Configuring php.ini for Production

Production PHP configuration should hide details from visitors, limit resources and log errors privately.

What It Does and When to Use It

Production settings prevent diagnostics being returned to public HTTP clients. Direct PHP code exposes the underlying operation clearly; a framework can supply lifecycle hooks, dependency wiring and retries.

Requirements, Inputs and Expected Behavior

Confirm the runtime, extension, environment variables, and permissions before running the examples in production. Changes to ini files may need FPM reload; never assume CLI configuration matches web FPM.

Example 1: Basic Operation

Production settings prevent diagnostics being returned to public HTTP clients.

display_errors=Off
log_errors=On
expose_php=Off
memory_limit=256M
post_max_size=12M
upload_max_filesize=10M
session.cookie_httponly=1

Example 2: Behavior and Validation

Inspect effective SAPI settings; CLI and PHP-FPM load different INI files.

<?php
foreach (['display_errors','log_errors','error_log','memory_limit'] as $key) { echo $key, '=', var_export(ini_get($key),true), PHP_EOL; }

Practical Example: Application Use

Keep internal exception details out of the response and avoid logging credentials.

<?php
try { throw new RuntimeException('Private: DB connection failed'); }
catch (Throwable $e) {
    error_log('request_failure class='.get_class($e));
    http_response_code(500);
    echo 'An unexpected error occurred';
}

Important Behavior and Edge Cases

The second example highlights: Inspect effective SAPI settings; CLI and PHP-FPM load different INI files. The practical example adds: Keep internal exception details out of the response and avoid logging credentials.

Comparison with Related Approaches

Common Beginner Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Production PHP configuration should hide details from visitors, limit resources and log errors privately.
• Keep internal exception details out of the response and avoid logging credentials.
• Choose based on deployment requirements and verify actual behavior rather than assuming defaults.