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Exponential Console: bin/php/console

bin/php/console is one entry point for every command line script of Exponential 6.0.15, modelled on Symfony's bin/console. Read this page if you run scripts by hand or from deploy and cron jobs: you no longer need to…

For: Administrators Developers
Category: Installation and upgrades
Source file: doc/eng-us/bc/6.0/console.md
Last changed 11/04/2026
11 min read
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Address: https://doc.exponential.earth/exphelp/viewer/bc/6.0/console.md

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Exponential Console: `bin/php/console`

bin/php/console is one entry point for every command line script of Exponential 6.0.15, modelled on Symfony's bin/console. Read this page if you run scripts by hand or from deploy and cron jobs: you no longer need to remember paths under bin/php/, bin/shell/ or inside extensions.

Warning

.htaccess slows down every request. When .htaccess files are enabled (AllowOverride anything but None), let alone used, Apache looks for them and reads and evaluates them on every request, in every directory of the path, and page loading times go up drastically (measured). The only real fix is to switch the feature off for the virtual host: AllowOverride None in the HTTPS virtual host, and the rules in the virtual host's own configuration as mod_rewrite rules. That is far faster in production speed tests and well worth the time it takes to optimize a production configuration. Switch over right away: copy the rules of the example HTTPS virtual host into your virtual host (with the static cache, also staticcache_offload.conf), set AllowOverride None, run apachectl configtest, reload Apache and test the site. The same rules for other servers: nginx, LiteSpeed, Caddy, IIS, Velocity (built in); where virtual host rules go in a control panel: Plesk, cPanel, DirectAdmin, ISPConfig. On LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed, the server's own page cache can also answer anonymous visitors and crawlers without PHP: Page caching with LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed.

In short

What changed	New dispatcher `bin/php/console`. It finds every script at run time (no configuration) and runs it as `<namespace>:<name>`. Since June 2026 it also runs cronjob parts (`cron:<part>`) and shows the crontab (`crontab:list`, `crontab:edit`).
Who is affected	Nobody is forced to change. Every script keeps its path; `php bin/php/ezcache.php ...` works as before.
How to check	`php bin/php/console --version`
How to fix	Nothing to fix. Use `php bin/php/console list` to find a command.

Start in one minute

Run every command from the Exponential root directory, the one that holds index.php, autoload.php and bin/. You need PHP 8.0 or later on your $PATH (php -v); the exp:velocity commands run on 8.0 too, as Velocity does from its release 0.0.4.54. Some sub-scripts also need curl and wget; the console itself does not.

ls index.php                      # confirms you are in the right directory
php bin/php/console               # list every command (same as "list")
php bin/php/console --version     # print the console version

Expected start of the listing:

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Exponential Console  1.0.0  (Exponential CMS 6.x)
  With great power comes great responsibility.
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

exp   — bin/php/*.php  (Exponential PHP scripts)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
  exp:ezcache          Exponential Cache Handler
  exp:preload          Exponential CMS — site preloader & cache warmer
  exp:updatesearchindex  Exponential search index updater.
  ...

Common commands

# Clear all caches
php bin/php/console exp:ezcache --clear-all

# Everything Setup > Cache does, with --dry-run and PASS/FAIL (see cache-console.md)
php bin/php/console exp:cache --help
php bin/php/console exp:cache clear --tag=ini --dry-run

# Regenerate the autoload arrays after adding an extension or a class
php bin/php/console exp:ezpgenerateautoloads

# Rebuild the search index
php bin/php/console exp:updatesearchindex

# Warm the caches of the default siteaccess, or of one siteaccess
php bin/php/console exp:preload --apply
php bin/php/console exp:preload --apply --siteaccess=sevenx_site_user

# Fix directory and file permissions after a deployment
php bin/php/console bin:modfix

# Run the session garbage collector
php bin/php/console exp:ezsessiongc

# Measure the site: page timings, two servers back to back, the kernel in-process (see benchmark.md)
php bin/php/console exp:benchmark
php bin/php/console exp:benchmark --compare=https://www.example.com,https://www.example.com:8080
php bin/php/console exp:benchmark kernel --save=var/benchmark/base.json

# Put .htaccess and config.php into place from the shipped templates (nothing is written without --apply)
php bin/php/console exp:setup:status
php bin/php/console exp:setup:htaccess --apply              # .htaccess_root -> .htaccess (--static: .htaccess_root_static)
php bin/php/console exp:setup:config --apply                # config.php-RECOMMENDED -> config.php

# Read and change the constants in config.php
php bin/php/console exp:config:list --only-set
php bin/php/console exp:config:get EZP_INI_FILEMTIME_CHECK
php bin/php/console exp:config:set EZP_INI_FILEMTIME_CHECK false --apply
php bin/php/console exp:config:unset EZP_INI_FILEMTIME_CHECK --apply

The setup and config commands are described in Setting up .htaccess and config.php from the console and listed with every option in exp:setupfiles and exp:configphp. exp:setup:* and exp:config:* are aliases of exp:setupfiles <htaccess|config|status> and exp:configphp <list|get|set|unset>.

The benchmark command is described in Benchmark and taught in the guide Benchmarking Exponential.

Before a script runs, the console prints a short notice to stderr, so piped output stays clean:

  ▶  running exp:ezcache  →  bin/php/ezcache.php

Find a command

php bin/php/console list              # every command
php bin/php/console list exp          # bin/php/*.php
php bin/php/console list shell        # bin/shell/*.sh
php bin/php/console list bin          # bin/*.sh and bin/*.php
php bin/php/console list cron         # cronjob parts
php bin/php/console list ext:hcaptcha # the commands of one extension

If you mistype a name, the console suggests the closest match:

$ php bin/php/console exp:ezcach

  Unknown command: exp:ezcach
  Did you mean:    exp:ezcache?

