php exec() example - Brave Search

using the exec() command php

stackoverflow.com › questions › 25230686 › using-the-exec-command-php

<?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 Overflow

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 ".

stackoverflow.com › questions › 25230686 › using-the-exec-command-php

cmd - using the exec() command php - Stack Overflow

<?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

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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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.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.

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.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 ...

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 />"; ...

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scaler.com › home › topics › php exec() function

PHP exec() Function - Scaler Topics

March 18, 2024 - The exec() function in PHP is used to execute a command in the operating system's shell or terminal. It allows PHP scripts to interact with the underlying system and run external programs or commands. The function takes the command as a parameter and returns the last line of the command's output.

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); ?>

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

Languages PHP

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

stackoverflow.com › questions › 19961654 › php-exec-to-run-a-file

PHP exec to run a file - Stack Overflow

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);

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.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.

doc.bccnsoft.com › docs › php-docs-7-en › function.shell-exec.html

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.