How to Make Changes to php.ini

Step 1: Determine the Location of your php.ini File

The configuration file is located in:

·        /etc/php/php_version/apache2/php.ini

If you are running PHP 7.0, the file will be located on:

·        /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini

For PHP 7.2. 

·        /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

Step 2: Opening the PHP configuration file for editing

·        $ sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

Step 3: Making changes on the php.ini file

PHP max_execution_time

This sets the maximum execution time in seconds that a PHP script is allowed to run before it is terminated. The default value is 30 seconds

Default value:

·        max_execution_time =30

Change to any value e.g. 1800

·        max_execution_time =1800

PHP upload_max_filesize

The default value for this is 2 (two Megabytes). This value controls the maximum size of files that you upload using PHP scripts. 

Default value:

·        upload_max_filesize=2M

Change to a large value e.g. 16M

·        upload_max_filesize=16M

PHP post_max_size

This value limits the amount of data allowed on post data. It affects PHP scripts that use a lot of web forms. The value also controls files uploaded via a PHP script, hence, it should always be larger than ‘upload_max_filesize’. The default value for ‘post_max_size’ is 8M.

Default value:

·        post_max_size =8M

Customize it depending on your needs

·        post_max_size =32M

PHP memory_limit

The default value for PHP 7.2 ‘memory_limit’ is 128M. Sometimes, poorly written PHP scripts may consume a lot of server’s memory and affect other applications running on your server. To avoid this, PHP ‘memory_limit’ controls the amount of memory allocated to a script.

Default value

·        memory_limit = 128M

Custom value example

·        memory_limit = 256M

You can also use -1 if you want to allocate an unlimited amount of memory to your PHP script depending on the available RAM on your server

·        memory_limit = -1

PHP Error Reporting Settings

display_errors:  Set this value to ‘On’ or ‘Off’ depending on whether you want PHP to display errors when scripts are run. In PHP 7.2 the default value is ‘Off’

·        display_errors = Off

You can turn error reporting on by changing the value to ‘On’:

·        display_errors = On

log_errors: This value tells whether errors from a script should be saved on the server’s log file. Instead of displaying errors to regular users in a production environment, you should log them. The default value in PHP 7.2 is ‘On’

·        log_errors = On

You can switch error logging off by changing the value to:

·        log_errors = Off

error_reporting:  This directive dictates the error reporting level. For PHP versions greater than 5.3, the default value is ‘E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT’

·        error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT

You may change the value depending on the errors that you want to be reported. For instance, to include notices, use the value below

·        error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT & ~E_NOTICE

PHP Date/Time settings

You can also change the default timezone used by PHP scripts.

Find the line:

·        $ ; date.timezone=

Uncomment it by removing the semicolon and then enter your preferred time zone. You can check the list of support time zones on the official PHP website (http://php.net/manual/en/timezones.php)

For instance, if you want to change the time zone to New York City, use the value below:

·        date.timezone= "America/New_York"

Once you finish editing the php.ini file, press CTRL + X, Y and hit Enter to save the changes. You should also restart Apache for the settings to be reloaded using the command below:

·        $ sudo service apache2 restart