I/O streams
In Windows, press Enter after your ending PHP tag and then hit Ctrl-Z to denote the end-of-file:
C:\>php -a
Interactive mode enabled
<?php
echo "Hello, world!";
?>
^Z
Hello, world!
You can use the up and down arrows in interactive mode to recall previous code you ran.
Interactive shell
As of PHP 5.1.0, the CLI SAPI provides an interactive shell using the -a option if PHP is compiled with the --with-readline option.
Using the interactive shell you are able to type PHP code and have it executed directly.
Example #1 Executing code using the interactive shell
$ php -a
Interactive shell
php > echo 5+8;
13
php > function addTwo($n)
php > {
php { return $n + 2;
php { }
php > var_dump(addtwo(2));
int(4)
php >
The interactive shell also features tab completion for functions, constants, class names, variables, static method calls and class constants.
Example #2 Tab completion
Pressing the tab key twice when there are multiple possible completions will result in a list of these completions:
php > strp[TAB][TAB] strpbrk strpos strptime php > strp
When there is only one possible completion, pressing tab once will complete the rest on the same line:
php > strpt[TAB]ime(
Completion will also work for names that have been defined during the current interactive shell session:
php > $fooThisIsAReallyLongVariableName = 42; php > $foo[TAB]ThisIsAReallyLongVariableName
The interactive shell stores your history which can be accessed using the up and down keys. The history is saved in the ~/.php_history file.
As of PHP 5.4.0, the CLI SAPI provides the php.ini settings cli.pager and cli.prompt. The cli.pager setting allows an external program (such as less) to act as a pager for the output instead of being displayed directly on the screen. The cli.prompt setting makes it possible to change the php > prompt.
In PHP 5.4.0 it was also made possible to set php.ini settings in the interactive shell using a shorthand notation.
Example #3 Setting php.ini settings in the interactive shell
The cli.prompt setting:
php > #cli.prompt=hello world :> hello world :>
Using backticks it is possible to have PHP code executed in the prompt:
php > #cli.prompt=`echo date('H:i:s');` php >
15:49:35 php > echo 'hi';
hi
15:49:43 php > sleep(2);
15:49:45 php >
Setting the pager to less:
php > #cli.pager=less php > phpinfo(); (output displayed in less) php >
The cli.prompt setting supports a few escape sequences:
| Sequence | Description |
|---|---|
| \e | Used for adding colors to the prompt. An example could be \e[032m\v \e[031m\b \e[34m\> \e[0m |
| \v | The PHP version. |
| \b | Indicates which block PHP is in. For instance /* to indicate being inside a multi-line comment. The outer scope is denoted by php. |
| \> | Indicates the prompt character. By default this is >, but changes when the shell is inside an unterminated block or string. Possible characters are: ' " { ( > |
Note:
Files included through auto_prepend_file and auto_append_file are parsed in this mode but with some restrictions - e.g. functions have to be defined before called.
Note:
Autoloading is not available if using PHP in CLI interactive mode.
add a note
User Contributed Notes
Interactive shell
spencer at aninternetpresence dot net
09-Sep-2011 10:45
alexandrebr at gmail dot com
30-Jun-2011 02:55
For those who (just like me) can't get it working, try to press CTRL+D after inserting some commands.
Example:
php
<?php
echo "Hello World!\r\n";
(Hit CTRL+D here)
Hello World!
This is NOT interactive mode, but may help you.
To have the "-i" available, youll need the following arguments while compiling PHP:
--with-readline e --with-libedit
xEviL
16-Jan-2011 05:17
When building php on FreeBSD from ports one can add --with-readline option by manually editing the var CONFIGURE_ARGS in Makefile inside the php port directory and proceeding with build as usual.
kastor matthewkastor at live dot com
22-Dec-2010 05:16
I rummaged through the internet and the manual so I could get to an interactive shell in a windows environment. I was trying to put the information into a note here, but it's too long.
It's a lot of words, but it's not hard to do. I've been keeping some notes on my website, but it's crap, and it's not always on. Maybe someone who knows what they're doing can get this where it needs to be? I think it's important to have all the instructions in the same place.
http://atropa.freeiz.com/?context=fetch_chapter&content_id=14
Anonymous
28-Jun-2010 03:41
It seems the interactive shell cannot be made to work in WIN environments at the moment.
Using "php://stdin", it shouldn't be too difficult to roll your own. You can partially mimic the shell by calling this simple script (Note: Window's cmd already has an input history calling feature using the up/down keys, and that functionality will still be available during execution here):
<?php
$fp = fopen("php://stdin", "r");
$in = '';
while($in != "quit") {
echo "php> ";
$in=trim(fgets($fp));
eval ($in);
echo "\n";
}
?>
Replace 'eval' with code to parse the input string, validate it using is_callable and other variable handling functions, catch fatal errors before they happen, allow line-by-line function defining, etc. Though Readline is not available in Windows, for more tips and examples for workarounds, see http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.readline.php
Anonymous
20-Jun-2010 12:56
Just a few more notes to add...
1) Hitting return does literally mean "execute this command". Semicolon to note end of line is still required. Meaning, doing the following will produce a parse error:
php > print "test"
php > print "asdf";
Whereas doing the following is just fine:
php > print "test"
php > ."asdf";
2) Fatal errors may eject you from the shell:
name@local:~$ php -a
php > asdf();
Fatal Error: call to undefined function...
name@local:~$
3) User defined functions are not saved in history from shell session to shell session.
4) Should be obvious, but to quit the shell, just type "quit" at the php prompt.
5) In a sense, the shell interaction can be thought of as linearly following a regular php file, except it's live and dynamic. If you define a function that you've already defined earlier in your current shell, you will receive a fatal "function already defined" error only upon entering that closing bracket. And, although "including" a toolset of custom functions or a couple of script addon php files is rather handy, should you edit those files and wish to "reinclude" it again, you'll cause a fatal "function x already defined" error.