Linux-Server-Management-Toolkit/docs/PHP_CONFIG_LOCATIONS_COMPLETE.md

Complete PHP Configuration File Locations - All Control Panels

Understanding PHP Configuration Priority

PHP configuration is applied in a hierarchical cascade. Settings in higher-priority files override settings in lower-priority files.

Priority Order (Highest to Lowest)

PRIORITY 1 (HIGHEST): Per-Directory Configuration
├─ .user.ini (PHP-FPM only, per-directory)
├─ .htaccess with php_value/php_flag (Apache + mod_php ONLY, NOT PHP-FPM!)
└─ ini_set() in PHP code (runtime only)

PRIORITY 2: User-Specific Configuration
├─ ~/public_html/php.ini (some control panels)
├─ ~/.php/X.Y/php.ini (per PHP version)
├─ ~/etc/phpX.Y/php.ini (InterWorx style)
└─ ~/php.ini (legacy)

PRIORITY 3: Pool-Specific Configuration
├─ /opt/cpanel/ea-phpXY/root/etc/php.ini (cPanel EA-PHP)
├─ /opt/alt/phpXY/etc/php.ini (CloudLinux Alt-PHP)
├─ Additional .ini files loaded alphabetically:
│   ├─ /opt/cpanel/ea-phpXY/root/etc/php.d/*.ini
│   └─ Loaded in alphabetical order (00-*, 10-*, 20-*, etc.)
└─ scan_dir configured locations

PRIORITY 4 (LOWEST): System-Wide Configuration
└─ /etc/php.ini (global default, rarely used with control panels)

Complete File Location Map by Control Panel

cPanel with EA-PHP (Most Common)

1. Per-Directory (.user.ini) - PRIORITY 1

# Location pattern
/home/$username/public_html/.user.ini
/home/$username/public_html/subdirectory/.user.ini
/home/$username/public_html/app/.user.ini

# Applies to
- That directory and all subdirectories
- Only works with PHP-FPM (not mod_php)
- Reloaded every user_ini.cache_ttl seconds (default 300)

# Example content
memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
post_max_size = 150M
max_execution_time = 120

# Find all .user.ini files for a user
find /home/$username -name ".user.ini" -type f

# Common locations
/home/$username/public_html/.user.ini
/home/$username/public_html/wp-content/.user.ini
/home/$username/public_html/app/upload/.user.ini

2. .htaccess with PHP directives - PRIORITY 1 (mod_php ONLY!)

# Location
/home/$username/public_html/.htaccess

# IMPORTANT: Only works with Apache mod_php
# Does NOT work with PHP-FPM!
# cPanel typically uses PHP-FPM, so .htaccess php_value is IGNORED

# Example content (if mod_php is used)
php_value memory_limit 256M
php_value upload_max_filesize 64M
php_flag display_errors Off

# Find .htaccess with PHP directives
find /home/$username/public_html -name ".htaccess" -exec grep -l "php_value\|php_flag" {} \;

3. User Home Directory Configs - PRIORITY 2

# cPanel creates user-specific php.ini in various locations:

# A. PHP version-specific in home
/home/$username/.php/8.2/php.ini
/home/$username/.php/8.1/php.ini
/home/$username/.php/8.0/php.ini

# B. Legacy home php.ini
/home/$username/php.ini

# C. In etc subdirectory
/home/$username/etc/php.ini
/home/$username/etc/php/8.2/php.ini

# D. In public_html (some configurations)
/home/$username/public_html/php.ini

# Find all home directory php.ini files
find /home/$username -maxdepth 3 -name "php.ini" -type f
find /home/$username/.php -name "php.ini" -type f 2>/dev/null

4. MultiPHP INI Editor Files - PRIORITY 2

# cPanel's MultiPHP INI Editor creates user-specific overrides here:
/var/cpanel/userdata/$username/php-fpm.d/$domain.conf
/home/$username/.php/8.2/php.ini

