PHP Configuration

The docker-php-mssql images are based on the official PHP Docker images, which means you can customize PHP configuration using the same methods.

Configuration Methods

Using Custom php.ini

Create Custom Configuration

Create a custom PHP configuration file, e.g., custom.ini:

; Memory settings
memory_limit = 256M

; Upload settings
upload_max_filesize = 50M
post_max_size = 50M

; Execution settings
max_execution_time = 300
max_input_time = 300

; Error reporting
display_errors = Off
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php_errors.log

; Timezone
date.timezone = UTC

Mount Configuration

Mount the custom configuration file to /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/:

docker run --rm \
  -v $(pwd)/custom.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/custom.ini \
  namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli \
  php -i | grep memory_limit

Using docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    image: namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli
    volumes:
      - ./:/app
      - ./config/php/custom.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/custom.ini
    working_dir: /app

Using Environment Variables

Set PHP configuration via environment variables:

services:
  app:
    image: namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli
    environment:
      PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT: 256M
      PHP_UPLOAD_MAX_FILESIZE: 50M
      PHP_POST_MAX_SIZE: 50M

Environment variable method requires a custom entrypoint script to parse and apply the settings.

Pre-installed Extensions

All docker-php-mssql images come with the following extensions pre-installed:

SQL Server Extensions

sqlsrv - Microsoft SQL Server driver
pdo_sqlsrv - PDO driver for SQL Server

Common Extensions

bcmath - Arbitrary precision mathematics
ds - Data structures
exif - Image metadata
gd - Image processing
intl - Internationalization
opcache - Opcode cache
pcntl - Process control
redis - Redis client
zip - ZIP archive support

CLI-Only Extensions

The CLI images also include:

pcov - Code coverage tool (lightweight alternative to Xdebug)

Verify Installed Extensions

docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php -m

Check specific extension version:

docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php -r "echo phpversion('sqlsrv');"

OPcache Configuration

OPcache is pre-installed. Configure it for optimal performance:

Development Settings

; Development - Reload files on every request
opcache.enable=1
opcache.revalidate_freq=0
opcache.validate_timestamps=1
opcache.max_accelerated_files=10000
opcache.memory_consumption=128
opcache.interned_strings_buffer=8
opcache.fast_shutdown=1

Production Settings

; Production - Cache files and don't revalidate
opcache.enable=1
opcache.revalidate_freq=0
opcache.validate_timestamps=0
opcache.max_accelerated_files=20000
opcache.memory_consumption=256
opcache.interned_strings_buffer=16
opcache.fast_shutdown=1

Complete OPcache Configuration Example

; OPcache Configuration
opcache.enable=1
opcache.enable_cli=0
opcache.memory_consumption=256
opcache.interned_strings_buffer=16
opcache.max_accelerated_files=20000
opcache.max_wasted_percentage=10
opcache.validate_timestamps=0
opcache.revalidate_freq=0
opcache.fast_shutdown=1

; Optimization settings
opcache.save_comments=1
opcache.enable_file_override=0
opcache.optimization_level=0x7FFFFFFF

PHP-FPM Configuration

For FPM images, you may want to customize PHP-FPM pool settings:

Custom Pool Configuration

Create www.conf:

[www]
user = www-data
group = www-data
listen = 9000

; Process management
pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 50
pm.start_servers = 5
pm.min_spare_servers = 5
pm.max_spare_servers = 35
pm.max_requests = 500

; Status page
pm.status_path = /status
ping.path = /ping

; Logging
access.log = /proc/self/fd/2
catch_workers_output = yes

Mount it in your container:

services:
  php:
    image: namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm
    volumes:
      - ./config/php-fpm/www.conf:/usr/local/etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf

FPM Environment Variables

Pass environment variables to FPM workers:

[www]
; Clear environment
clear_env = no

; Or pass specific variables
env[HOSTNAME] = $HOSTNAME
env[PATH] = /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
env[TMP] = /tmp
env[TMPDIR] = /tmp
env[TEMP] = /tmp

SQL Server Extension Configuration

sqlsrv Extension Settings

Configure sqlsrv extension options:

; SQL Server extension configuration
sqlsrv.ClientBufferMaxKBSize = 10240
sqlsrv.LogSeverity = 0
sqlsrv.LogSubsystems = 0
sqlsrv.WarningsReturnAsErrors = 1

Connection Timeout Settings

<?php
ini_set('default_socket_timeout', 60);
ini_set('mssql.timeout', 60);

Development vs Production

Development Configuration

dev.ini
docker-compose.yml

; Display errors for debugging
display_errors = On
display_startup_errors = On
error_reporting = E_ALL

; Logging
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php_errors.log

; Memory and execution
memory_limit = 512M
max_execution_time = 0

; OPcache - revalidate files
opcache.enable=1
opcache.revalidate_freq=0
opcache.validate_timestamps=1

