How to run PHP commands as a cPanel user via Terminal

Introduction

When troubleshooting scripts, it is often necessary to run PHP scripts via the command line. This article provides the procedure to run a PHP using the same version the user's site uses.

Procedure

1. Log into the cPanel user's cPanel.
2. Open the "MultiPHP Manager" interface in the "Software" section of cPanel.
3. Note the PHP version used by the site.
4. Click the "Tools" link from the left-side menu.
5. Open the "Terminal" interface in the "Advanced" section of cPanel.
6. Read the warning and click the "I understand and want to proceed." button.
7. Change to the directory that the script is in.

   cd /home/$username/path/to/script/folder

   Please note that "/home/$username/path/to/script/folder" must be replaced with the full path to the script's folder.
8. Execute the script using the full path to the php executable.
   • ea-php

     /opt/cpanel/ea-phpXX/root/usr/bin/php script.php

   • alt-php

     /opt/cloudlinux/alt-phpXX/root/usr/bin/php script.php

   Please note that "XX" and "script.php" must be replaced with the PHP version (without the decimal point) and the script's file name, respectively.