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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →There is no single PHP error-log filename used by every Linux installation. Find the PHP SAPI handling the request, inspect that SAPI’s effective configuration, and then follow the destination set by error_log. It may be an explicit file, syslog, a web-server log, or standard error rather than a PHP-named file.
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For web requests, CLI settings are not authoritative: Apache, PHP-FPM, CGI, and the command-line interpreter can load different php.ini files and pool or virtual-host overrides.
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PHP’s error_log directive names the destination for script errors. An absolute or relative filename sends messages to that file. The special value syslog sends them to the operating-system logger. If the directive is unset, PHP uses the active SAPI’s error logger; that commonly means Apache’s error log for an Apache module or stderr for CLI execution. The PHP Runtime Configuration documentation describes these behaviors in detail at php.net/manual/en/errorfunc.configuration.php.
Consequently, a search for /var/log/php_errors.log can fail even when PHP is logging correctly. Distribution packages, source builds, containers, and custom prefixes also change absolute paths. A request sent through NGINX may produce entries in NGINX’s error log, PHP-FPM’s service journal, a pool-specific worker log, or a file selected by the FPM pool configuration.
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| SAPI or request path | First configuration to inspect | Where errors may appear when no PHP file is set | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLI | The CLI php.ini |
CLI stderr |
CLI settings can differ from web settings. |
| Apache module | PHP’s Apache-loaded configuration and the active Apache ErrorLog |
Apache’s error log | Virtual hosts can override the global Apache destination. |
| PHP-FPM with NGINX | FPM’s PHP configuration, pool file, and NGINX server/location blocks | FPM/SAPI logger, NGINX error log, stderr, syslog, or journald |
FPM worker and slow-request logs are separate settings. |
| CGI or another SAPI | The configuration loaded by that SAPI | The SAPI’s own error logger | Do not infer its destination from CLI output. |
Step 1: Identify which PHP SAPI handles the failing request
Start with the execution path, not a guessed filename. A command typed in a shell uses CLI PHP. A page served by Apache may use an Apache module or proxy to PHP-FPM. NGINX normally forwards PHP requests to PHP-FPM or another CGI process. These paths can load separate configuration trees.
- CLI: commands such as
php script.php, Composer jobs, and cron tasks. - Apache module: Apache loads PHP directly into its worker process.
- PHP-FPM: a separate manager and pool of PHP workers receives FastCGI requests.
- CGI or a custom service: the process and its service unit determine the logger.
If only browser requests fail, do not rely on the output of php -i until you have confirmed that the browser and shell use the same SAPI and PHP version. A trusted, temporary phpinfo() page can show the web SAPI and loaded configuration; remove it immediately after checking because it exposes environment details.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsStep 2: Inspect the effective PHP configuration
Check CLI PHP
Run these commands as the same user and on the same host that executes the script:
php --ini
php -i | grep -E 'log_errors|error_log|Loaded Configuration File'php --ini reports the loaded php.ini and scanned additional files. The second command displays the effective values for the logging directives and the principal configuration file. If Loaded Configuration File is (none), PHP may still be reading files from the additional scan directory shown by php --ini.
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Check the web SAPI
For Apache or PHP-FPM, inspect a trusted phpinfo() result or the service and pool configuration used by the request. Compare “Loaded Configuration File” and “Additional .ini files parsed” with the CLI output. In FPM installations, inspect the pool file for directives such as php_admin_value[error_log], php_admin_flag[log_errors], worker error logging, and slow-request logging. A pool-level setting can override a global file without changing the CLI result.
How to interpret error_log
Read the value exactly as PHP reports it:
| Effective value | Meaning | Next place to look |
|---|---|---|
An absolute path, such as /srv/app/log/php-error.log |
PHP writes to that file, provided logging is enabled and the process can open it. | That exact path, its parent directories, and rotation rules. |
| A relative path | PHP has a file destination, but the location is relative to the process’s runtime context and must be verified for the SAPI. | Resolve it from the service or process environment rather than guessing a global directory. |
syslog |
Messages go to the operating-system logger instead of a PHP-specific file. | journalctl on systemd systems or the configured syslog collector. |
| Empty or unset | PHP delegates to the active SAPI logger. | Apache’s ErrorLog, NGINX/FPM service output, or CLI stderr. |
The log_errors directive controls whether script errors are logged at all. It is server-specific, so verify its effective value in the same SAPI that handles the request. Keep display_errors disabled on an internet-facing production site: PHP documents screen display as a development feature and recommends logging instead.
Finding errors when Apache serves PHP
Apache’s ErrorLog directive sets the file receiving server errors. When PHP’s error_log is unset, PHP can write through the Apache SAPI logger. Read the active global and virtual-host configuration, not only a sample file. Apache’s directive documentation is at httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html.
Search the configuration tree for active directives:
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grep -RInE '^[[:space:]]*ErrorLog[[:space:]]+' /etc/apache2 /etc/httpd 2>/dev/nullOn systems with multiple virtual hosts, identify which host handled the request and check that host’s ErrorLog. A global setting may point to one file while a site-specific block points elsewhere. If the directive is syslog: or another logger form, follow that logger instead of looking for a regular file. Apache can also report startup and permission failures before PHP runs, so check its service status and recent service messages when the request never reaches PHP.
