PHP

FlashPanel lets you install several PHP versions on the same server, change the default version, set the upload size and execution time, enable/disable OPcache, and edit php.ini directly in the interface.

Installing PHP manually

FlashPanel only manages PHP versions installed through FlashPanel. Versions you install yourself from the command line will not appear in the dashboard.

Multiple PHP Versions

When you create a server, the PHP version you choose becomes the default version: it is preselected when you create a new website and is used for the php command in the terminal (PHP CLI).

You can then install additional versions. Each website picks its own PHP version, so websites on the same server can run different versions.

Install

1. Open the server's Applications page and choose the Not Installed tab.
2. Type php in the search box, click the Install button (download icon) for the version you need, and confirm.

Once installed, the new version appears under the server's PHP menu (for example PHP > PHP 8.3) and can be selected when creating a website or changing a website's PHP version.

On the Applications page, each PHP row also has these buttons: Config (opens the configuration folder), Log, PHP Extensions (puzzle icon, to install extensions), Start, Restart, Stop, and Uninstall.

Uninstall

Click the Uninstall button (trash icon) for the PHP version on the Installed tab of the Applications page, then confirm.

Check before uninstalling

FlashPanel does not block uninstalling a PHP version that is still in use. Before uninstalling, make sure that:

• No website uses this version. Switch those websites to another version first.
• This version is not the server's PHP Default Version. If it is, switch the default to another version first (see below).
• No script, cron job, or daemon calls this version directly (for example php8.1 artisan ...).

Websites still using an uninstalled version will not be able to run PHP.

PHP Management & Configuration

Choose PHP > the version to configure in the server menu. The top of the page shows the service status and management buttons (restart, log...). Below are feature cards; click a card to open it.

WARNING

Settings apply only to the PHP version you have open, except PHP Default Version, which is a server-wide setting. Servers running OpenLiteSpeed manage PHP differently, see OpenLiteSpeed.

ionCube Loader

ionCube Loader is an extension for running PHP files encoded with ionCube (common in commercial software).

Click the ionCube Loader card to see its status, then click Install or Uninstall and confirm. If the button shows Not Supported, ionCube has not released a loader for this PHP version.

Switch PHP Default Version

1. Click the PHP Default Version card.
2. Choose the version to use as the default.
3. Click Update.

The default version is preselected when you create a new website and is used for the php command in the terminal. Existing websites keep the version they already use.

Maximum file upload size

Click the Max File Upload Size card, enter a value in megabytes (1024 = 1GB), and click Update.

This value is applied to upload_max_filesize and post_max_size of the PHP version you have open. The Nginx request size limit is raised to match, so you don't need to edit the Nginx configuration.

Maximum execution time

Click the Max Execution Time card, enter the number of seconds, and click Update.

This value is applied to max_execution_time of the PHP version you have open. The Nginx PHP timeout is updated to match.

OPcache

OPcache keeps compiled PHP code in memory, making websites significantly faster.

1. Click the OPCache card. The icon on the card shows whether OPcache is enabled.
2. Click Enable to turn it on or Disable to turn it off. PHP-FPM is restarted automatically.

When OPcache is enabled on a website you deploy code to

After each code update, OPcache may keep serving the old code. Add a PHP-FPM reload command at the end of your deploy script.

Detailed OPcache settings (memory, maximum files...) are edited in Update PHP.ini Configuration.

Update PHP.ini Configuration

You can edit common php.ini settings directly in the interface, without SSH.

1. Choose PHP > the PHP version in the server menu.
2. Choose a tab:
   • PHP FPM INI: PHP configuration used by websites.
   • PHP CLI INI: PHP configuration used by terminal commands, cron jobs, and daemons.
3. Click Recommended to fill in recommended values, or adjust each option yourself. Each option has a short description in the interface.
4. Click Update to save. The new configuration is applied automatically.

Available options:

Option	Meaning
memory_limit	Maximum RAM a script may use
max_execution_time	Maximum run time (seconds) of a script
max_input_time	Maximum time (seconds) to parse input data (POST, GET)
max_input_vars	Maximum number of input variables per request
upload_max_filesize	Maximum size (MB) of an uploaded file
post_max_size	Maximum size of POST data
display_errors	Show PHP errors in the browser (turn off on live websites)
error_reporting	Which error levels are reported
date.timezone	PHP's default timezone
session.gc_maxlifetime	Idle time (seconds) before a session is deleted
disable_functions	PHP functions disabled for security reasons
opcache.enable	Enable OPcache
opcache.memory_consumption	Memory allocated to OPcache
opcache.interned_strings_buffer	Memory for shared (interned) strings
opcache.max_accelerated_files	Maximum number of PHP files OPcache stores
opcache.validate_timestamps	Check for code changes to refresh the cache
opcache.save_comments	Keep comments in the cache (some frameworks need this)

Other buttons:

• Refresh: reload the values currently applied on the server.
• php.ini: view the full configuration file.

Advanced

PHP-FPM pools per user

Each system user has its own PHP-FPM pool for every PHP version, running with that user's permissions. This way one user's websites cannot read another user's files, and a problem in one pool does not affect the others. For example: 2 users × 2 PHP versions = 4 pools.

Pool and socket names (replace 8.3 with the PHP version):

User	Pool file	Socket
flashpanel (default)	/etc/php/8.3/fpm/pool.d/www.conf	/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock
Another user, e.g. abc	/etc/php/8.3/fpm/pool.d/www-abc.conf	/run/php/php8.3-fpm-abc.sock

You need the socket name when writing web server configuration yourself, for example to use a different PHP version for a subfolder.

Install PHPRedis with igbinary, zstd, and lz4

WARNING

Not applicable to servers running OpenLiteSpeed.

If several websites (especially WordPress, WooCommerce) share one Redis instance, enabling compression saves Redis memory. Example with PHP 8.3 (which is also the default PHP CLI version):

1. On the Applications page > Installed, click PHP Extensions (puzzle icon) on the PHP 8.3 row and install the php8.3-redis, php8.3-igbinary, and php8.3-lz4 extensions.

2. Open the server terminal as root and run:

   apt update && apt install -y liblz4-dev libzstd-dev
   pecl uninstall redis
   pecl install --configureoptions 'enable-redis-igbinary="yes" enable-redis-zstd="yes" enable-redis-lz4="yes"' redis

   You can ignore an error about php_ini if it appears.

3. Check with php -ri redis. The installation succeeded if the output contains:

   Available serializers => php, json, igbinary
   Available compression => zstd, lz4

4. Restart PHP 8.3 on the Applications page.

Cannot install PHP on Ubuntu 20.04

Installing a PHP version on an Ubuntu 20.04 server fails with Unable to locate package php8.3 or with the message Failed to install PHP 8.3 on Ubuntu 20.04 (focal).

Ubuntu 20.04 reached the end of its standard support in May 2025, and the PHP repository FlashPanel installs from (ppa:ondrej/php) no longer publishes packages for it. PHP versions already installed keep working but no longer receive updates, and you cannot install new ones. Only PHP 7.4 still installs, because it comes from Ubuntu's own repository.

• Recommended: create a new server on Ubuntu 22.04 or later, then move your websites there with Clone Website.
• Do not set up new servers on Ubuntu 20.04.