How to configure PHP settings on Spaceship Web servers

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This guide will show you how to manage PHP settings on our Spaceship Web servers, specifically how to use the PHP Tweaks plugin, work with a php.ini file, and check PHP configuration.

Our Shared servers use the LiteSpeed module and support PHP versions 7.0-7.4, and 8.0-8.5.

How to manage PHP settings using the PHP Tweaks plugin

1. Log in to your cPanel account.

2. Go to the Exclusive section, then click the PHP Tweaks menu:


OR

a. Open the Hosting Manager.
b. Locate your hosting plan and click Manage.
c. Navigate to the Advanced section.
d. Expand the Development tools option and click PHP. You’ll be redirected to the PHP settings window.

3. Choose the needed domain from the dropdown list:


Alternatively, use the Account Settings tab to apply changes across your entire cPanel account (which will update all hosted domains):


Now you can manage the following group of settings: 

The PHP version section allows you to check the version that is currently used and set the required one:


Some things to keep in mind:

  • Available modules vary depending on the selected PHP version.

  • Applied PHP changes may require several minutes to take effect, so if the changes do not display immediately, please allow them some time to update.

  • If the PHP version set in Account Settings differs from that in Domain Settings, the one in Domain Settings takes precedence.

The Loaders and Caches sections allow you to choose the PHP loader for your scripts and the PHP accelerator for caching the compiled bytecode of your PHP scripts:


The Others section provides you with a list of additional modules and extensions that can be enabled according to your needs:


PHP extensions enabled via PHP Tweaks are active for scripts processed by a web server. In case you encounter any PHP-related issues when you are working via a command line, or installing scripts through Softaculous, please contact our Customer Support for further assistance.

Please be aware of the following module conflicts:

  • nd_mysql conflicts with mysql;

  • nd_mysqli conflicts with mysqli;

  • nd_pdo_mysql conflicts with pdo_mysql;

  • gmagick conflicts with imagick.

4. To restore default PHP settings for a domain, select it from the dropdown menu and click Reset Extensions. This will revert all changes and apply the default configuration:

How to work with a php.ini file

Sometimes, you may need to customize PHP limits (like memory_limit, post_max_size, upload_max_filesize, etc.) through the php.ini file instead of the PHP Tweaks plugin.

1. Log in to your cPanel account and navigate to the Files section, then select the File Manager menu:


OR

a. Open the Hosting Manager.
b. Locate your hosting plan and click the Manage button.
c. Navigate to the Files and Storage section.
d. Click Manage files next to your domain name. You’ll be redirected to the root directory of your website in File Manager.

2. In the root folder of the domain, click on +File, and create a file named php.ini:


3. Find the newly created file in the list, right-click it, and choose Edit:


4. Add the required PHP settings. In this example, we’re adding memory_limit and max_input_vars:


5. Once all the changes are complete, hit Save Changes.

How to check PHP configuration

To confirm whether your PHP settings were applied correctly, you can create a script using the phpinfo() function. This provides detailed information about your current PHP configuration and is useful for troubleshooting, as it contains all EGPCS (Environment, GET, POST, Cookie, Server) data.

To run the function, follow the steps below: 

1. Go to your website’s root directory in File Manager.

2. Click +File to create a new file — name it something like testinfo.php:


3. Find the newly created file in the list and click on Edit in the upper corner menu, or right-click on the file, then Edit:


4. Insert the following code: 

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Click Save Changes:


5. To see the detailed information about the PHP configuration of your domain, open http://yourdomain.tld/filename.php in your browser, but replace yourdomain.tld with your domain, and filename with the name of your PHP file:


Security tip: Delete this file after you’ve reviewed the information to avoid exposing sensitive configuration details.

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