Start and stop npm from PHP script - php

OK, a silly question. Is it possible to do start npm from a PHP script, via the browser? For example, by doing something like this?
// start.php
echo exec('npm run forever');
die();
And then, to stop node, like this:
// stop.php
echo exec('npm run stopforever');
die();
I've tried setting the absolute path in both the php scripts (/var/www/mysite.com/) and the package.json, and it didn't work.
If I try to execute the script via terminal (php -q /var/www/mysite.com/start.php), it works, but not when I try to execute the script from the browser. I'm guessing it has something to do with rights and privileges, so I might not be going about it the right way.
Is there even a recommended way of doing this? The reason I need this is to be able to start and stop the Node server at will, without logging to the console as a root user.

You have to use full path of executive files.
Try like this: (Worked on the Windows Server)
shell_exec('C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\npm\pm2.cmd');
If you run php by nginx or apache (for example, visit url example.com/index.php), sometime you need to export the PATH
exec("export PATH=/usr/local/bin && run forever);

Related

Why cannot PHP execute a command from web browser?

This is really simple but I cannot get it to work at all. Spent many hours and I've always give up. I created php script called copy.php and it should call a python script called copy.py.
I want to execute a command line like this
<?php exec('/var/www/html/copy.py'); ?>
Really simple.
Why cannot I get the python script executed from php exec()? The function inside python script is to get a copy of error_log from a different directory (outside of Apache) into html directory.
If I run that from a terminal
> php copy.php
It did execute the function and made a copy. Why is that the web browser isn't doing it?
Let me simplify this:
why cannot exec("cp /var/log/httpd/error_log /var/www/html/path/to/php/script") work?
it works fine if I type it in terminal but not when run in a browser.
As others have alluded to, the difference is probably permissions. When you run a command from the command line, you're generally not the same users as your apache script is running as.
Put another way, if from the command line you type whoami, you'll probably get whatever name your user account is.
The echo exec('whoami'); from within php shows who the script is running as, which is Apache.
So, whatever command you're trying to run from your web server isn't available to run as the Apache user. You mentioned you've been able to have exec("python /usr/diskpurge/script.py") work, but not to have exec('/var/www/html/copy.py') doesn't. This is due to in one instance you're running python, in the other you're trying to execute your copy.py script. If copy.py doesn't have execute permissions for the Apache user, you're not going to be able to run it from the browser.
Perhaps different settings apply for the Apache environment versus the command line.
Use error_reporting(E_ALL); and ini_set('display_errors', true) to see what errosr may come up.
It is possible that the Apache environment is prohibited from using exec or the fact that Apache runs under a different user that does not have execute rights on the python script.
sounds like a permission error. Check if your server is running with sufficient rights.
echo exec('whoami');
Set your error reporting to report all:
ini_set('display_errors', true);
error_reporting(E_ALL);
and check for errors..
If your whoami returns a user which is not a member of the SU family (linux) or administration (windows) then resite your permissions..
Linux:
Assign the user returned by whoami correct permissions to run python scripts.. Do not allow the resulted username to run as root with total administration powers.. This is a big no no
The only reason its not working is because you didn't set the write permissions!
Do:
sudo nano /etc/sudoers
And then put the following:
www-data ALL=(root) NOPASSWD:ALL

Can I rip DVDs from a local web app with HandBrake?

I'm building a PHP web application that will run on my machine, and one of its purposes is to call HandBrakeCLI with an exec() or similar call. If I run the command
HandBrakeCLI -i path_to_dvd_drive -o output_file --preset preset_name
from a shell, it works fine. However, when I put the exact same command in an exec() php function (or similar), it doesn't work, and doesn't return anything, aside from a return status of 0. No errors, nothing else.
Is this just a simple permissions issue that I'm not seeing, due to the lack of errors being spit out? Or am I missing something else?
For debugging, try running the command from the console but as the user PHP runs as. Here are some pointers how to find out which user that is.
Then use sudo to run the command as the Apache user. You will probably get more helpful information from that.
try to exec your script using absolute path (type which HandBrakeCLI in terminal to find it) and append 2>&1 to the end of command, like:
exec('HandBrakeCLI -i path_to_dvd_drive -o output_file --preset preset_name 2>&1')
this way if command outputs anything to stderr you will see it.
is handbrake in the path of whatever shell PHP is invoking when it does the exec()? Does whatever account PHP/webserver is running under have access to the directory where handbrak.exe is, and have permission to execute handbrake.exe? Does the webserver account have permissions to access the dvd drive, etc...
Many things to check, and without better diagnostic information, this is about the best you'll be able to get here.