# These override pool defaults but are overridden by .user.ini

5. EA-PHP Pool Configuration - PRIORITY 3

# Main php.ini for each EA-PHP version
/opt/cpanel/ea-php80/root/etc/php.ini
/opt/cpanel/ea-php81/root/etc/php.ini
/opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php.ini
/opt/cpanel/ea-php83/root/etc/php.ini

# Additional .ini files (loaded alphabetically)
/opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php.d/00-ioncube.ini
/opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php.d/10-opcache.ini
/opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php.d/20-gd.ini
/opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php.d/30-mysqli.ini

# Find all EA-PHP installations
find /opt/cpanel -maxdepth 1 -type d -name "ea-php*"

# Find all php.ini files
find /opt/cpanel/ea-php* -name "php.ini"

# Find all additional .ini files
find /opt/cpanel/ea-php*/root/etc/php.d/ -name "*.ini" | sort

6. PHP-FPM Pool Configs (Not php.ini but affects PHP)

# Per-user FPM pool config (process manager settings)
/opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php-fpm.d/$username.conf

# Contains: pm, pm.max_children, pm.start_servers, etc.
# Not php.ini settings, but critical for performance!

CloudLinux with Alt-PHP

Alt-PHP Configuration Locations

# Main php.ini for each Alt-PHP version
/opt/alt/php80/etc/php.ini
/opt/alt/php81/etc/php.ini
/opt/alt/php82/etc/php.ini

# Additional .ini files
/opt/alt/php82/etc/php.d.all/*.ini

# Per-user overrides (if configured)
/home/$username/.cl.php/alt-php82/php.ini

# Find all Alt-PHP versions
ls -d /opt/alt/php*/

# Find all Alt-PHP ini files
find /opt/alt/php* -name "php.ini"

Plesk

Plesk PHP Configuration Hierarchy

# 1. Per-directory .user.ini - PRIORITY 1
/var/www/vhosts/$domain/httpdocs/.user.ini
/var/www/vhosts/$domain/httpdocs/subdirectory/.user.ini

# 2. Domain-specific php.ini - PRIORITY 2
/var/www/vhosts/system/$domain/etc/php.ini

# 3. Pool-specific php.ini - PRIORITY 3
/etc/php-fpm.d/plesk-php82-fpm/php.ini

# 4. PHP version php.ini - PRIORITY 3
/opt/plesk/php/8.2/etc/php.ini
/opt/plesk/php/8.1/etc/php.ini

# 5. Additional .ini files
/opt/plesk/php/8.2/etc/php.d/*.ini

# 6. System-wide - PRIORITY 4
/etc/php.ini

# Find domain php.ini files
find /var/www/vhosts/system -name "php.ini"

# Find all Plesk PHP versions
ls -d /opt/plesk/php/*/

InterWorx

InterWorx PHP Configuration

# 1. Per-directory .user.ini - PRIORITY 1
/home/$username/var/$domain/html/.user.ini

# 2. Domain-specific php.ini - PRIORITY 2
/home/$username/var/$domain/etc/php.ini

# 3. User etc directory
/home/$username/etc/php82/php.ini

# 4. PHP version php.ini - PRIORITY 3
/etc/php82/php.ini
/etc/php81/php.ini

# 5. System-wide - PRIORITY 4
/etc/php.ini

# Find InterWorx domain configs
find /home/*/var/*/etc -name "php.ini"

# Find user php configs
find /home/*/etc/php* -name "php.ini"

DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin Configuration

# 1. Per-directory .user.ini - PRIORITY 1
/home/$username/domains/$domain/public_html/.user.ini

# 2. Domain php.ini - PRIORITY 2
/usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$username/php/domains/$domain.ini

# 3. User default php.ini
/usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$username/php/php.ini

# 4. PHP version php.ini - PRIORITY 3
/usr/local/php82/lib/php.ini

# Find DirectAdmin configs
find /usr/local/directadmin/data/users -name "php.ini"
find /usr/local/directadmin/data/users -name "*.ini"

No Control Panel (Standalone)

