I was looking for php.ini to adjust some memory settings for my WordPress droplet when I noticed that there are multiple php.ini files.
I found one in /var/www/html and one in /etc/php/7.0/apache2. I altered the later and things seem to be working, but what is the purpose of having 2 php.ini files and what does each control?
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The one in /etc/php/7.0/apache2 is the base configuration that PHP uses. By default, PHP does not read php.ini files located in your website’s document root. You can configure Apache to use a different file by adding PHPINIDir /path/to/directory/containing/it to its configuration file (not the virtual host config), but you usually wouldn’t need to do so.
So, in short, only the one in /etc/php/7.0/apache2 matters. The other one is not used. You can verify which one is being used by placing a file containing the following and then browsing to it:
<?php
phpinfo();
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