Tiny PHP "standalone" server (or framework) for local debug without Apache/Nginx/Lighttpd/etc

Question

There's manage.py runserver in Django or ruby script/server in Ruby on Rails — those familiar with one of those frameworks should already get the idea what I'm looking for. They run tiny "standalone" web server, which is perfectly enough to debug the application locally, without any need for other software (Apache/Nginx/Lighttpd/etc).

I wonder is there any PHP implementation of such tool, or, maybe, some PHP framework has such feature? Surely, I can pack pre-built pre-configured static nginx executable, but this would not be pretty, and certainly not cross-platform. Having standalone debug webserver written in PHP itself will make the package self-contained.

I.e. I'd like to type something like php tools/runserver.php, point browser to http://localhost:8000/ and see the site up and running, ready to debug.

My Google-fu has failed me, but I strongly suspect that there is such project already.

There is, I saw it recently! Can't remember the name/URL though! — Alix Axel
– Alix Axel, Commented Jun 23, 2010 at 18:12
Thank you for good news. When I'm searching for something like "standalone php webserver" almost every result I get is someone's question "can I use PHP as standalone language?" (and then answers about php5-cli executable etc.) — drdaeman
– drdaeman, Commented Jun 23, 2010 at 18:15
I wouldn't debug in something that was so fundamentally different from my production environment, personally. — Frank Farmer
– Frank Farmer, Commented Jun 23, 2010 at 18:22

Prof. Falken · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-20 14:07:27Z

23

If you just want to debug your application, as of PHP 5.4 there's a built-in web server.

http://docs.php.net/manual/en/features.commandline.webserver.php

edited Jun 20, 2012 at 14:07

Prof. Falken

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answered Oct 27, 2011 at 14:21

Javier Parra

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2 Comments

Maxim Veksler Over a year ago

SO has no practice of "not reviving old threads" because knowledge is constantly updating yet the questions remain the same. Anyways, great tip thank you that is EXACTLY what I was looking for.

edavey Over a year ago

e.g. php -S localhost:8000 -t foo/

Mark Baker · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-23 18:24:15Z

3

Not sure if this is what you're after, though it's actually more like a Tomcat for PHP, and I think (though I'm not sure) it still requires a webserver

Also, nanoweb is a web server written entirely in PHP

edited Jun 23, 2010 at 18:24

answered Jun 23, 2010 at 18:16

Mark Baker

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Alix Axel Over a year ago

Requirements: Web-Server with SCGI support (Apache, lighttpd, …).

drdaeman Over a year ago

Thanks, but, no, it works under SCGI. What I'm looking for is just a simple and tiny HTTP server, capable of serving static files and running PHP code — nothing more. Obviously, there's no need for performance, security or any fancy features.

Mark Baker Over a year ago

@drdaeman added link to nanoweb, written in PHP4.3. IIRC you need cygwin to run it under Windows - at least you used to, haven't used it in a long while

Mark Baker Over a year ago

Oh I do so love people who mark down without any explanation, especially 9-months later

Prof. Falken Over a year ago

Ok, here goes: your answer is half answer, "half un-answer". (The Tomcat for PHP part.) Hence downvote after 2 years.

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Alix Axel · Accepted Answer · 2010-06-23 18:28:34Z

3

Found it: QuickPHP!

Check these out:

edited Jun 23, 2010 at 18:28

answered Jun 23, 2010 at 18:15

Alix Axel

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drdaeman Over a year ago

Thanks. Not exactly what I'm looking for, though, because it's Windows-only binary — I've mentioned that when I wrote about shipping statically built nginx executable. I happen to develop mostly on GNU/Linux, while my friend works on MS Windows. And there are OS X guys out there too. Having webserver written in PHP would be ideal, as PHP is already the requirement anyway.

drdaeman · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-03 10:36:30Z

1

May worth mentioning:

https://github.com/dhotson/kelpie
https://github.com/indeyets/appserver-in-php (requires C extension)

There's also an proporsal to have server built-in into PHP CLI binary: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/builtinwebserver

(Source: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2281724)

answered Mar 3, 2011 at 10:36

drdaeman

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Comments

anddam · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-22 07:25:12Z

1

Check Pancake HTTP server too, it has an interesting declared speed in its author's benchmark that may make it suited for deployment as well.

Notice that it will only work well on Linux systems, that I know of. Due to missing signaling syscalls, like sigwaitinfo, I wasn't able to build it on OS X.

answered Feb 22, 2013 at 7:25

anddam

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