Standard PHP Locations

# 1. Per-directory .user.ini - PRIORITY 1
/var/www/html/.user.ini
/var/www/domain.com/.user.ini

# 2. Pool-specific (if using PHP-FPM)
/etc/php/8.2/fpm/php.ini
/etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf

# 3. CLI php.ini (different from FPM!)
/etc/php/8.2/cli/php.ini

# 4. Additional .ini files
/etc/php/8.2/mods-available/*.ini
/etc/php/8.2/conf.d/*.ini

# 5. System-wide
/etc/php.ini
/usr/local/lib/php.ini

Detection Strategy - Universal Function

find_all_php_configs() {
    local username="$1"
    local domain="$2"
    local php_version="$3"  # e.g., "82" or "8.2"

    declare -a config_files
    declare -A config_priority

    echo "=== Finding ALL PHP configs affecting: $domain (user: $username) ==="
    echo ""

    # PRIORITY 1: Per-Directory .user.ini
    echo "PRIORITY 1: Per-Directory Configs"
    while IFS= read -r file; do
        if [ -f "$file" ]; then
            config_files+=("$file")
            config_priority["$file"]=1
            echo "  [P1] $file"
        fi
    done < <(find "/home/$username" -name ".user.ini" 2>/dev/null)

    # Check .htaccess (only relevant for mod_php)
    while IFS= read -r file; do
        if grep -q "php_value\|php_flag" "$file" 2>/dev/null; then
            config_files+=("$file")
            config_priority["$file"]=1
            echo "  [P1] $file (mod_php only - likely IGNORED on PHP-FPM!)"
        fi
    done < <(find "/home/$username/public_html" -name ".htaccess" 2>/dev/null)

    echo ""
    echo "PRIORITY 2: User-Specific Configs"

    # User home directory configs (various patterns)
    local user_configs=(
        "/home/$username/php.ini"
        "/home/$username/public_html/php.ini"
        "/home/$username/.php/$php_version/php.ini"
        "/home/$username/.php/${php_version:0:1}.${php_version:1}/php.ini"
        "/home/$username/etc/php.ini"
        "/home/$username/etc/php/$php_version/php.ini"
    )

    for config in "${user_configs[@]}"; do
        if [ -f "$config" ]; then
            config_files+=("$config")
            config_priority["$config"]=2
            echo "  [P2] $config"
        fi
    done

    # Plesk domain-specific
    if [ -f "/var/www/vhosts/system/$domain/etc/php.ini" ]; then
        config_files+=("/var/www/vhosts/system/$domain/etc/php.ini")
        config_priority["/var/www/vhosts/system/$domain/etc/php.ini"]=2
        echo "  [P2] /var/www/vhosts/system/$domain/etc/php.ini"
    fi

    # InterWorx domain-specific
    if [ -f "/home/$username/var/$domain/etc/php.ini" ]; then
        config_files+=("/home/$username/var/$domain/etc/php.ini")
        config_priority["/home/$username/var/$domain/etc/php.ini"]=2
        echo "  [P2] /home/$username/var/$domain/etc/php.ini"
    fi

    echo ""
    echo "PRIORITY 3: Pool/Version-Specific Configs"

    # cPanel EA-PHP
    local cpanel_php_ini="/opt/cpanel/ea-php${php_version}/root/etc/php.ini"
    if [ -f "$cpanel_php_ini" ]; then
        config_files+=("$cpanel_php_ini")
        config_priority["$cpanel_php_ini"]=3
        echo "  [P3] $cpanel_php_ini"

        # Additional .ini files
        if [ -d "/opt/cpanel/ea-php${php_version}/root/etc/php.d" ]; then
            while IFS= read -r file; do
                config_files+=("$file")
                config_priority["$file"]=3
                echo "  [P3] $file"
            done < <(find "/opt/cpanel/ea-php${php_version}/root/etc/php.d" -name "*.ini" | sort)
        fi
    fi

