PHP CLI getting input from user and then dumping into variable possible?

Question

Is it possible to get input from a user using PHP CLI, then dump the input into a variable and then the script goes ahead. Just like the C++ cin function.

Is that possible and, if yes, then how?

Maybe not only PHP but maybe with some Linux commands?

Yes, that is possible. What have you tried so far? Where are you stuck? — Nico Haase, Sep 01 '23 at 12:05

anubhava · Answer 1 · 2022-04-11T16:54:20.737

101

To read a line from standard input in php CLI mode, you can do:

$fin = fopen ("php://stdin","r");
$line = fgets($fin);

On older versions of PHP STDIN constant may also work

$line = fgets(STDIN);

To read all the content from input use:

file_get_contents('php://input');

edited Apr 11 '22 at 16:54

answered Jul 01 '11 at 05:30

anubhava

761,203
64
569
643

2

Simply append another line like this: `$line2 = fgets(STDIN);` – anubhava Jul 01 '11 at 05:38
4

And if you want to read in a loop until EOF then use `while (FALSE !== ($line = fgets(STDIN))) { echo "line=$line"; }` – anubhava Jul 01 '11 at 05:39
2

`STDIN` is not always defined so the accepted answer is better. – laurent Mar 29 '13 at 06:50
5

In source code of CORE php > 5.3.6 it is defined as: ```define('STDIN', fopen('php://stdin', 'r')); define('STDOUT', fopen('php://stdout', 'w')); define('STDERR', fopen('php://stderr', 'w'));``` – Arthur Kushman Oct 11 '16 at 09:36
1

I realize this is a very old answer but `STDIN` is not defined in any modern environment I've used. – But those new buttons though.. Apr 11 '22 at 16:31
1

@EatenbyaGrue: Thanks for your comment. I haven't visited this answer in all these years. I have edited it to make it work with newer php versions. – anubhava Apr 11 '22 at 16:55

score 86 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 01 '11 at 05:17

86

Have a look at this PHP manual page http://php.net/manual/en/features.commandline.php

in particular

<?php
echo "Are you sure you want to do this?  Type 'yes' to continue: ";
$handle = fopen ("php://stdin","r");
$line = fgets($handle);
if(trim($line) != 'yes'){
    echo "ABORTING!\n";
    exit;
}
echo "\n";
echo "Thank you, continuing...\n";
?>

answered Jul 01 '11 at 05:17

Devraj

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Works but any better approach ? – kritya Jul 01 '11 at 05:20
as ofc reading that file will make the program some whatslower – kritya Jul 01 '11 at 05:21
Well PHP was designed for the Web, I would imagine their support for command line stuff is a patch at the best. Something like Python is a better fit for writing command line stuff. – Devraj Jul 01 '11 at 05:25
and if i want multiple inputs then how do i do that with this ? – kritya Jul 01 '11 at 05:36
i have to repeat it over and over again – kritya Jul 01 '11 at 05:37
7

@kritya - My only advice if you choose this approach would be to use the `STDIN` constant instead of "php://stdin" as recommended in [the PHP wrappers documentation](http://php.net/manual/en/wrappers.php.php). – Francois Deschenes Jul 01 '11 at 05:54
2

Write a function that gets input and reuse your function. – Devraj Jul 01 '11 at 06:43

Niko9911 · Answer 3 · 2017-05-14T21:46:20.340

In this example I'm extending Devjar's example. Credits for him for example code. Last code example is simplest and safest in my opinion.

When you use his code:

<?php
echo "Are you sure you want to do this?  Type 'yes' to continue: ";
$handle = fopen ("php://stdin","r");
$line = fgets($handle);
if(trim($line) != 'yes'){
echo "ABORTING!\n";
exit;
}
echo "\n";
echo "Thank you, continuing...\n";
?>

You should note stdin mode is not binary-safe. You should add "b" to your mode and use following code:

<?php
echo "Are you sure you want to do this?  Type 'yes' to continue: ";
$handle = fopen ("php://stdin","rb"); // <-- Add "b" Here for Binary-Safe
$line = fgets($handle);
if(trim($line) != 'yes'){
echo "ABORTING!\n";
exit;
}
echo "\n";
echo "Thank you, continuing...\n";
?>

Also you can set max charters. This is my personal example. I'll suggest to use this as your code. It's also recommended to use directly STDIN than "php://stdin".

<?php
/* Define STDIN in case if it is not already defined by PHP for some reason */
if(!defined("STDIN")) {
define("STDIN", fopen('php://stdin','rb'))
}

echo "Hello! What is your name (enter below):\n";
$strName = fread(STDIN, 80); // Read up to 80 characters or a newline
echo 'Hello ' , $strName , "\n";
?>

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 26 '21 at 13:44

similarly you could create a function, like python.

$line = input("Please put in a number: ");
if ($line === 20){
    echo true;
} else {
    echo false;
}

function input(string $prompt = null): string
{
    echo $prompt;
    $handle = fopen ("php://stdin","r");
    $output = fgets ($handle);
    return trim ($output);
}

PHP CLI getting input from user and then dumping into variable possible?

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