<?php
$ret = exec('START C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\Notepad++.exe', $output, $error);
// Debug
var_dump($ret);
var_dump($output);
var_dump($error);
?>
Update
maybe your php hasn't permissions to run commands on your wamp: https://stackoverflow.com/a/9161752/1721486
Answer from spinsch on Stack OverflowPHP
php.net › manual › en › function.exec.php
PHP: exec - Manual
I tried to execute a command in background under Windows. After struggling for hours with all these half ready examples I would like to share the syntax I found working (for windows at least). This is not tested under Linux as there are more elegant ways to spawn a process. Based on the function from Arno van den Brink. <?php function execInBackground($cmd) { if (substr(php_uname(), 0, 7) == "Windows"){ pclose(popen("start /B ".
Top answer 1 of 3
1
<?php
$ret = exec('START C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\Notepad++.exe', $output, $error);
// Debug
var_dump($ret);
var_dump($output);
var_dump($error);
?>
Update
maybe your php hasn't permissions to run commands on your wamp: https://stackoverflow.com/a/9161752/1721486
2 of 3
0
on a mac, you'd need the command to actually open the app, like:
exec( 'open SomeApp.app' );
I think on Windows you would use 'start' (?)
exec( 'start notepad++.exe' );
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Team Treehouse
teamtreehouse.com › community › php-exec-function-passing-a-value-to-command-line
PHP exec function passing a value to command line (Example) | Treehouse Community
October 1, 2014 - $string = "this is a string"; exec("example.php $string"); //inside example.php var_dump($argv);
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › php › php-shell_exec-vs-exec-function
PHP shell_exec() vs exec() Function - GeeksforGeeks
July 11, 2025 - Note: This function is disabled when PHP is running in safe mode. Example: In this example we use the shell_exec() function to execute the ls command, listing files and directories.
O'Reilly
oreilly.com › library › view › php-in-a › 0596100671 › re48.html
exec() - PHP in a Nutshell [Book]
October 13, 2005 - Nameexec()Synopsis string exec ( string command [, array &output [, int &return_val]] )The exec() function runs an external program, specified in the first parameter. It... - Selection from PHP in a Nutshell [Book]
Author Paul Hudson
Published 2005
Pages 372
Phptutorial
phptutorial.info
exec function - PHP tutorial for beginners
Provided by PhpTutorial.info. Contact
Hacking with PHP
hackingwithphp.com › 4 › 12 › 0 › executing-external-programs
Executing external programs: exec(), passthru(), and virtual() – Hacking with PHP - Practical PHP
Note that fortune may not be installed or available to your PHP scripts - contact your system administrator to find out. There are other execution functions available, notably shell_exec() and system(), however they are largely irrelevant - shell_exec(), for example, works in exactly the same ...
Linux Hint
linuxhint.com › execute_shell_command_php
Execute Shell Command in PHP using exec() – Linux Hint
<?php //Store the output of the executed command in an array exec('ls -l', $output, $status); //Print all return values of the executed command as array print_r($output); echo "<br/>"; //Print the output of the executed command in each line foreach($output as $value) { echo $value."<br />"; ...
Scaler
scaler.com › home › topics › php exec() function
PHP exec() Function - Scaler Topics
March 18, 2024 - The exec function in PHP allows the execution of external commands on the server's operating system. However, if user input is directly used within the command passed to exec without any validation or sanitization, it can create a security vulnerability. In a command injection attack, an attacker can manipulate user-supplied input to inject malicious commands into the executed command. For example...
GitHub
github.com › pastuhov › php-exec-command
GitHub - pastuhov/php-exec-command: Simple php command executor with param binding · GitHub
Command::exec('echo {!path!}', ['path' => '$PATH']);
Starred by 25 users
Forked by 2 users
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ExeOutput for PHP
exeoutput.com › home › exeoutput for php help › using exec(), system() in applications
Using exec(), system() in Applications - ExeOutput for PHP
September 20, 2025 - <?php $mypath = exo_getglobalvariable('HEPublicationPath', '') . 'sample.bat'; echo exec($mypath); ?>
Amir Kamizi
amirkamizi.com › blog › php-exec
PHP Exec | Amir Kamizi
March 22, 2023 - You can easily run your commands with exec function ... <?php exec('mkdir test', $output, $resultCode); // output is an empty array because there is no returned value // resultCode is 0
Top answer 1 of 3
13
Give the full path to the PHP executable and the full path to the PHP script. You can save the output in $output to see what the script produced:
exec("d:/path/to/php.exe d:/wamp/www/diplomski/program/defender/tester.php", $output);
print_r($output);
2 of 3
0
1) What version of php? If it is older then 5.4.0 php can be in safe mode, when safe mode is enabled, you can only execute files within the safe_mode_exec_dir.
2)Note to this function in php.net Note:
If a program is started with this function, in order for it to continue running in the background, the output of the program must be redirected to a file or another output stream. Failing to do so will cause PHP to hang until the execution of the program ends.
3) So you can try this How to make php script run another php script you can try this
<?php
$somearg = escapeshellarg('blah');
exec("php file2.php $somearg > /dev/null &");
4) You can create a scheduled task How to run a PHP file in a scheduled task (Windows Task Scheduler)
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › php › explain-the-difference-between-shell_exec-and-exec-functions
Explain the Difference Between shell_exec() and exec() Functions - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - This function gets disabled when PHP runs in safe mode. ... Parameter: shell_exec() function passes only a single argument($cmd) as it holds the command that is to be executed.
BCCNsoft
doc.bccnsoft.com › docs › php-docs-7-en › function.shell-exec.html
shell_exec
This function can return NULL both when an error occurs or the program produces no output. It is not possible to detect execution failures using this function. exec() should be used when access to the program exit code is required. ... This function is disabled when PHP is running in safe mode.