PHP(1) Scripting Language PHP(1)
NAME
php - PHP Command Line Interface 'CLI'
php-cgi - PHP Common Gateway Interface 'CGI' command
SYNOPSIS
php [options] [ -f ] file [[--] args...]
php [options] -r code [[--] args...]
php [options] [-B code] -R code [-E code] [[--] args...]
php [options] [-B code] -F file [-E code] [[--] args...]
php [options] -- [ args...]
php [options] -a
php [options] -S addr:port [-t docroot]
DESCRIPTION
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can
be embedded into HTML. This is the command line interface that enables you to do the following:
You can parse and execute files by using parameter -f followed by the name of the file to be executed.
Using parameter -r you can directly execute PHP code simply as you would do inside a .php file when using the
eval() function.
It is also possible to process the standard input line by line using either the parameter -R or -F. In this
mode each separate input line causes the code specified by -R or the file specified by -F to be executed. You
can access the input line by $argn. While processing the input lines $argi contains the number of the actual
line being processed. Further more the parameters -B and -E can be used to execute code (see -r) before and
after all input lines have been processed respectively. Notice that the input is read from STDIN and therefore
reading from STDIN explicitly changes the next input line or skips input lines.
PHP also contains an embedded web server for application development purpose. By using the -S option where
addr:port point to a local address and port PHP will listen to HTTP requests on that address and port and
serve files from the current working directory or the docroot passed by the -t option.
If none of -r -f -B -R -F -E or -S is present but a single parameter is given then this parameter is taken as
the filename to parse and execute (same as with -f). If no parameter is present then the standard input is
read and executed.
OPTIONS
--interactive
-a Run PHP interactively. This lets you enter snippets of PHP code that directly get executed.
When readline support is enabled you can edit the lines and also have history support.
--bindpath address:port|port
-b address:port|port
Bind Path for external FASTCGI Server mode (CGI only).
--no-chdir
-C Do not chdir to the script's directory (CGI only).
--define foo[=bar]
-d foo[=bar] Define INI entry foo with value bar
-e Generate extended information for debugger/profiler
--file file
-f file Parse and execute file
--global name
-g name Make variable name global in script.
--help
-h This help
--hide-args
-H Hide script name (file) and parameters (args...) from external tools. For example you may want
to use this when a php script is started as a daemon and the command line contains sensitive
data such as passwords.
--info
-i PHP information and configuration
--syntax-check
-l Syntax check only (lint)
--modules
-m Show compiled in modules
--run code
-r code Run PHP code without using script tags '<?..?>'
--process-begin code
-B code Run PHP code before processing input lines
--process-code code
-R code Run PHP code for every input line
--process-file file
-F file Parse and execute file for every input line
--process-end code
-E code Run PHP code after processing all input lines
--syntax-highlight
-s Output HTML syntax highlighted source
--server addr:port
-S addr:port Start embedded Webserver on the given local address and port
--docroot docroot
-t docroot Specify the document root to be used by the embedded web server
--version
-v Version number
--rclass name
--rc name Shows information about class name
--rextension name
--re name Shows information about extension name
--rzendextension
name
--rz name Shows information about Zend extension name
--rextinfo name
--ri name Shows configuration for extension name
--ini Show configuration file names
FILES
php-cli.ini The configuration file for the CLI version of PHP.
php.ini The standard configuration file will only be used when php-cli.ini cannot be found.
EXAMPLES
php -r 'echo "Hello World\n";'
This command simply writes the text "Hello World" to standard out.
php -r 'print_r(gd_info());'
This shows the configuration of your gd extension. You can use this to easily check which image formats
you can use. If you have any dynamic modules you may want to use the same ini file that php uses when
executed from your webserver. There are more extensions which have such a function. For dba use:
php -r 'print_r(dba_handlers(1));'
php -R 'echo strip_tags($argn)."\n";'
This PHP command strips off the HTML tags line by line and outputs the result. To see how it works you
can first look at the following PHP command ´php -d html_errors=1 -i´ which uses PHP to output HTML for‐
matted configuration information. If you then combine those two ´php ...|php ...´ you'll see what hap‐
pens.
php -E 'echo "Lines: $argi\n";'
Using this PHP command you can count the lines being input.
php -R '@$l+=count(file($argn));' -E 'echo "Lines:$l\n";'
In this example PHP expects each input line being a file. It counts all lines of the files specified by
each input line and shows the summarized result. You may combine this with tools like find and change
the php scriptlet.
php -R 'echo "$argn\n"; fgets(STDIN);'
Since you have access to STDIN from within -B -R -F and -E you can skip certain input lines with your
code. But note that in such cases $argi only counts the lines being processed by php itself. Having read
this you will guess what the above program does: skipping every second input line.
TIPS
You can use a shebang line to automatically invoke php from scripts. Only the CLI version of PHP will ignore
such a first line as shown below:
AUTHORS
The PHP Group: Thies C. Arntzen, Stig Bakken, Andi Gutmans, Rasmus Lerdorf, Sam Ruby, Sascha Schumann, Zeev
Suraski, Jim Winstead, Andrei Zmievski.
Additional work for the CLI sapi was done by Edin Kadribasic, Marcus Boerger and Johannes Schlueter.
A List of active developers can be found here:
http://www.php.net/credits.php
And last but not least PHP was developed with the help of a huge amount of contributors all around the world.
VERSION INFORMATION
This manpage describes php, version 5.4.16.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 1997-2013 The PHP Group
This source file is subject to version 3.01 of the PHP license, that is bundled with this package in the file
LICENSE, and is available through the world-wide-web at the following url:
http://www.php.net/license/3_01.txt
If you did not receive a copy of the PHP license and are unable to obtain it through the world-wide-web,
please send a note to [email protected] so we can mail you a copy immediately.
The PHP Group 2013 PHP(1)