; Debugging
assert.active = On

services:
  app:
    image: namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli
    volumes:
      - ./config/php/dev.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/custom.ini
    environment:
      APP_ENV: development

Production Configuration

prod.ini
docker-compose.yml

; Hide errors from output
display_errors = Off
display_startup_errors = Off
error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT

; Logging
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php_errors.log

; Memory and execution
memory_limit = 256M
max_execution_time = 300

; OPcache - maximum performance
opcache.enable=1
opcache.validate_timestamps=0
opcache.revalidate_freq=0
opcache.memory_consumption=256
opcache.max_accelerated_files=20000

; Security
expose_php = Off

; Session
session.cookie_httponly = 1
session.cookie_secure = 1
session.use_strict_mode = 1

services:
  app:
    image: namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-fpm
    volumes:
      - ./config/php/prod.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/custom.ini
    environment:
      APP_ENV: production
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 512M

Verifying Configuration

Check Loaded Configuration

# View all PHP configuration
docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php -i

# Check specific setting
docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php -r "echo ini_get('memory_limit');"

# List configuration files
docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php --ini

Using phpinfo()

Create a phpinfo.php file:

<?php
phpinfo();

Run it:

docker run --rm -v $(pwd)/phpinfo.php:/app/phpinfo.php namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php /app/phpinfo.php

Common Configuration Examples

Increase Upload Limits

upload_max_filesize = 100M
post_max_size = 100M
memory_limit = 256M

Configure Error Logging

log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php_errors.log
error_reporting = E_ALL
display_errors = Off

Set Timezone

date.timezone = America/New_York

Session Configuration

session.save_handler = redis
session.save_path = "tcp://redis:6379"
session.gc_maxlifetime = 3600
session.cookie_lifetime = 0
session.cookie_secure = 1
session.cookie_httponly = 1

Troubleshooting

Configuration changes not taking effect

Ensure your custom ini file is mounted to /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/
Verify the file is readable: docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli ls -la /usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/
Restart the container after making changes
Check for syntax errors in your ini file

OPcache not working

Verify OPcache is loaded: docker run --rm namoshek/php-mssql:8.4-cli php -m | grep opcache
Check OPcache status in phpinfo()
Ensure opcache.enable=1 is set
For CLI, you may need opcache.enable_cli=1

Memory limit errors

Increase memory_limit in your custom ini
For Docker, also set container memory limits
Monitor actual memory usage: docker stats

Next Steps

MSSQL Connection

Learn how to connect to SQL Server with your configured PHP

Running Containers

Run containers with your custom configuration

Overview

Image Variants

Usage

Development

Reference

Configuration Methods

Using Custom php.ini

Using docker-compose.yml

Using Environment Variables

Pre-installed Extensions

SQL Server Extensions

Common Extensions

CLI-Only Extensions

Verify Installed Extensions

OPcache Configuration

Development Settings

Production Settings

PHP-FPM Configuration

Custom Pool Configuration

FPM Environment Variables

SQL Server Extension Configuration

sqlsrv Extension Settings

Connection Timeout Settings

Development vs Production

Development Configuration

Production Configuration

Verifying Configuration

Check Loaded Configuration

Using phpinfo()

Common Configuration Examples

Increase Upload Limits

Configure Error Logging

Set Timezone

Session Configuration

Troubleshooting

Next Steps

MSSQL Connection

Running Containers

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Image Variants

Usage

Development

Reference

​Configuration Methods

​Using Custom php.ini

​Using docker-compose.yml

​Using Environment Variables

​Pre-installed Extensions

SQL Server Extensions

Common Extensions

​CLI-Only Extensions

​Verify Installed Extensions

​OPcache Configuration

​Development Settings

​Production Settings

​PHP-FPM Configuration

​Custom Pool Configuration

​FPM Environment Variables

​SQL Server Extension Configuration

​sqlsrv Extension Settings

​Connection Timeout Settings

​Development vs Production

​Development Configuration

​Production Configuration

​Verifying Configuration

​Check Loaded Configuration

​Using phpinfo()

​Common Configuration Examples

​Increase Upload Limits

​Configure Error Logging

​Set Timezone

​Session Configuration

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

MSSQL Connection

Running Containers

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Configuration Methods

Using Custom php.ini

Using docker-compose.yml

Using Environment Variables

Pre-installed Extensions

CLI-Only Extensions

Verify Installed Extensions

OPcache Configuration

Development Settings

Production Settings

PHP-FPM Configuration

Custom Pool Configuration

FPM Environment Variables

SQL Server Extension Configuration

sqlsrv Extension Settings

Connection Timeout Settings

Development vs Production

Development Configuration

Production Configuration

Verifying Configuration

Check Loaded Configuration

Using phpinfo()

Common Configuration Examples

Increase Upload Limits

Configure Error Logging

Set Timezone

Session Configuration

Troubleshooting

Next Steps