    # CloudLinux Alt-PHP
    local alt_php_ini="/opt/alt/php${php_version}/etc/php.ini"
    if [ -f "$alt_php_ini" ]; then
        config_files+=("$alt_php_ini")
        config_priority["$alt_php_ini"]=3
        echo "  [P3] $alt_php_ini"
    fi

    # Plesk
    local plesk_php_ini="/opt/plesk/php/${php_version:0:1}.${php_version:1}/etc/php.ini"
    if [ -f "$plesk_php_ini" ]; then
        config_files+=("$plesk_php_ini")
        config_priority["$plesk_php_ini"]=3
        echo "  [P3] $plesk_php_ini"
    fi

    echo ""
    echo "PRIORITY 4: System-Wide Default"
    if [ -f "/etc/php.ini" ]; then
        config_files+=("/etc/php.ini")
        config_priority["/etc/php.ini"]=4
        echo "  [P4] /etc/php.ini"
    fi

    echo ""
    echo "=== Total config files found: ${#config_files[@]} ==="

    # Return the array
    printf '%s\n' "${config_files[@]}"
}

How to Determine Effective Setting

Method 1: Query PHP Directly (MOST ACCURATE!)

# Get effective value for a specific setting
get_effective_php_setting() {
    local username="$1"
    local setting="$2"  # e.g., "memory_limit"

    # Run as user to get their effective settings
    su -s /bin/bash "$username" -c "php -r 'echo ini_get(\"$setting\");'"
}

# Example usage
memory_limit=$(get_effective_php_setting "examplec" "memory_limit")
echo "Effective memory_limit: $memory_limit"

# Get ALL effective settings
su -s /bin/bash "$username" -c "php -r 'print_r(ini_get_all());'" > /tmp/effective_php_settings.txt

Method 2: Parse Config Hierarchy

# Parse configs in priority order and track overrides
get_setting_from_configs() {
    local setting="$1"
    local value=""

    # Parse in REVERSE priority (lowest to highest)
    # So higher priority files override

    # Priority 4: System
    value=$(grep "^$setting" /etc/php.ini | cut -d'=' -f2 | tr -d ' ')

    # Priority 3: Pool
    pool_value=$(grep "^$setting" /opt/cpanel/ea-php82/root/etc/php.ini | cut -d'=' -f2 | tr -d ' ')
    [ -n "$pool_value" ] && value="$pool_value"

    # Priority 2: User
    user_value=$(grep "^$setting" /home/$username/.php/8.2/php.ini | cut -d'=' -f2 | tr -d ' ')
    [ -n "$user_value" ] && value="$user_value"

    # Priority 1: .user.ini
    user_ini_value=$(grep "^$setting" /home/$username/public_html/.user.ini | cut -d'=' -f2 | tr -d ' ')
    [ -n "$user_ini_value" ] && value="$user_ini_value"

    echo "$value"
}

Quick Reference Commands

# Find ALL php.ini files on system
find / -name "php.ini" -type f 2>/dev/null

# Find ALL .user.ini files
find /home -name ".user.ini" -type f 2>/dev/null

# Find .htaccess with PHP directives
find /home -name ".htaccess" -exec grep -l "php_value\|php_flag" {} \; 2>/dev/null

# Get effective settings for a domain (via web)
curl -s "http://domain.com/info.php" | grep -A1 "memory_limit"

# Get effective settings via CLI
php -i | grep "memory_limit"
php -r "echo ini_get('memory_limit');"

# List all loaded .ini files
php --ini

# Get configuration file path
php -r "echo php_ini_loaded_file();"

# Get scanned .ini directory
php -r "echo php_ini_scanned_files();"

Key Takeaways for Optimizer

1. Always check .user.ini first - It overrides everything!
2. Per-domain/user configs vary by control panel - Need detection logic
3. .htaccess php_value only works with mod_php - Usually ignored on modern setups
4. Query PHP directly for accurate effective values - Don't just parse files
5. Check loaded files via php --ini - Shows what's actually being used
6. Multiple .ini files can affect same setting - Last one wins (in priority order)

This complete map ensures the optimizer will find ALL configuration affecting a domain!