Help for a command

All three forms print the usage block of the script itself:

php bin/php/console help exp:preload
php bin/php/console --help exp:preload
php bin/php/console exp:preload --help

Command names

Namespace	Runs	Example
`exp:<name>`	`bin/php/<name>.php`	`exp:ezcache`
`shell:<name>`	`bin/shell/<name>.sh`	`shell:phpcheck`
`bin:<name>`	`bin/<name>.sh` or `bin/<name>.php`	`bin:modfix`
`ext:<ext>:<name>`	`extension/<ext>/bin/php/<name>.php` or `extension/<ext>/bin/<name>.sh`	`ext:hcaptcha:install`
`ext:<ext>:sh:<name>`	`extension/<ext>/bin/shell/<name>.sh`	`ext:myext:sh:setup`
`cron:<part>`	the cronjob part `<part>` through `runcronjobs.php`	`cron:frequent`
`crontab:list`, `crontab:edit`	the system crontab of the current user

Without a namespace, the console tries exp:, then shell:, then bin:. These two are the same:

php bin/php/console ezcache --clear-all
php bin/php/console exp:ezcache --clear-all

Options

Everything after the command name goes to the script unchanged:

php bin/php/console exp:preload --apply --siteaccess=sevenx_site_user
php bin/php/console exp:cleanupversions --dry-run
php bin/php/console exp:updatesearchindex --siteaccess=sevenx_site_user --verbose

These flags belong to the console and are not passed on:

Flag	Effect
`--version`, `-V`	print the console version and exit
`--help`, `-h` (on its own)	show the command listing
`--quiet`, `-q`	no dispatch notice on stderr

Cronjob parts and the crontab (added June 2026)

Commit a2ef4efa50.

A cronjob part is a [CronjobPart-<name>] block with one or more Scripts[]= entries, in settings/cronjob.ini or in an extension's settings/cronjob.ini.append.php. The console reads the parts from those INI files, not from file names, and runs them through runcronjobs.php:

php bin/php/console list cron
php bin/php/console cron:frequent --allow-root-user
php bin/php/console cron:infrequent -s site_admin    # siteaccess flags are passed on

The parts of a stock installation are infrequent, frequent, contentjobs, audit, unlock, cluster_maintenance, cleanuprss and cache_cleanup. list cron describes each part with the @description tags of the scripts it runs; every core script under cronjobs/ has one.

To see that the parts are scheduled:

php bin/php/console crontab:list      # print the system crontab of the current user
php bin/php/console crontab:edit      # open it in $EDITOR

The browser view of the same information is the cronjobs console.

Extension commands

Scripts in these places are found automatically:

extension/<extname>/bin/php/<name>.php      → ext:<extname>:<name>
extension/<extname>/bin/shell/<name>.sh     → ext:<extname>:sh:<name>
extension/<extname>/bin/<name>.sh           → ext:<extname>:<name>

php bin/php/console list ext:hcaptcha
php bin/php/console ext:hcaptcha:install --siteaccess=sevenx_site_user

Describe your own script

When list shows (no description), add a @description tag near the top of the file. Both tags are read automatically; there is no registration step.

PHP script, in the opening docblock:

<?php
/**
 * File containing my-script.php
 *
 * @description One-line summary shown in console list
 * @long-description Longer explanation for console help output.
 */

Shell script, on the line after the shebang:

#!/bin/bash
# @description One-line summary shown in console list
# @long-description Longer explanation for console help output.

A cronjob script uses the same tag, for example @description Remove expired baskets of anonymous visitors.

Troubleshooting

Message	Cause and fix
`PHP Fatal error: ... autoload.php`	You are not in the Exponential root directory. `cd /path/to/your/exponential-root` and run the command again.
`Running scripts as root may be dangerous`	The script runs as `root`. Add `--allow-root-user` to confirm, for example `php bin/php/console exp:ezcache --clear-all --allow-root-user`.
`Warning: config.php does not compile: ...`	`config.php` has a syntax error; the site is down too. Commands other than `exp:setup:` and `exp:config:` stop on it. Fix the line it names, or replace the file with `php bin/php/console exp:setup:config --force --apply` (the broken file is backed up first).
`Unknown command: exp:myscript`	The file is not where the namespace expects it. Check that `bin/php/myscript.php` exists and is readable, then run `php bin/php/console list`.
No colours	The terminal does not support ANSI codes, or output is redirected; colours are switched off automatically.

How it works

The console does not call eZScript::startup() or eZScript::initialize() for itself. Each script owns its own life cycle, including the database connection.
Scripts run with the same PHP binary as the console.
The exit code of the script is returned unchanged, so the console is safe in shell pipelines and CI jobs.

Cache console (exp:cache)
Setting up .htaccess and config.php from the console (exp:setup:*, exp:config:*)
Commands, cronjob parts and module views as classes
Cronjobs console
June 2026, first half (1 to 15 June)
Operating a site

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Documentation license

This documentation is free documentation, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 or later.

Exponential Console: bin/php/console #

In short #

Start in one minute #

Common commands #

Find a command #

Help for a command #

Command names #

Options #

Cronjob parts and the crontab (added June 2026) #

Extension commands #

Describe your own script #

Troubleshooting #

How it works #

Related pages #