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There is no single PHP error-log filename shared by every Linux installation. The reliable method is to identify the SAPI handling the request, read that SAPI’s effective error_log and log_errors settings, and then follow the destination they specify. PHP may write to an explicit file, the system logger, Apache’s error log, NGINX/PHP-FPM logs, or CLI standard error.
Why Linux has no universal PHP error-log path
PHP does not impose one operating-system-wide location. The active configuration determines where script errors go, and different request paths can use different configurations. A command run in a shell may use the CLI SAPI and one php.ini, while a browser request may be handled by an Apache module, CGI, or PHP-FPM with another file and pool configuration.
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The PHP Runtime Configuration documentation defines error_log as the destination for script errors. An absolute or relative filename requests a file; the special value syslog sends messages to the system logger; and an unset value leaves logging to the active SAPI logger. In practice, that can mean Apache’s error log for mod_php or stderr for a CLI process. See the PHP Runtime Configuration documentation.
Installation method also changes paths. Distribution packages, source builds with a custom prefix, service units, containers, and hosting-panel layouts can all place configuration and logs differently. A path found in a blog post is therefore only a starting hypothesis, not proof of where your request is being logged.
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First identify which SAPI handles the failing request
Before searching directories, classify the request. This prevents you from checking the CLI configuration while the web server is using PHP-FPM, or checking one virtual host while another overrides its logging.
- CLI: scripts started with
php script.php; failures normally return through the terminal’s standard error stream unless configured otherwise. - Apache module: Apache loads PHP directly; an unset PHP
error_logcan therefore use Apache’s SAPI error logger. - CGI or PHP-FPM: a web server passes requests to a separate PHP process. FPM has a service configuration and one or more pools, each of which can add worker or slow-request logging.
Test the same execution path that is failing. A CLI test confirms CLI settings only; it does not prove what a browser request uses. For a web request, use a trusted, temporary diagnostic endpoint or inspect the service and pool configuration. Remove any diagnostic endpoint after use.
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Read the effective PHP configuration
Check CLI settings
Run these commands as the same user and on the same host where the script runs:
php --ini
php -i | grep -E 'log_errors|error_log|Loaded Configuration File'php --ini shows the loaded configuration file and additional scanned files. The second command prints the values that the CLI process actually sees. If it reports an empty or unset error_log, continue to the SAPI logger instead of assuming a hidden file.
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Check a web SAPI
CLI output cannot reveal a web pool’s overrides. A trusted phpinfo() page, viewed only by an authorized administrator and then deleted, shows the web SAPI’s “Loaded Configuration File,” “Additional .ini files parsed,” log_errors, and error_log values. Compare the local and master values when both are displayed: a pool, virtual host, or runtime setting may change the value inherited from the global file.
For PHP-FPM, inspect the service unit and the active pool files as well as PHP’s main configuration. Package layouts commonly place pools under a versioned directory, but the exact directory and PHP version are installation-specific. Use the service manager’s unit definition and the include paths in the FPM configuration as the authority.
Interpret the error_log value
| Effective value | Where to look | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute file path | That exact file | The web-server or FPM user can write the file and traverse every parent directory. |
| Relative file path | The path resolved by the running SAPI/service | Confirm the service working directory and avoid guessing from a shell’s current directory. |
syslog |
The host’s system logger, often exposed through journald or a traditional syslog collector | Check the service, facility, filtering rules, retention, and permissions used by the collector. |
| Unset or empty | The active SAPI logger, such as Apache’s error log or CLI stderr |
Follow the web server, service unit, or process supervisor that owns that SAPI. |
log_errors must be enabled for PHP to log script errors. PHP describes this setting as server-specific. It is separate from display_errors, which controls whether errors are printed in the response. The PHP documentation treats displaying errors as a development feature and advises against it on production systems connected to the Internet; production sites should log errors without exposing them to visitors.
Apache: find the active ErrorLog
When Apache serves PHP directly and PHP’s error_log is unset, messages may appear in Apache’s configured error log. Apache’s ErrorLog directive sets the file receiving server errors. The directive can be defined globally or overridden inside a virtual host, so inspect the configuration for the host handling the failing request.
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Search the active Apache configuration and virtual-host files for ErrorLog, then read the path associated with the matching host. Do not rely on a similarly named file belonging to another site. The authoritative directive reference is the Apache HTTP Server 2.4 core documentation.
If Apache writes to a relative path, resolve it using Apache’s configured server root and service environment. If the file exists but remains empty, confirm that the request is actually reaching Apache’s PHP module rather than a separate FPM backend, and check whether a more specific virtual-host directive supersedes the global setting.
