8.3/errors.log

PHP Module Loading Configuration

PHP module loading configuration files are located in /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/8.3/conf.d/. For example, the xdebug.ini file is used to configure the Xdebug extension.

xdebug.ini Example

Below is an example of an xdebug.ini file:

[Xdebug]
; Uncomment the following line to enable XDebug
zend_extension = xdebug.so
xdebug.mode=debug,develop
xdebug.start_with_request=yes
xdebug.client_host=localhost
xdebug.client_port=39083
xdebug.log=/Applications/ServBay/logs/xdebug/8.3/xdebug.log

Restarting PHP

After modifying PHP configuration files, you need to restart the PHP service to apply the changes. This can be done through ServBay's management interface or using the servbayctl command-line tool.

Restart via ServBay Management Interface

1. Open ServBay management interface.
2. Navigate to Services.
3. Find the PHP service for the appropriate version and click the Restart button.

Restart via servbayctl

Using the servbayctl command-line tool, you can easily restart the PHP service:

servbayctl restart php 8.3

Summary

In ServBay, PHP configuration files are located in /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/<version>, including php.ini and php-fpm.conf. PHP module loading configuration files are located in /Applications/ServBay/etc/php/<version>/conf.d/. After modifying these configuration files, you can restart the PHP service via ServBay's management interface or using the servbayctl command-line tool to apply the changes.