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PHP Settings

Panelica 1.0.375 Verified 2026-07-24 Web Server & PHP

PHP Settings is the operator's control room for PHP across the whole server: which versions are installed, their php.ini defaults, which extensions are enabled, and which version new sites default to. It is an administrator page; a hosting customer changes their own site's PHP version in the domain editor, not here.

Panel locationWeb Server → PHP Settingshttps://YOUR-SERVER-IP:8443/webserver/php (ROOT / ADMIN)
 PHP Settings
Versions Extensions php.ini System PHP
VersionStatusSitesmemory_limitActions
PHP 8.3 default running18256Mphpinfo · config · ext · reload

Versions: native and legacy

The Versions tab lists every installed PHP with its status, how many sites use it, and its key limits. Modern PHP (the 8.x line) runs natively. Legacy PHP (5.6 through 7.4) runs in Docker containers, and here is the important rule: a legacy version only appears in the list if Docker is installed and running with its image present. On a server without Docker, legacy versions are simply not offered, so no one can pick a version that could not actually run.

You set the default version new sites get, and you can bulk-change many domains from one version to another: pick the source version, see which domains use it, choose the target, select the ones to move, and apply with a per-domain success/failed/skipped report.

Choosing a version for WordPress: current WordPress runs best on a supported native version (8.1 or newer), which also gets security updates. Reach for a legacy version only for an old application that genuinely cannot run on modern PHP, and plan to move it forward; legacy runtimes exist for compatibility, not as a destination.

php.ini settings you can edit

The Configuration tab edits a version's php.ini through a safe, curated form. The editable settings are the ones that actually matter for hosting:

Setting Why you change it
memory_limit How much RAM a script may use (heavy plugins, imports)
max_execution_time How long a script may run before timing out
upload_max_filesize + post_max_size The largest file/form a site accepts
max_input_vars Number of form fields (large WordPress menus, WooCommerce)
max_file_uploads How many files can upload at once
display_errors / error_reporting / log_errors Error visibility (off in production)
date.timezone / default_charset Locale defaults
allow_url_fopen / expose_php / session.gc_maxlifetime Fetch policy, version hiding, session lifetime
Behind the scenes: saving backs up the php.ini, applies only the recognized settings (input is checked for injection and invalid names), writes atomically, and reloads that version's PHP-FPM, rolling back on failure. This edits the version's global php.ini, which applies to new sites; a live site's effective limits come from its own PHP-FPM pool, layered as server php.ini, then plan, then domain, with the most specific winning.

Extensions

The Extensions tab lists every extension available for a version (from the actual .so files on disk) and lets you enable or disable each one with a toggle; a reload follows automatically. Popular extensions like imagick, redis, opcache and gd are managed exactly this way, and an Install Extension button drives a live PECL install in a streamed terminal for anything not yet present. A manual SSH guide is included for advanced cases.

Behind the scenes: real isolation per site. Every domain runs in its own PHP-FPM pool as its own Linux user, with open_basedir locking file access to the domain's directory and dangerous functions (exec, shell_exec, system, proc_open and friends) disabled by default. The pool's resource limits (memory, upload size, execution time) are authoritative and come from the account's plan, and a saved per-domain edit is never wiped by a later regeneration. This is why one site's PHP cannot read another's files or run shell commands.

System PHP

The System PHP tab points the server's own php command (the one you get on the SSH command line) at a chosen Panelica PHP version, through wrapper scripts, so php -v in a terminal and Composer use the version you expect.

Access

ROOT and ADMIN only (the backend enforces it on every PHP endpoint), with System PHP changes reserved for ROOT. See roles and permissions. A hosting customer changes their own domain's PHP version and per-site overrides from the domain editor, not from this server-wide page.

Panelica Documentation · Written and verified against the live panel. · Last verified 2026-07-24 on Panelica 1.0.375