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NGINX and PHP-FPM are separate processes. NGINX can log connection and upstream failures, while PHP-FPM can log worker startup errors, crashes, and slow requests. A PHP notice or fatal error may be routed by PHP itself, by FPM, or by the web server depending on the effective settings.
Find NGINX’s error destination
NGINX’s error_log directive accepts a file, stderr, or a syslog: destination. It can be set in main, http, mail, stream, server, or location context, with a more specific block overriding an inherited value. The documented default is logs/error.log, but the absolute path depends on the operating system and installation method. RHEL, Debian, and Ubuntu packages commonly use /var/log/nginx/error.log; verify rather than assuming.
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Ask the installed binary which compile-time error-log path it carries:
nginx -V 2>&1 | sed -n 's/.*--error-log-path=([^ ]*).*/1/p'Then inspect the active nginx.conf and the relevant server or location block for an overriding error_log. A compile-time path is not the final answer if configuration directives redirect logging to another file, syslog, or standard error.
Inspect the PHP-FPM service and pool
Check the FPM service unit and every pool included by its configuration. A pool may define a worker error log or slow-request log independently of NGINX. If NGINX reports “upstream” or connection errors but no PHP message appears, inspect FPM’s own service output and pool directives. Also verify that the NGINX upstream points to the FPM instance whose configuration you examined; multiple PHP versions can run separate sockets or services.
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With error_log = syslog, PHP hands messages to the operating-system logger. NGINX uses a syslog: prefix for the same class of destination. On a systemd host, query the unit that owns the process with journalctl; the relevant unit may be Apache, NGINX, PHP-FPM, or a container runtime rather than a generic “PHP” unit.
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journalctl -u php-fpm
journalctl -u nginx
journalctl -u apache2Unit names vary by distribution and PHP version, so list active units when a command returns no entries. Traditional syslog systems may write to a collector-selected file or forward messages elsewhere; inspect the collector’s facility and filtering rules instead of searching only under /var/log.
Containers often intentionally send NGINX or PHP-FPM errors to stderr. In that arrangement there may be no log file inside the image and no corresponding host file. Read the container runtime’s logs, and check the image’s process command and logging driver. A sidecar, orchestrator, or host agent may then ship those streams to centralized storage.
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Work through these checks in order so a permissions problem is not mistaken for a wrong path:
- Reproduce through the same SAPI. Trigger the failure from the browser, queue worker, cron job, or CLI command that normally exhibits it.
- Confirm the effective values. Recheck
log_errorsanderror_logfor that SAPI, pool, virtual host, or service. Restart the relevant service after changing configuration. - Check the destination type. An empty file is irrelevant if the value is
syslog,stderr, or an inherited web-server logger. - Verify permissions. The account running Apache, NGINX, or FPM needs write permission on an explicit file and execute (traverse) permission on each parent directory. Mandatory access controls can deny writes even when Unix mode bits look correct.
- Inspect rotation and retention. Logrotate or a service restart may have renamed, compressed, truncated, or recreated the file. Check current and rotated files and ensure the service reopened the destination after rotation.
- Check service health. A failed FPM worker, wrong socket, syntax error, or denied request can prevent PHP from executing at all. In that case, the useful message is in the web-server or service log, not a PHP script log.
- Confirm the request reaches the expected host. Reverse proxies, multiple virtual hosts, and multiple PHP versions can send traffic to a different machine, pool, or container than the one you are inspecting.
Safe production logging practices
Keep display_errors disabled for public production sites and use a controlled log destination instead. Restrict log-file ownership and permissions so application errors, paths, request data, and stack details are not readable by untrusted users. Avoid placing logs inside a web-served document root.
Plan rotation, retention, disk-space monitoring, and forwarding before enabling verbose diagnostics. A file that fills the filesystem can take down the application even when PHP is functioning correctly. If several servers or containers are involved, a centralized Linux log-monitoring or syslog-aggregation system can preserve events after individual instances are replaced; ensure its retention and access policies match your operational and privacy requirements.
Quick Recap
A compact decision path
- Identify whether the failing execution is CLI, Apache, CGI, or PHP-FPM.
- Read that SAPI’s loaded configuration and scanned files.
- Record
log_errorsanderror_logexactly as effective, including pool or virtual-host overrides. - Follow the value to a file, syslog/journald, web-server logger, or
stderr. - For Apache, locate the matching
ErrorLog; for NGINX, inspect inherited and localerror_logdirectives and the compiled path. - For PHP-FPM, inspect the service and pool logs in addition to NGINX.
- Finally, verify permissions, rotation, service health, and that the request reached the instance you checked.
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