CLI

The CLI variation is a minimal image designed for running PHP from the command line only. It does not include a web server.

Use this variation for running commands like Composer, running one-off scripts, or executing PHP commands that don't require a web server.

When to Use CLI

Use the CLI variation when you need to:

• Run Composer for dependency management
• Execute one-off PHP scripts
• Need a very small image size

Perfect for

• Running PHP locally without needing to install PHP on your host system.

What's Inside

Quick Start

Here are a few quick examples to get you started.

Docker CLI

docker run -it -v $(pwd):/var/www/html serversideup/php:cli bash

The above command will mount your current directory as the /var/www/html directory in the container and open a bash shell inside the container where PHP is installed. To exit, just type exit.

Docker Compose

If you want something more repeatable, you can use Docker Compose to start a container with the CLI variation and mount your current directory as the /var/www/html directory in the container.

services:
  php:
    image: serversideup/php:cli
    volumes:
      - ./:/var/www/html

Once you have your compose.yml file set, you can use the docker compose cli to start a container with your configuration.

docker compose run -it php bash

Or you can pass commands directly to the container without starting a shell.

docker compose run php php my-script.php

Further Customization

If you need to customize the container further, reference the docs below:

• Environment Variable Specifications - See which environment variables are available to customize common PHP settings.
• Command Reference - See which commands are available to run inside the container.