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Every installation of PHP comes with default settings which are usually fine for most websites. Occasionally, the needs of a website makes it necessary to adjust these PHP settings. Creating a php.ini (phprc) file is the solution to adjust the PHP settings for your website.

You can create a phprc file using an FTP client, or by logging into the server via SSH, however creating a phprc file is easier using an FTP client. This article is for more advanced users and explains how to create this phprc file via SSH.

1. Log into your server via SSH. Visit the following article for instructions on how to do this based on which operating system you’re using:
   • SSH overview
2. Make sure you’re in your user's directory by typing in pwd to confirm:

   [server]$ pwd 
   /home/username

   Remember to first check which version of PHP your site is using. In the following example, we’ll assume the site is using PHP 7.4. In this directory, you can run a single command to create the /.php folder as well as the /7.4 folder that goes inside of it.  If your site is running PHP 7.3, the directory would be named 7.3 instead.

3. Run the following command:

   [server]$ mkdir -p ~/.php/7.4

4. Change your directory into these two new folders you just created, by running the following:

   [server]$ cd .php/7.4

   • When you run pwd, you now see the entire filepath you just created:

   [server]$ pwd
   /home/username/.php/7.4

5. In this folder, create the phprc file without an extension.

   There are a few programs you can run to create this file. This example uses a program called nano. View the 'Creating and editing a file via SSH' article for further details.

6. Run the following to create the phprc file.

   [server]$ nano phprc

   • The nano text editor opens.
7. Edit the file with all of your PHP customizations.
   

   When you originally open this file, you will notice the following lines of code added by DreamHost.

   ; {{{ The following lines were automatically added by DreamHost
   zend_extension=opcache.so
   ; }}} That's all from DreamHost

   Your code should be placed below the DreamHost code block. Do not add any lines within the beginning and ending semicolons. 

   If you place your code within the semicolons, it will be overwritten by the server.

8. Close the file and return to your shell.

After you've saved your changes, you should kill off all running PHP processes. This ensures your new settings are updated. View the following article for instructions on how to kill off all running PHP processes:

• Killing off PHP processes

After you've edited the file and killed off all PHP processes, you should check to confirm the values have updated. You can do this by creating a phpinfo.php file.

If you do not see your changes have updated, try killing off your PHP processes again:

• My phprc file isn't updating

The phprc file you just created is used for any domains under this specific username that are also running the specific version of PHP you chose in step#3 when creating the directory.

For example, if the user has three domains where two are running PHP 7.4 and the third is running PHP 7.3, only the first two domains running 7.4 would be affected by the phprc file. You would need to create a separate phprc file for the PHP 7.3 site.

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