PHP Cheatsheet - PHP & Composer Command Reference

This reference is for developers writing PHP apps and the people who deploy and operate them, running everything from single scripts to Laravel projects. It covers executing code on the CLI, the built-in dev server, Composer dependency and autoload management, extension/ini checks, and the php -l lint gate. Unlike a generic PHP command dump, entries are grouped by the workflow you actually repeat when scaffolding, debugging, and shipping a PHP application. After reading, you should be able to boot a Composer-based project locally, keep its autoload in sync, and gate merges on a lint pass.

Languages·36 commands·Last updated 2026-07-21

CLI Run 8

php script.php

Run a PHP script

php -a

Enter interactive shell

php -S localhost:8000

Start the built-in dev server

php -S localhost:8000 -t public/

Set the document root

php -l script.php

Lint (syntax check)

php -r "echo phpinfo();"

Run a one-liner

php -i

Print phpinfo()

php -m

List loaded extensions

Composer Dependency 10

composer init

Initialize composer.json

composer install

Install deps from lock file

composer update

Update deps and refresh lock

composer require vendor/package

Add a new dependency

composer remove vendor/package

Remove a dependency

composer dump-autoload

Regenerate autoload

composer dump-autoload -o

Optimize autoload (prod)

composer show

List installed packages

composer outdated

Check for outdated packages

composer self-update

Self-update Composer

Extensions & Config 6

php --ini

Show loaded ini file paths

php -d memory_limit=256M script.php

Set memory_limit temporarily

php -d display_errors=1 script.php

Enable error display

pecl install extension

Install a PECL extension

pecl uninstall extension

Uninstall an extension

php -r "echo PHP_VERSION;"

Print PHP version

Laravel Commands 8

php artisan serve

Start Laravel dev server

php artisan migrate

Run database migrations

php artisan migrate:fresh

Fresh: rollback all and re-migrate

php artisan make:model Post -mcr

Make model+migration+controller

php artisan route:list

List all routes

php artisan config:cache

Cache config (prod)

php artisan queue:work

Start the queue worker

php artisan tinker

Enter the REPL (tinker)

Profiling 4

php -d xdebug.mode=profile script.php

Xdebug profiling

php -d opcache.enable_cli=1 script.php

Enable OPcache on CLI

strace -p <pid>

Trace PHP syscalls (strace)

php -r "echo memory_get_peak_usage();"

Peak memory usage

Tips

In production always run composer dump-autoload -o to optimize performance.
php -S is for development only; use Nginx + PHP-FPM in production.
In Laravel production, cache config, routes and views: config:cache, route:cache, view:cache.

Official References

Each command links to its official documentation below, so you can verify the latest usage and read deeper.

Official Docs

Maintained by LaoHand

Publicly updated on Jul 21, 2026, continuously proofread against official docs.

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