symfony/process · error · RuntimeException

Unable to find the PHP executable.

Error message

Unable to find the PHP executable.

What it means

Thrown at the start of PhpProcess::start when the command line is empty because no PHP binary could be located: PhpExecutableFinder::find() returned false during construction and no explicit executable was provided.

Solutions

1. Pass an explicit PHP binary path via the $php constructor argument
2. Ensure the PHP executable is on PATH or point PHP_BINARY appropriately
3. Verify the runtime environment where the process is spawned

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at PhpProcess.php:67 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of symfony/process@99b85026db (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d9e4247851f9ae98. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at PhpProcess.php:67

            $script = null;
        }

        parent::__construct($php, $cwd, $env, $script, $timeout);
    }

    public static function fromShellCommandline(string $command, ?string $cwd = null, ?array $env = null, mixed $input = null, ?float $timeout = 60): static
    {
        throw new LogicException(\sprintf('The "%s()" method cannot be called when using "%s".', __METHOD__, self::class));
    }

    /**
     * @param (callable('out'|'err', string):void)|null $callback
     * @param EnvArray                                  $env
     */
    public function start(?callable $callback = null, array $env = []): void
    {
        if (null === $this->getCommandLine()) {
            throw new RuntimeException('Unable to find the PHP executable.');
        }

        parent::start($callback, $env);
    }
}

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