Allowed memory size of X bytes exhausted

PHP’s config can be set in multiple places:

  1. master system php.ini (usually in /etc somewhere)
  2. somewhere in Apache’s configuration (httpd.conf or a per-site .conf file, via php_value)
  3. CLI & CGI can have a different php.ini (use the command php -i | grep memory_limit to check the CLI conf)
  4. local .htaccess files (also php_value)
  5. in-script (via ini_set())

In PHPinfo’s output, the “Master” value is the compiled-in default value, and the “Local” value is what’s actually in effect. It can be either unchanged from the default, or overridden in any of the above locations.

Also note that PHP generally has different .ini files for command-line and webserver-based operation. Checking phpinfo() from the command line will report different values than if you’d run it in a web-based script.

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