PHP exec() with CUDA

exec("fun.exe input/input.txt ");
I want to run an CUDA program in PHP,
the task is:
load data from an input.txt. (argument)
calculating.
write an output.txt.
and PHP read ouput.txt to do next task.
In server1(Apache ,Windows XP), it can run perfectly,
but in server2,3(Apache, Windows 7),the output is wrong.
The program doesn't crash and there's no any error message in the page,
it seems like something wrong during the execution.
Next I try exec the All CPU-side version (same calculation),server2,3 can run correctly.
If I exec the fun.exe(CUDA version) in server2,3 directly(double click or in command line),the program also run perfectly.
Any idea on why server2,3 can't run the program? Thanks.
First, try using the full path to the executable. Then the full path to the input file too.
If that doesn't work, then try modifying the file permissions (try with full 777 permissions, if that works then you know where your problem lies).
Try to use the entire path (windows version using backslash).

Can't run shell script from php web script

I am trying to run a shell script from a php script.
I have complete control of the environment (unix on mac), I should have all the permissions, etc. set correctly.
The web script is in /htdocs/
The shell script can be executed from anywhere so when I go to /htdocs/ in the shell, I can easily run it like this:
$ my_shellscript
.. but when my php script (which is located in htdocs) tries to call it:
shell_exec('my_shellscript');
I get nothing.
I have proven the script can be called from that location and I have temporarily granted full access to try to get it working somehow. I am going crazy, please help.
If you know of some other way of triggering a shell script via the web that would be fine.
Thanks in advance.
well i got few weeks same problem, the solution is to check if the apace has the permission to execute your script. You could also try to run the script in php cli.
Since it is a shellscript, it needs to be invoked with the path prefix. My guess is you need to do this:
shell_exec('./my_shellscript');
First thing: make sure php isn't running in Safe Mode
Next thing: Try running it with the exec() function and using the full path (e.g. /var/www/htdocs/my_shellscript)
Try doing
echo shell_exec('my_shellscript 2>&1');
which will capture the script's stderr output and print it out. If something inside the script is failing, this output would otherwise be lost when not being run interactively.

Can't get shell_exec to download a file

I have a multithreaded cli downloader for ubuntu called Aria2c.
I've been trying to get a php script to run aria2c and download a file using shell_exec, but i can't seem to get it to work. Ultimately I plan to have an input box on a page where I can enter a link and aria would download it.
Here's the code I've come up with (for now im inputting the link manually):
<?php $dl = shell_exec('aria2c -d /home/user/ www.downloadlink.com'); ?>
Note that the aria2c command I specified works well in the shell; and the directory I'm attempting to download to is set to '777'.
I'm baffled as to why it's not working, any ideas?
PS: I prefer to use aria rather than the alternatives because it is multithreaded and it supports cookies.
Check if PHP is running in safe_mode. shell_exec won't work if safe_mode is on.
EDIT: aria2c was not referenced with a full path. Referencing it like this: shell_exec('/path/to/aria2c -d /home/user/ www.downloadlink.com') works.
I'll make the assumption that you are running PHP through a web server. In such case, it's very unlikely that the web server has permission to write into your user's home directory: Apache runs as daemon with the credentials of a limited user. Also, the PATH env variable in Apache is not necessarily the same as your user's PATH. Last but not least, you don't check the return value or the script output.
Try something like this:
<?php
exec('/path/to/aria2c -d /tmp www.downloadlink.com', $output, $return_var);
var_dump($output, $return_var);
?>
You can get the full path for aria2c with:
which aria2c

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