Finding PHP-FPM errors behind NGINX
Inspect NGINX’s effective error destination
NGINX’s error_log directive accepts a file, stderr, or syslog and can be set in main, http, mail, stream, server, or location context. Its documented default is logs/error.log, but the absolute path depends on the operating system and installation method. Distribution packages commonly use /var/log/nginx/error.log on RHEL, Debian, and Ubuntu systems.
Check the compiled-in path:
nginx -V 2>&1 | sed -n 's/.*--error-log-path=([^ ]*).*/1/p'Then inspect nginx.conf and included files for error_log directives. A server or location block can override a setting inherited from http. If NGINX logs to stderr, the destination may be the service manager’s journal or a container runtime log rather than a host file.
Inspect PHP-FPM separately
NGINX records proxy, FastCGI, and connection errors; PHP-FPM records errors generated by workers and can define separate worker and slow-request logs. Check the FPM service unit and pool configuration. Service names include a PHP version on many distributions, so list the installed units instead of assuming one name:
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systemctl list-units --type=service 'php*-fpm.service'
journalctl -u php8.2-fpm --since todayReplace php8.2-fpm with the unit actually installed. If the unit writes to a file, follow the path in its FPM configuration. If it writes to standard error, read the unit’s journal. A PHP error absent from NGINX’s file can therefore still be present in FPM’s journal or pool log.
Syslog, journald, and containers
With PHP error_log = syslog, query the system logger rather than a PHP directory. On systemd systems, start with the service that owns the process:
journalctl -u nginx --since today
journalctl -u php8.2-fpm --since todayUse the actual FPM unit name and narrow the time range around a reproduced request. Traditional syslog systems may route PHP or NGINX messages by facility to files configured by the local collector. Search the collector configuration and inspect the facility named by the service; there is no universal filename.
Containers change the boundary again. An image may intentionally send NGINX or FPM errors to stderr. In that case, read the container runtime’s logs rather than the host’s /var/log tree. A bind mount, sidecar collector, or orchestration platform may then forward those records to a centralized destination. Verify the container’s process command and logging driver before changing PHP settings.
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When the expected log file is empty or missing
- Confirm the request reaches the expected SAPI. Reproduce the failure through the same URL, virtual host, port, and PHP version that users invoke. A CLI test can be successful while the web request uses another configuration.
- Verify
log_errors. If it is off in the effective web configuration, PHP will not write script errors to the configured destination. - Read
error_logexactly. An empty value points you to the SAPI logger;syslogpoints you to journald or syslog; a path points you to that file. - Check permissions and directory traversal. The web-server or FPM account must be able to create or append to the file and execute (traverse) every parent directory. A writable file is insufficient if a parent directory blocks traversal.
- Check rotation and renames. Log rotation can move the old file, compress it, create a new inode, or temporarily change ownership. Inspect the rotation configuration and the newest file’s timestamp.
- Check the service journal. Open failures, denied writes, crashed workers, and configuration syntax errors may be reported by systemd even when the application log remains empty.
- Check server-level overrides. Apache virtual hosts, NGINX locations, and FPM pools can override inherited settings. Search included configuration files, not only the main file.
To test a known destination without exposing errors in a browser, trigger a controlled application error in a non-public environment and observe the configured file or logger. Avoid enabling verbose display on a production site while diagnosing.
Permissions, rotation, and production safety
PHP’s documentation specifies that the configured error-log file must be writable by the web server’s user. Determine the account used by Apache or the FPM pool, then verify ownership, mode bits, ACLs, and parent-directory traversal. Do not solve a write failure by making the entire log directory world-writable; grant the service account only the access it needs.
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Plan rotation for any file destination. Rotation should preserve the service account’s ownership, signal or reload the service when required, and retain enough history to investigate recurring failures. Journald and syslog also have retention and rate-limiting policies; an apparently missing old entry may have expired or been suppressed.
Keep display_errors off for production responses. Error pages can reveal filesystem paths, SQL details, credentials, or stack traces. Logging preserves diagnostic information without sending it to visitors, while access to the logs should be restricted to administrators and approved operators.
A repeatable diagnostic checklist
- Record whether the failure is CLI, Apache, NGINX, PHP-FPM, CGI, or a container request.
- Run
php --inifor CLI and compare it with the web SAPI’s trustedphpinfo()or service configuration. - Read effective
log_errorsanderror_logvalues. - Follow the destination type: file, Apache
ErrorLog, NGINXerror_log, FPM pool/service log,stderr, syslog, or journald. - Check the service account’s write and traverse permissions.
- Inspect rotation, retention, and recent service-manager messages.
- Remove temporary diagnostics and keep
display_errorsdisabled on public production systems.
This process finds the active destination even when a distribution has changed package paths, a virtual host overrides the global server setting, or a container replaces files with standard-error logging.
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