process
Executes commands in sub-processes
A PHP library that lets you run shell commands from your PHP code with clean handling of output, timeouts, and success or failure checks.
The Symfony Process component is a PHP library that provides a way to run shell commands from within a PHP application. Rather than calling PHP's built-in functions for executing external programs directly, this component wraps that functionality in a cleaner interface that handles details like reading output, managing timeouts, and checking whether a command succeeded or failed.
It is one of many standalone components in the Symfony project, a widely used PHP framework. Each component can be used on its own in any PHP project, not just in full Symfony applications. This component is specifically for situations where your PHP code needs to start another process, wait for it to finish, and handle its output.
The README is minimal and points to the official Symfony documentation for usage details and to the main Symfony repository for bug reports and contributions.
Where it fits
- Run an external shell command from a PHP app and capture its stdout and stderr.
- Set a timeout on a long-running process so it is automatically killed if it takes too long.
- Check whether a command succeeded or failed and react accordingly in PHP code.