How to Edit php.ini in cPanel

On Domain India's shared hosting you don't edit the server's main php.ini, and you don't need to. You change PHP settings for your own site, either in cPanel's MultiPHP INI Editor or with a small .user.ini file in your site's folder. This page shows both, lists the settings people change most, and explains the older methods that no longer work.

1. Edit PHP settings with the MultiPHP INI Editor

The editor also has an Editor Mode tab, where you type directives yourself for the selected domain. The editor writes each setting in the format our PHP handler understands, which is why it is the first choice. If a setting isn't offered or won't change, use a .user.ini file or open a ticket with the domain and the value you need.

2. The .user.ini file (any panel)

Our shared servers run PHP through PHP-FPM or CGI, not as an Apache module. With that setup, a .user.ini file in your site's folder applies to that folder and its subfolders. Create it with the File Manager, usually in public_html:

memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 128M
post_max_size = 128M
max_execution_time = 120

PHP caches these files, so a change can take up to 5 minutes to apply. On DirectAdmin and Webuzo we don't name a PHP settings menu here; use .user.ini, or ask support to set the value.

3. Check the value PHP really uses

Create a file with a hard-to-guess name, such as check-4b7d.php, in your site's folder:

<?php
foreach (['memory_limit', 'upload_max_filesize', 'post_max_size', 'max_execution_time'] as $k) {
    echo $k, ': ', ini_get($k), "\n";
}
echo 'PHP version: ', PHP_VERSION;

Open it in your browser, note the values, then delete it. On cPanel a cache in front of the web server can show an old copy for a while, so add ?t=1 to the address when you check again. In WordPress, Tools › Site Health › Info › Server shows the same values.

4. Settings people change most

For debugging, keep display_errors = Off and turn on log_errors = On so errors go to the error_log file in your site's folder, which you can read in the File Manager. OPcache is already on for cPanel; see the PHP OPcache guide before changing it. Settings are kept per PHP version, so check them again after you change your PHP version.

Some settings you can't override. About 50 functions are disabled on our cPanel servers for security, and a disable_functions line of your own won't re-enable them; see PHP disabled functions on shared hosting. If you need full control of php.ini, a VPS is self-managed with root access.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to change a setting? Open cPanel from your hosting services, or read the full PHP settings guide.