sys

sys shows the system information PHP can actually observe: OS, host, process user, server time, uptime, load and memory.

DiagnosticsVersion 1.1.3Stable
lil-terminal

Overview

Use sys for a compact view of the runtime host without assuming shell access. Individual subcommands make each value easy to read or reuse.

The system as PHP sees it

On shared hosting PHP may see only part of the operating system. sys reports available runtime information rather than pretending to be a full system monitor. Interpret load, memory and user data in the context of the hosting account and its limits.

Syntax

lil-terminal
sys [os|host|user|time|uptime|load|memory]

Reference

sys

show a compact system summary

sys os

show operating system, architecture, PHP and SAPI

sys host

show hostname, server address and document root

sys user

show the current process user, identifiers and home directory

sys time [-u] [format]

show local or UTC server time

sys uptime

show system uptime

sys load

show 1, 5 and 15 minute load averages

sys memory

show PHP and system memory information

aliases

uname, hostname, whoami, date, uptime and free

Interactive sandbox preview

Run the prepared examples directly on the page. Their results are prebuilt and shown in the browser; no terminal command is executed on the server.

Read a compact system summary

Install and manage

Install the current compatible version. Choose Base for the complete feature set or Minimum for the reduced package; use upgrade to update a module that is already installed.

Base and Minimum are two packages of the same current module release, not separate command versions.

Base package

Install the complete package with local command reference and every published mode.

install sys
Minimum package

Install the reduced package. Local reference is omitted; help <cmd> -i opens the current server reference.

install sys -m
Exact public version

Install exactly this published version.

install sys -v 1.1.3
Check or update

Ask upgrade to check compatibility and replace the installed block only when needed.

upgrade sys
Remove module

Remove the extension block while leaving the core and unrelated modules intact.

install sys -u

Examples

Examples are copyable command lines, not actions executed by this website. Review paths, permissions and destructive flags before running them on a real project.

Read a compact system summary
pwd | sys
Host    shared-host
OS      Linux
PHP     8.x
SAPI    fpm-fcgi
Show operating system, architecture, PHP and SAPI
sys os
OS            Linux 6.x
Family        Linux
Architecture  64-bit x86_64
PHP           8.x
SAPI          fpm-fcgi

Aliases such as uname, whoami, hostname, date, uptime and free all route to focused views of sys.

Show local or UTC server time
sys time
Time  2026-08-07 20:11:00
Format server time in UTC
sys time -u "Y-m-d H:i:s"
Time  2026-08-08 01:11:00
Show local or UTC server time
sys time "c"
Time  2026-08-07T20:11:00-05:00
Show system uptime
sys uptime
Uptime  91d 17h 6m
Show PHP and system memory information
sys memory
PHP     8 MB / limit 512M
Peak    10 MB
System  19.5 GB / 58.6 GB

Related documentation

What are the server requirements? →Why are large files or outputs limited? →

Current public release

v1.1.32026-08-08

First stable release

Current stable release of sys. sys shows the system information PHP can actually observe: OS, host, process user, server time, uptime, load and memory.

# Version history