What is php.ini? Where It’s Located, How to Edit & Common Directives

What is php.ini? Where It’s Located, How to Edit & Common Directives

The php.ini file, a critical configuration file containing your web server’s PHP settings, is integral to the functioning of your website.


Each time PHP initiates, your system hunts down this file to identify directives that will be applied to your site’s scripts. While your PHP initialization file comes pre-configured, there may be instances when you need to tweak the default settings to meet your specific requirements, such as modifying the memory limit or maximum execution time for scripts to run on your environment.


Website malware can impact the php.ini file, particularly on servers running older versions of PHP. In the first six months of 2023 alone, our team remediated 30,658 compromised php.ini files from infected websites.


In today’s post, we’ll walk you through what this file is, where it’s located, how to modify this file to change your PHP settings, how it’s used by attackers to execute malicious code, and how to harden your site to prevent attacks.


Contents:


What is the php.ini file?


The php.ini file, also referred to as PHP’s initialization file, is a crucial configuration file that governs your web server’s PHP settings. It allows you to manage your site’s PHP-specific regulations, such as defining the maximum size for file uploads, error displays, file timeouts, visibility of error messages, memory limits, and other server-management functionalities.


Example of a php.ini file.

By default, your server comes pre-configured with standard PHP settings. However, the php.ini file allows more customized control over these settings to optimize performance and enable certain functionalities.


Where is php.ini located?


The php.ini file is read by PHP during server ..

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